James H. Birch (slave trader)

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Price, Birch and Co slave pen, 1862

James H. Birch (fl. 1841) was an American slave trader, tried for kidnapping but acquitted in the District of Columbia.

Birch was responsible for the kidnapping and selling of Solomon Northup, a free man, in Washington in 1841. Northup wrote a memoir of his time as a slave, Twelve Years a Slave.

Birch later presided over Alexandria’s largest slave pen at 1315 Duke St, operating as Price, Birch and Co. The building is now Freedom House Museum (in Alexandria, Virginia).[1][2]

Birch was tried but acquitted for the kidnap of Northup. Birch was acquitted in part because the law did not allow Solomon Northup, a black man, to give evidence. Following his acquittal, Birch demanded charges be filed against Solomon Northup for trying to defraud him, but then withdrew the case.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

References[]

  1. ^ Alexandria Times Staff (2013-11-07). "Out of the Attic: Notorious local slave dealer had hand in Solomon Northup's kidnapping | Alexandria Times | Alexandria, VA". Archived from the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  2. ^ "Freedom House Museum | Alexandria, VA 22314". www.visitalexandriava.com. Archived from the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  3. ^ "The Kidnapping Case: Narrative of the Seizure and Recovery of Solomon Northrup" (PDF). The New York Times. January 20, 1853. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  4. ^ "Narrative of the Seizure and Recovery of Solomon Northrup". New York Times. Documenting the American South. University of North Carolina. January 20, 1853. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  5. ^ Author New York Times. "The Kidnapping Case: Narrative of the Seizure and Recovery of Solomon Northrup | Teaching Tolerance". Tolerance.org. Archived from the original on 2019-08-02. Retrieved 2020-06-09. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ Doherty, Prudence (2014-03-06). "Chronicling America Dispatches: Vermont Papers Tell the Story of Solomon Northup | National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)". Neh.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  7. ^ "Alexandria Plans To Purchase Historic Slave Pen-Turned-Museum". WAMU. Archived from the original on 2020-07-06. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  8. ^ VTDNP. "Vermont Papers Tell the Story of Solomon Northup | Vermont Digital Newspaper Project (VTDNP)". Library.uvm.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2020-06-09.


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