In the beginning of the film, Soloman is a free man. He appears to have all the rights, privileges, respect, upward mobility and protections as his white counterparts. How historically accurate is that representation? I guess my question is, for not just Soloman Northrup, but also other free men of that time, what was it really like for them? Did they have an "equality" of sorts? Please help me grow into a better person by expanding my knowledge of history. See the movie, it's really good. (On a related side note, what kind of violin strings existed in the 1850's?)