CHAPTER THREE
RACE AND THE LAW IN MARYLAND AFTER THE CIVIL WAR

I.        Blacks   in   Nineteenth   Century   Maryland   After the Civil War The
Constitution Conies to Maryland

A.        The End of Slavery

Slavery ended in Maryland with the adoption of the 24th Article of the Declaration of
Rights in the Maryland State Constitution of 1864: "Hereafter, in this State, there shall be neither
slavery nor involuntary servitude, except in punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have
been duly convicted; and all persons held to service or labor, as slaves, are hereby declared free."

Abolition did not come at the point of the bayonet in Maryland, but it was certainly
closely tied to the war. It was a result of forces beyond the state, rather than a development of
internal forces. The evolution of sentiment is chronicled by Charles Wagandt in THE MIGHTY
REVOLUTION: Negro Emancipation in Maryland 1862-1864.

In 1860 abolition was not popular in Maryland. For example, of the four presidential
candidates, Lincoln, who was the most ardently opposed to slavery, ran a poor fourth in the state.
After Fort Sumter was fired upon, federal troops passed through Baltimore on their way south.
On April 19, 1861, secessionist mobs rioted in the streets of Baltimore against the troops.
Democratic mayor George W. Brown attempted to quell the riots, but in practice it was the
burning by state authorities of the bridges into Baltimore that calmed the city. With the bridges
burned, federal troops had to go around the city, and tempers began to cool.

On May 13, 1861 General Ben Butler of the Union army moved into Baltimore and set up
camp on Federal Hill. This time no violence was offered. As a border state, secession was
contrary to the economic interests of Maryland. The port of Baltimore provided an outlet for
goods from Pennsylvania while the mouth of the Chesapeake would be subject to control by
Virginia. Southern states provided major markets for Maryland goods, but the port of Baltimore
shipped products made in northern states. The southern states were agricultural, but Baltimore
was becoming increasingly industrialized. If Maryland seceded, Pennsylvania would become a
haven for escaped slaves. Economically and politically, a divided nation was bad for the state.
The state Democratic party was badly divided, but the Republicans had too little support to
provide leadership. In the midst of this political vacuum, a convention was called to form a new
party in the state — the Union party. Its position was both proslavery and prounion.

In the election of 1861, the Union party won a smashing victory at the polls. Federal
troops were not used in the elections, but confederate sympathizers were subject to arrest. Even
suspicion seemed sufficient to result in incarceration of crucial political leaders. For example,

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