enlistment was praised as "lightening the burden on the white man by allowing the negro to fight
for his own emancipation."

These appeals to white self interest coupled with the recognition that victory by the union
in the Civil War would inevitably lead to the end of slavery were powerful arguments.
Nevertheless, conservative sentiments and the malapportionment of the Maryland Senate created
a substantial chance that antislavery forces would lose a free and open election. But the elections
were not free and open. At the urging of Major General Shenck, the commander of the union
troops in Maryland, Lincoln issued an order that "all provost marshals and other military officers
do prevent all disturbance and violence at or about the polls" and that they support the judges of
election in requiring an oath of allegiance to the United States. That oath required the taker to
swear that he had not and would not communicate with anyone in the Confederacy unless official
permission were granted. Few people could fully comply with the oath, since many families had
been split apart by the war. Discretionary administration of the oath excluded many opponents of
the radicals. The military presence and the oath made the elections highly controversial, and left
a bitter taste in the mouths of Maryland voters. The election resulted in victory for the
antislavery forces.

The new legislature called for a constitutional convention. Candidates for seats in the
convention were required to swear an oath of past and future loyalty, and challenged voters could
be required to take an oath. On the other hand, a new law required judges of elections to notify
the governor if uninvited United States armed forces appeared at the polls and interfered in the
election. If that happened, a new election was to be held in the district where such interference
occurred. The state remained split, but the support of slavery to protect the institution of property
had crumpled. In the United States Senate, Reverdy Johnson argued in favor of a new federal
amendment abolishing slavery. Johnson also supported the call for a state constitutional
convention. Although the southern slave counties opposed the convention by a 2 to 1 vote, the
free counties and Baltimore supported the call by more than 3 to 1. The total vote was more than
3 to 2 in favor of a convention.

The Constitution produced by the convention abolished slavery, increased the political
power of Baltimore and the northern counties, and provided for a new public school system. It
also contained a stiff loyalty oath requirement for voting eligibility. The new constitution was
put before the voters in the fall of 1864. The result was close. Reverdy Johnson, for example,
came out in opposition to it, arguing strenuously against the stringency of the oath. On October
29, 1864, the Governor proclaimed the adoption of the new Constitution by a narrow margin.1

B.        The Limitations of Freedom

Freedom secured by the sword and the self interest of whites was a far cry from equality.
Indeed, the new Maryland Constitution needed judicial support to end slavery. After its
adoption, slaveholders hastened to Orphan's Courts to have black children bound to them under
the apprentice laws. The parents of the children hastened to Baltimore Criminal Court where

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