Civil Rights &

Politics
Some have suggested that African Americans in Maryland after 1865 may have been better off had the state seceded from the Union during the Civil War. In this way, the state would have come under the authority of Congressional Reconstruction programs (1867 - 1877), and perhaps blacks may have enjoyed electoral success and political influence on par with their counterparts in the South. This, of course, did not happen, and a noticeable period of time elapsed between the winning of suffrage, and the enjoyment of political influence. This does not mean, however, that blacks did not fight for these rights. Indeed, during the struggle of the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s, significant stepping stones were established toward making freedom synonymous with opportunity and equality


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