Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821) becomes the first person born in the United States canonized as a Roman Catholic saint in 1975. Seton is the founder of the nation’s first parochial school system, establishing a Catholic girls school in Emmitsburg along with a congregation of Sisters of Charity.
National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg
Alex Haley publishes a popular book, Roots, in 1967 and, with a TV Miniseries, creates a new national interest in enslavement in America. He launches the book from the Annapolis wharf where his ancestor Kunta Kinte was brought in chains 200 years ago.
The oldest Unitarian Church in the country, designed by Maximilian Godefroy, is opened in 1818, and is dedicated to “Unitarians” who “cherish the liberal sentiments on the subject of religion”.
Henry Highland Garnet, Black Maryland abolitionist who opposes the tactics of Frederick Douglass, delivers a fiery abolitionist speech, “A Call to Rebellion”, to the National Convention of Colored Citizens in 1843.
We acknowledge the enduring presence of many American Indian tribes who once lived in Maryland and who now, having lost their lands, live in a diaspora. Read more.
© 2023 MARYLAND 400
