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.
Henry Highland Garnet, leading Maryland abolitionist, opposes non-violence Read More »
Thomas Smallwood coins the expression “underground railroad,” in a newspaper column in 1842. Born a slave in PG county he teams up with Charles Torrey (pictured), a white clergyman, to help over 400 slaves escape through DC.
“Underground railroad” term coined Read More »
Frederick Douglass, born in Talbot County, escapes enslavement by train in 1838. He becomes a powerful speaker for abolition and the most photographed American in the 19th Century.
Frederick Douglass escapes by train from Baltimore Read More »
The 1819 US Supreme Court decision in the McCulloch vs Maryland Case expands federal power by ruling for the national bank over state banks. Chief US Justice John Marshall rules in favor of the federal government.
McCulloch vs. Maryland is the largest expansion of federal power to date Read More »
The C&O Canal completes construction on Lock 24 and the Seneca Acqueduct. Working by hand, the workers complete a unique stone aqueduct combined with a lift lock in 1832.
C&O Canal is an engineering marvel Read More »
William Lloyd Garrison begins his abolitionist career, writing and coediting the newspaper, The Genius of Universal Emancipation in Baltimore in 1829. He is the most famous white American to devote his life to freeing the slaves. Photo shows Garrison (center) with two other abolitionists, Wendell Phillips and Englishman George Thompson.
Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison begins his career in Baltimore Read More »
Patty Cannon, female head of a notorious gang of slave catchers, is arrested in 1829 and indicted for the murder of four Black men. She dies in jail awaiting trial.
Patty Cannon, notorious slave catcher Read More »
David Acheson Woodward invents an enlarging camera in 1857 that focuses sunlight through a lens onto sensitized photographic paper. Woodward is principal of what becomes Maryland Institute College of Art. MICA produces two prominent Maryland artists, Joyce J. Scott and Amy Sherald.
The Maryland Colonization Society is formed in 1827 to encourage free Blacks to emigrate to Africa. The Maryland General Assembly funds a separate republic in Liberia for 20 years. Map shows Maryland colony in lower right.
Maryland Colonization Society creates a republic in Africa Read More »
“Jew Bill” legislation is passed by the Maryland Assembly in 1826, giving Jewish men all the rights of citizenship equal to Christians. Thomas Kennedy of Hagerstown is the tireless sponsor.
Jewish men gain rights of citizenship Read More »
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.
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