Cutting Ties with the South: Maryland’s Constitution and the Demise of the Slave Economy, 1864

In the years immediately preceding the Civil War, the state of Maryland appeared to be doing away with slavery at a slow but steady pace. However, an examination of the data at the county level shows a significantly larger population of slaves in the southern and eastern parts of Maryland. While this is well-known, the number of slaves in the top five tobacco producing counties (what I call the Big Five) fluctuated slightly in the years leading up to the war. Four of the Big Five counties remained the same or increased slave totals. Only one, Anne Arundel, saw its total slave population decrease while it still maintained an 18% higher number of slaves to white ratio in comparison to the county average of 12.5% during the same period. When compared to the increase in tobacco production from 1850 - 1860, it became obvious that the Big Five producers were more reliant on the slave system than ever before. This, coupled with an investigation of the arguments surrounding the constitutional convention of 1864, helped justify why Lincoln’s cautious approach to slavery in the border states was appropriate. By waiting until Maryland’s state Congress was dominated by Unconditional Union men, 1864 became an opportunity to attack what remained of the “Old South’s” peculiar institution. Had Lincoln pursued emancipation too early, he risked provoking an economically motivated defense of slavery; and therefore, secession in southern and eastern Maryland.