‘Laws abolishing slavery would be detrimental to Maryland’ declared political leaders in a meeting at the Montgomery County Courthouse on New Years day, 1861. At the meeting, the leaders drafted a resolution containing a variety of pro-slavery and pro-states’ rights measures, some stating, ‘Slave-holding is a right which the U.S. Government should protect’, and ‘Maryland should participate in a convention with border states to protect their rights’ ( qtd. Sween 69). The question remained however; did this meeting of party leaders reflect the general sentiment of Montgomery County (Mo.Co.) residents or Maryland residents as as whole? Bordering states that were loyal to the Union, as well as secessionist states, Maryland and Mo. Co. residents were fiercely divided among the issues of slavery and states’ rights. Heavily involved with political issues since its founding in the late 17Th century, Mo. Co. residents reflect the variety of opinions surrounding these matters, with large factions against slavery such as Quakers, and large factions for slavery and strong states’ rights such as Democrats. In reflecting on Montgomery County’s torn opinions about the issues that crafted our nation, readers can examine the issues from a variety of perspectives, and gain a better understanding of the issues overall.
Though about a third of the County owned slaves in 1860 and had an economy resembling the South, Montgomery County was put on the spotlight of the abolition movement early in its history. The famous novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, located in Rockville and Bethesda, Maryland, stirred up abolitionist sentiments among residents by depicting the details of slaves’ lives. Even today, people from all across the country come to visit the cabin and meditate on its history. Similarly, Quakers in the County exerted their presence not solely through writing but through a multitude of techniques. The Quakers of Silver Spring were the largest and most vocal anti-slavery group, emancipating their own slaves and working with slaves to help them get better lives. Perhaps one of the greatest achievements of the Quakers was by Francis Miller, who successfully harnessed support to vote down the resolution previously mentioned that would have otherwise strengthened the presence of slavery in Maryland.
Though about a third of the County owned slaves in 1860 and had an economy resembling the South, Montgomery County was put on the spotlight of the abolition movement early in its history. The famous novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, located in Rockville and Bethesda, Maryland, stirred up abolitionist sentiments among residents by depicting the details of slaves’ lives. Even today, people from all across the country come to visit the cabin and meditate on its history. Similarly, Quakers in the County exerted their presence not solely through writing but through a multitude of techniques. The Quakers of Silver Spring were the largest and most vocal anti-slavery group, emancipating their own slaves and working with slaves to help them get better lives. Perhaps one of the greatest achievements of the Quakers was by Francis Miller, who successfully harnessed support to vote down the resolution previously mentioned that would have otherwise strengthened the presence of slavery in Maryland.
Montgomery County was also sharply divided when it came to states’ rights and secession from the Union. Before the outbreak of the War, men in Mo. Co. declared their allegiances to either the South or North and fought for their respective side. When Maryland instituted a draft, many men ‘went South’ ( Sween 70) and joined the Maryland Cavalry of the Confederate States (C.S.A.), which was led by Colonel Brown of Mo. Co. Despite the strong Democratic influence in the region, the state of Maryland fought for the Union. Once the War was over, the state passed the Registration Act whereby all citizens who could not guarantee their loyalty to the Union could not vote. In 1866, Democrats and portions of the Union party met at the courthouse in Mo. Co. to repeal the law. With the Democratic Party back in political power, the state passed a new state constitution, repealing the law and restoring voter privileges to everyone. Though the Democrats were not successful in winning the War and avoiding abolition,
they were successful in controlling the functions of the state as well as they could.
Today Montgomery County continues to be a political and intellectual hub. While it used to be connected to the rest of the world through the Georgetown Port, today the county is connected to the world through politics, advancements in education, and literature. The leaders of the county did their best to progress their ideas on the rest of the state, with Quakers taking strides to push for abolition, Harriet Beecher Stowe enlightening the world about slavery through literature, and the Democrats advancing their ideas through politics. No matter how wide the differences in opinion on major issues, Montgomery County residents were fearless in getting what they wanted. This characteristic has yet to falter.
Works Cited
Sween, Jane C., and William Offutt. Montgomery County. Sun Valley: American
Historical , 1999. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment