The forgotten slaves of Maryland

It is a difficult thing to conceive of — looking around at the modern, relatively liberal state of Maryland — but believe it you must.

Maryland, one of the original 13 American colonies and later one of the original 13 United States, was a slave state. From 1642 until it was finally ended 222 years later, slavery was the law of the state.

The founding fathers of the state held thousands of Africans and their descendants against their will and worked them until they died.

Some people like to tell themselves that slavery in Maryland was really an institution focused in the Tidewater area, where they were worked on the tobacco plantations. While slavery may have been more widespread on tobacco farms, thousands of slaves were counted among the residents of Frederick County, and they were owned by some of the most prominent families.

Read more: https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/editorial/the-forgotten-slaves-of-maryland/article_a486ba12-d3eb-53cf-9237-65f9a9963e62.html