The Not-Quite-Free State: Maryland Dragged Its Feet On Emancipation During Civil War

Maryland calls itself the Free State, but it was in no hurry to give up slavery during the Civil War.

Elsewhere in the country, antislavery measures progressed rapidly. Congress freed the slaves in the District in 1862, compensating their owners. The Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves in the states that had seceded, went into effect on Jan. 1, 1863. But Maryland didn’t act until 1864, when it held a referendum — and even then, the outcome wasn’t at all certain.
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