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| Maryland During the Secession Crisis |
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Author: Jim May, Bel Air Middle School, Harford County Public Schools
Grade Level: Middle/High
Duration: 2 periods |
Overview:
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As southern states began to secede from the Union in 1860, the representatives of Maryland were torn between their allegiance to their slave-holding constituents and a desire to maintain good relationships with bordering northern states. Maryland politicians decided to hold a Secession Convention in an attempt to determine the appropriate course of action. These antebellum representatives had to weigh political, economic, and social factors in order to reach a decision about secession. In the course of this lesson, students will analyze the resolutions produced by the Convention, election data of the time, and slaveholding patterns in the state in order to determine independently the best course of action for the state.
This lesson teaches students how to locate and weigh the historical forces that pushed events forward in the Civil War Era, and gives students insight into the nineteenth century political mind by putting them in the place of those representatives who dealt with Maryland's dilemma. In the process, students will learn how to analyze quantitative data and how to interpret a complex historical context.
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