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The most defining moment in the history of the South is Lincoln’s election. Maryland actually voted for Lincoln (albeit 4 years later).
You can absolutely believe Maryland is Southern. But you also have to be receptive to the idea that not everyone would agree, and that they have some good reasons for disagreeing.
True. There's a doctoral dissertation I perused online which argued that it was the Civil War itself that served as the major catalyst of Maryland's decidedly Northern orientation afterwards. One line of evidence cited was changing popular sentiment among Union soldiers over the course of the conflict. In the beginning, those soldiers understood they were entering territory friendly to the Southern cause and spoke of hostility and animosity they experienced but gradually, their opinions became much more favorable as Maryland came to accept their position in the Union and the behavior of the citizenry towards the troops moderated in kind.
Indeed and it's another reflection of Baltimore's hybrid Southern/Northern character. Just like cities in the traditional South, Baltimore's first influx of Black migrants after the Civil War came from surrounding rural areas which increased the citywide Black population noticeably but it wasn't until the Great Migration got underway that, like Northern cities, it became majority Black with migrants flocking from the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia.
Another reflection of the city's, and actually the state's, biregional identity is its extensive history of dominance by the Democratic Party. Historically that made it part of the Solid South but in modern times, this makes it much more politically aligned with its northern neighbors along the Eastern Seabord.
Maryland broke towards the Republicans a generation or three before the Solid South broke. The only Democrats who won between Cleveland and Kennedy were Woodrow and Franklin. It’s vote tracked closer to Pennsylvania than Virginia.
Maryland broke towards the Republicans a generation or three before the Solid South broke. The only Democrats who won between Cleveland and Kennedy were Woodrow and Franklin. It’s vote tracked closer to Pennsylvania than Virginia.
I was mainly referring to Democratic control of state government in Maryland. Since 1867, Democratic candidates have won 30 of 38 gubernatorial elections and in the previous century, 8 Democratic governors served two terms compared to only one Republican governor. Since 1868, Democrats have controlled the state senate all years except two and comprised the majority in the house of delegates all years except six. The legislative session following the 1897 election is the only year in the history of the state that the GOP had majorities in both houses of the General Assembly.
Midwesterners get offended whenever I say that. I’ve learned to label it what it is; Appalachian. That way both parties aren’t offended lol.
Western PA is NOT Midwestern! Haha, I am not offended, but I do NOT agree that Western PA is Midwestern and I am a Native Ohioan, if that matters.
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