Maryland and the Mason-Dixie Line (Potomac: school, college, move)

[rose.bloom]

Hello all

I was educated in Maryland and I was taught at all grade levels (including college), that when speaking of the Mason Dixon line it was a line that split Maryland into two parts. There were maps in books, there where histories such as where black escaping from slavery knew they had to run to the top half of Maryland to be in a land where there was no slavery. My mother and grandmother were taught the same thing. I wrote essays and saw videos and DVDs, read historical books all supporting this! WHEN did they move the Mason Dixie line and why did they move it?!

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by rose.bloom

WHEN did they move the Mason Dixie line and why did they move it?!

I think you misunderstood something from school. The Mason-Dixon Line has always been the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland. It was surveyed in 1763-67. A history here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason%E2%80%93Dixon_line

So, technically, Maryland allowed slavery and there were many slave-owners especially in southern Maryland. But there were also many people in the northern parts of the state (such as the Quakers) who opposed slavery. Thus, someone who escaped slavery would move north. But he or she was not technically free until they reached Pennsylvania. That is the reason for the Underground Railway in Maryland.

Everyone might benefit by watching this video by historian Anthony Cohen who is an expert on the Underground Railway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXjaFF1OImk

[MidValleyDad]

I have a hard time believing that you were taught that at ANY level. It may b e that you remember it that way but I can't believe anywhere taught that. Where in MD did you go to school?

[floridanative10]

wikimedia has a good article on marylands claim and why it was drawn. The mason dixon line was created to end any boundary problems between Maryland and Pennsylvania/Delaware and supposedly came to distinguish the south and north and slavery. Though delaware still had slavery until 1865 and Lincoln wasnt very popular in alot Delaware as well as Maryland. Maryland originally had claims to the territory north of the Potomac River up to the fortieth parallel, it even included philadelphia in the original claim.

there was actually a border conflict between maryland and pennsylvania called Cresaps war

This diagram shows the original maryland claim, maybe this is where the misunderstanding of the mason dixon line separating maryland came from. You can see the original maryland claim extends to philadelphia and up to lancaster

images from wikimedia commons





the mason dixon as south/north divide