Celebrating Maryland’s Heritage this Spring
Spring is blooming! April is the perfect month to get outside and enjoy the seasonal blossoms—from cherry trees and lilacs to dogwoods, forsythias, and redbuds. But this year, April held even greater significance as we celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary. With these national events as a backdrop, the Maryland Mosaic Project is devoted to remembering and commemorating our state’s rich history.
Values That Continue to Shape Us: A Landmark Lecture Series
To mark the U.S. Semiquincentennial, the Maryland Mosaic Project has teamed up with the Reginald Lewis Museum and the Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC) to present a four-part lecture series exploring the values that define our nation: Freedom, Birthright Citizenship, Freedom of the Press, and Religion.
An Outstanding Kickoff on Freedom Our series launched on Thursday, April 16, at the Lewis Museum with featured speaker Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries of The Ohio State University. He spoke eloquently and passionately about the evolution of freedom in our nation—not as a singular event, but as an ongoing movement. He highlighted the Revolution, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights Movement as major milestones in advancing freedoms for all citizens, while reminding us of the persistent and dangerous efforts Americans made in the decades between these events to push back against threats to their liberties.
Upcoming Lecture: Birthright Citizenship
Our second free lecture will be held at the Maryland Center for History and Culture on Saturday, May 2, at 2:00 PM. Professor Martha Jones of Johns Hopkins University, who recently received national attention for her work, will discuss Birthright Citizenship as a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment and the Dred Scott Decision. Please register with the Maryland Center if you would like to attend.
Note: We will announce two more lectures and discussions this fall. All lectures will be recorded and made available online.
Marylanders Making History
– April was a month deeply rooted in Maryland’s history. Throughout the centuries, Marylanders have been busy shaping the nation during this pivotal spring month:
April 1, 1791 | Intellectual Equality: Benjamin Banneker, a free Black Marylander, self-taught astronomer, and surveyor for the District of Columbia, wrote to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Banneker asserted that People of Color could be the intellectual equals of whites. Jefferson’s response led him to send Banneker’s enclosed Almanac to renowned French scientist Marquis de Condorcet. You can explore a recreation of Banneker’s cabin and legacy via the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum.
– April 26, 1788 | Precursors to the Bill of Rights: William Paca—a Maryland signer of the Declaration of Independence, early governor, and slaveowner—proposed amendments to the new U.S. Constitution that advocated for veterans’ benefits. These proposals became precursors to the Bill of Rights. Learn more about his life at the restored William Paca House and Gardens via Historic Annapolis.
April 19, 1861 | The First Bloodshed of the Civil War: Baltimore rioters supporting the South attacked Massachusetts troops passing through on their way to defend the Nation’s Capital. The resulting “patriotic gore that flecked the streets of Baltimore” was memorialized in our state song, “Maryland, My Maryland.” Learn more at the President Street Station.
– April 29, 1861 | Preventing Secession: Maryland Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks led a successful political effort in Frederick to keep the state from seceding, preventing Washington, D.C., from being surrounded by the Confederacy. Though a slaveowner and a “Know Nothing” politician, he strongly supported the union of states. His portrait hangs in the restored 19th Century House of Delegates room at the Maryland Statehouse. Research his life at the Maryland State Archives.
Celebrating 200 Years of the “Jew Bill”
This April also marked the 200th Anniversary of the “Jew Bill” (passed in 1826), a historic first that granted Maryland’s Jewish community the right to run for public office.
The Jewish Museum of Maryland is commemorating this milestone with a brand-new exhibit that follows the successes and setbacks of Jewish immigrants throughout Maryland’s history. We congratulate the museum on their recently renovated public spaces, perfectly timed for their introduction during the 250th Anniversary. For more information, visit the Jewish Museum of Maryland.
Discover More You can uncover much more about these critical events and national firsts by visiting the Maryland Mosaic Project online at www.marylandmosaic.org.