When did slavery end in Maryland?

Slavery ended in Maryland on November 1, 1864. The Maryland General Assembly wrote a new constitution for the state that made slavery illegal after that date.

Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that ended slavery. Maryland outlawed slavery almost a year later.

Maryland was different from most slave states where slavery was ended by the Emancipation Proclamation that became law on January 1, 1863. President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War as a special wartime measure. It declared slavery to be ended in all states that were in rebellion against the United States. Because Maryland stayed in the Union during the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply here. That is why Maryland passed its own laws to end slavery.