Maryland lawmakers vote to replace Confederate-era state song

By Teddy Grant Published: March 30, 2021

Maryland lawmakers vote to replace Confederate-era state song

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan speaks at a news conference on Monday, April 20, 2020 in Annapolis, Md., with his wife, Yumi Hogan, right, where the governor announced Maryland has received a shipment from a South Korean company to boost the state's ability to conduct tests for COVID-19 by 500,000. Hogan said he asked his wife, who is Korean, to help negotiate with Korean officials, on March 28, and that set in motion 22 days of vetting and negotiations to bring the large increase in testing capacity to Maryland. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)

Maryland state legislators voted Monday to repeal the state song, which boasts about a call to arms for the Confederacy and disparaging President Abraham Lincoln’s remarks.

The song “Maryland, My Maryland” was written in 1861 as a poem by James Ryder Randall. It makes a combative reference to Lincoln, “The despot’s heel is on thy shore, Maryland! His torch is at thy temple door, Maryland!” The song also calls the Union army “Northern scum.”

The song became Maryland’s state song in 1939. Legislators have been trying to replace the piece since 1974, according to CBS News.

Lawmaker sent the bill to Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. A spokesman for the governor, Michael Ricci, told CBS News that Hogan did not like the song but declined to say if the governor would sign the bill.

The state Senate passed the bill 45-0 and the House passed it in a 95-38 vote.

“There was a feeling of enough is enough,” Sen. Cheryl Kagan told CBS. Kagan has sponsored legislation to replace the song three times. “This isn’t just about legislation. It’s about a consensus that has developed over the years.”