Despite Trump’s attempt to whitewash history, five new sites are added to the Underground Railroad network

Despite recent anti-DEI efforts by the Trump administration to downplay the roles of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad in American history, five new sites in Maryland have been listed in the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. That brings to 97 the number of Maryland sites associated with Tubman and others who helped enslaved Black people escape to freedom in the 19th Century. Here are the new sites:

• Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal, Susquehanna State Park, in Havre de Grace – (Photo above, by Frank Skokoski) this segment of the Susquehanna and Tidewater (S&T) Canal, now administered by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, was a pathway from Maryland to freedom in Pennsylvania.
• Goshen Farm, in Annapolis – this farm provided crucial escape routes and refuge for enslaved people making the journey to freedom.
• Isaac Mason Escape Site, in Chestertown, Kent County – in 1846, Isaac Mason escaped his enslavement from this 1830s house, which belonged to the Mansfield family. Mason shared his powerful story of escape on the Underground Railroad in his memoir, Life of Isaac Mason as a Slave.
• St. Augustine Church, in Chesapeake City, Cecil County – from here several enslaved people escaped during the British occupation of 1777. Marked on period battle maps, the area was known as a place for freedom seekers, encouraged by British proclamations, fled their enslavers on the patriot side of the Revolution.
• Rich Hill, in Bel Alton, Charles County – this plantation was both a site of bondage and resistance. Enslaved people escaped from Rich Hill and into freedom intermittently throughout the 1700s and 1800s. The plantation was owned by a Southern sympathizer who sheltered the fugitive John Wilkes Booth after his assassination of President Lincoln.

The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom honors those who resisted slavery through escape and flight. In February, The Washington Post reported that the National Park Service page on the Underground Rairoad had been changed, swapping out a large image of Tubman for one of five postage stamps celebrating “Black/white cooperation.” The description of the Underground Railroad was changed from “the resistance to enslavement through escape and flight” to one that downplays the role of slavery, instead saying it was an expression of the “American civil rights movement” that bridged “the divides of race.” My check of the page — assuming this is the one described by the Post — shows that the image of Tubman has been restored.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen: “During the darkest days of our history, the Underground Railroad – and the men and women who operated it – provided hope and safety to those seeking freedom. The addition of these sites in our state to the National Underground Railroad Network honors the courage and resilience of those who took great personal risk in the fight against slavery – and further solidifies Maryland’s important role in the fight for freedom. Shining a light on these stories ensures future generations can learn from our history – the good and the bad – and inspires us to work toward a more just future for our nation.”

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks: “By adding five historical sites here in Maryland to the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, we are honoring the legacy and lives of the courageous men and women who escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad. At a time when this Administration is actively trying to erase American history, we in Maryland will never back down from this simple truth: our history makes us stronger, more resilient, and more prepared to never let the evils of our past repeat.”

More essays on national affairs at Dan Rodricks Commentary on Substack, with free subscriptions or subscriptions of support.