Оңтүстік Мэриленд аймағының тарихы мен мәдениеті

Southern Maryland, also referred to as SoMD, is a geographical, cultural and historic region in Maryland composed of the state's southernmost counties on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. According to the state of Maryland, the region includes all of Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary's counties and the southern portions of Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties. and the California Lexington Park Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 Census, the region had a population of 373,177. The first European settlement in Maryland was established in Southern Maryland at St. Mary's City in 1634. Throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, the area developed an agricultural slave economy, Many historical events occurred in Southern Maryland during the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War.

Southern Maryland was originally inhabited by the indigenous Piscataway people. Cecilius Calvert was granted a charter to establish a colony meant to be a safe haven for Catholics in 1632. Expeditions were launched into modern day Maryland, with an expedition reaching St. Clement's Island in 1634. Later that year, the Maryland Colony was established by Leonard Calvert, first Governor of Maryland and brother of Cecilius. The colony's capital, and first settlement, was the newly established St. Mary's City. After 61 years as Maryland's capital an uprising of Protestants put an end to religious tolerance, overthrowing the old Catholic leadership and putting an end to colonial St. Mary's City itself, moving the colonial capital to Annapolis. Originally, laborers were Indentured Servants, with African slaves arriving in 1639. By 1755, one third of Maryland's population were enslaved Africans. The profits from slavery also provided the means for Maryland's gentry to gain power and dominate politics. Dunmore's forces were defeated by local Flying Camp militia led by Captain Rezin Beall, and they left the island on August 9, 1776. During the war, American slaves throughout the Chesapeake region flocked to British lines following Dunmore's Proclamation, which promised freedom for slaves who fought for the British military. Intent on marching to Washington, the British marched to Upper Marlboro before engaging American troops at the Battle of Bladensburg. The battle resulted in a British victory. By nightfall on August 24, 1814, British forces entered Washington and burned several government buildings. The British then marched back to Benedict. Similarly to what occurred in the Revolutionary War, enslaved Marylanders fled to British controlled areas to receive freedom. and Southern Maryland was sympathetic to the Confederates next to Maryland's Eastern Shore. From the war's beginning, however, large numbers of Union occupying troops and patrolling river gunboats prevented the state's secession, although frequent nighttime smuggling across the Potomac River with Virginia took place, including of Maryland men volunteering for Confederate service. John Wilkes Booth was helped by several people in his escape through the area and in crossing the river after killing President Abraham Lincoln. Thousands of captured Confederate troops were confined in harsh conditions at Point Lookout Prison Camp at the southern tip of the peninsula. During the war, in November 1863, Maryland ratified a new state Constitution which abolished slavery in the state. These steamboat routes operated on the Chesapeake Bay and major rivers until the 1930s before the building of highways and the Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge on U. S. Highway 301. (The latter highway was named after Robert Crain, an attorney who owned the state's largest farm, Mount Victoria, and who campaigned for the road's construction). Weekend excursion boats also carried Washingtonians to small amusement parks and amusement pavilions at numerous Potomac shore locations. From 1949 (1943 in some places) to 1968, the region was known for its poverty and its slot machine gambling.

Poverty was common in St. Mary's County in the 1960s, and gambling in the region came to be seen as a blight and was outlawed by Governor J. Millard Tawes and the state legislature. A local political figure, St. Mary's County politician J. Frank Raley Jr. organized a slate of local candidates with the platform of challenging the political status quo and lifting the region out of its generations long poverty. These developments are credited for enabling the development of modern St. Mary's County. This expansion took place primarily in Prince George's County, and around Waldorf (a regional shopping hub) and St. Charles (a planned community in Charles County), Lexington Park (St. Mary's County) and Prince Frederick (Calvert County). Much of the area remains rural, a mixture of forest and farmland, despite suburban growth. This suburban growth has occurred and continued despite concerns from locals and environmental advocates. Many southern Marylanders work for the United States Armed Forces or the United States Federal Government and its related industries. Other smaller industries include a nuclear power plant and a liquified natural gas terminal (both in Lusby), a Naval ordnance test ground (at Indian Head), electric power plants (at Aquasco and Morgantown) and an oil terminal (at Piney Point). The towns of Solomons Island and Chesapeake Beach are tourist resorts. The Maryland International Raceway and Budds Creek Raceway near Chaptico attract many auto and motocross racing enthusiasts.

The Southern Maryland National Heritage Area was established in the National Heritage Area Act in 2022. The National Heritage Area will help preserve and promote destinations in four counties. Tourist Attractions in Southern Maryland include historical sites, such as the Thomas Stone National Historic Site, Historic St. Mary's City, and Port Tobacco Village,among others. Museums in the area include the Calvert Marine Museum, and the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum. which has been represented by Rep. Steny Hoyer since 1981. Maryland's 2 U. S. Senators are Chris van Hollen (junior) and Ben Cardin (senior). Perhaps the most notable food dish originating from Southern Maryland is stuffed ham, which includes cabbage, kale, onions, spices and seasonings that are chopped and mixed, then stuffed into deep slits slashed in a whole, corned ham.