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Federal Hill's Warning: A Baltimorean's Reflection on Leadership

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Federal Hill's Warning: A Baltimorean's Reflection on Leadership

Cannon at Federal Hill Park, Baltimore, MD

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Chris H
By Chris HOct 09, 2025
Chris H
Chris H is a contributor for The Fulcrum, a nonpartisan publication dedicated to strengthening democracy by fostering informed civic engagement and elevating diverse perspectives.
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In the column, "Is Donald Trump Right?", Fulcrum Executive Editor, Hugo Balta, wrote:

For millions of Americans, President Trump’s second term isn’t a threat to democracy—it’s the fulfillment of a promise they believe was long overdue.

Is Donald Trump right?

Should the presidency serve as a force for disruption or a safeguard of preservation?

Balta invited readers to share their thoughts at newsroom@fulcrum.us.

Chris H. from Maryland was the first to respond.

Time will tell.

As someone who has voted for Trump in 3 elections and agreeing with a majority of the policies he ran on, I constantly find myself thinking this time he has gone too far. When Trump sent federal troops to DC, I was in strong opposition. As he continued to send even more troops to Chicago and Portland, I thought back on history and what has been done in the past.

As someone born and raised in Baltimore, I have read much about the city’s history. On the eve of the Civil War, the first bloodshed was actually shed in the streets of Baltimore, not Fort Sumter, when Lincoln sent federal troops to patrol the streets of Baltimore. They fired on Baltimoreans who rioted against them. Baltimore, being a Confederate sympathizer city and home to the largest junction of railroads in the country, needed to be secured by Lincoln because if Baltimore went into the arms of the Confederates, the nation’s capital, DC, would be lost. In retaliation of the riots, Lincoln turned federal cannons towards the city as a warning to stay with the Union or be no more. Those cannons are still there as a reminder in a park called “Federal Hill.”

As time goes by, we look at Lincoln as a unifier of the country and one of the greatest presidents in our country’s history. My thoughts of being a citizen in Baltimore in the 1860s probably would have been different of Lincoln today, seeing him more as a tyrant than unifier for sending troops into my city. In hindsight, Lincoln did what was right and was able to keep the country together and abolish slavery.

Will we remember Trump in the same way? I doubt it, but time will tell.

We invite you to read "Is Donald Trump Right?" and accept Hugo's invitation to share your thoughts at newsroom@fulcrum.us.

The Fulcrum will select a range of submissions to share with readers as part of our ongoing civic dialogue.

We offer this platform for discussion and debate.



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The Power of the Purse and Executive Discretion: ICE Expansion Under the Trump Administration

This nonpartisan policy brief, written by an ACE fellow, is republished by The Fulcrum as part of our partnership with the Alliance for Civic Engagement and our NextGen initiative — elevating student voices, strengthening civic education, and helping readers better understand democracy and public policy.

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