History of Maryland
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The recorded history of Maryland dates back to the beginning of European exploration, starting with the Venetian John Cabot, who explored the coast of North America for the
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in 1498. After
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an settlements had been made to the south and north, the colonial Province of Maryland was granted by King Charles I to Sir
George Calvert George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (; 1580 – 15 April 1632), was an English politician and colonial administrator. He achieved domestic political success as a member of parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I. He lost m ...
(1579–1632), his former Secretary of State in 1632, for settlement beginning in March 1634. It was notable for having been established with religious freedom for Roman Catholics, since Calvert had publicly converted to that faith. Like other colonies and settlements of the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
region, its economy was soon based on
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
as a commodity crop, highly prized among the English, cultivated primarily by
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n slave labor, although many young people came from
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
sent as
indentured servants Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an "indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment, ...
or criminal prisoners in the early years. In 1781, during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
(1775–1783), Maryland became the seventh state of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
to ratify the
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...
. They were drawn up by a committee of the Second Continental Congress (1775–1781), which began shortly after the adoption of a
Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
in July 1776, to 1778. Later that year, these articles were recommended to the newly independent sovereign states via their legislatures for the required unanimous ratification. This long process was held up for three years by objections from smaller states led by Maryland until certain issues and principles over the western lands beyond the
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to the
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. These objections were resolved with the larger states agreeing to cede their various western claims to the authority of the new Congress of the Confederation, representing all the states, to be held in common for the laying out and erection of new states out of the jointly held federal territories. Maryland then finally agreed to join the new American confederation by being one of the last of the former colonies ratifying the long proposed Articles in 1781, when they took effect. Later that same decade, Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the stronger government structure proposed in the new
U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...
in 1788. After the Revolutionary War, numerous Maryland planters freed their slaves as the economy changed.
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
grew to become one of the largest cities on the eastern seaboard, and a major economic force in the country. Although Maryland was still a
slave state In the United States before 1865, a slave state was a state in which slavery and the internal or domestic slave trade were legal, while a free state was one in which they were not. Between 1812 and 1850, it was considered by the slave states ...
in 1860, by that time nearly half of the African American population was free, due mostly to
manumission Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that t ...
s after the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
.Kolchin, Peter. ''American Slavery: 1619–1877'', New York: Hill and Wang, 1993, pp. 81–82 Baltimore had the highest number of free people of color of any city in the United States. Maryland was among the four divided border states during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 â€“ May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
(1861–1865), with most Marylanders fighting for the
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...
, along with a large number for the Confederacy. As a border state, it officially remained in the
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
throughout the war.


Precolonial history

It appears that the first humans in the area that would become Maryland arrived around the tenth millennium BC, about the time that the last ice age ended. They were hunter-gatherers organized into semi-nomadic bands. They adapted as the region's environment changed, developing the spear for hunting as smaller animals, like
deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
, became more prevalent. By about 1500 BC, oysters had become an important food resource in the region. With the increased variety of food sources, Native American villages and settlements started appearing and their social structures increased in complexity. By about 1000 BC, pottery was being produced. With the eventual rise of
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
, more permanent Native-American villages were built. But even with the advent of farming, hunting and fishing were still important means of obtaining food. The bow and arrow were first used for hunting in the area around the year 800. They ate what they could kill, grow or catch in the rivers and other waterways. By 1000 AD, there were about 8,000 Native Americans, all Algonquian-speaking, living in what is now the state, in 40 different villages. By the 17th century, the state was populated by a mix of Iroquoian and Algonquian peoples. These were the Susquehannocks (west of the Delaware River), the
Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **''Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...
and
Tockwogh The Tockwogh were an Algonquian tribe first encountered in 1608 by Captain John Smith's party after being informed about them by the Massawomekes (Iroquois). The name Tockwogh is a variation of tuckahoe, a water plant with bulbous roots used f ...
(on the Delmarva Peninsula between the Delaware and Indian Rivers), the
Piscataway Piscataway may refer to: *Piscataway people, a Native American ethnic group native to the southern Mid-Atlantic States *Piscataway language *Piscataway, Maryland, an unincorporated community *Piscataway, New Jersey, a township *Piscataway Creek, Ma ...
(surrounding the Potomac River from Washington D.C. south) and the
Nanticoke Nanticoke may refer to: * Nanticoke people in Delaware, United States * Nanticoke language, an Algonquian language * Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape, a state-recognized tribe in New Jersey Place names Canada * Nanticoke, Ontario ** Nanticoke Generating S ...
(Delmarva Peninsula, south of the Indian River). John Smith labelled the Tuscarora as the Kuskarawock on an early map from 1606, but they shortly thereafter moved west to join the Meherrin and Nottoway in Virginia. Meanwhile, the Tockwogh may have moved to New York and/or been given refuge by the Susquehannock. They are noted as the Akhrakovaetonon and Trakwaerronnons, which seems similar to Tockwogh. They were extinct as a people by the end of the 17th century, however. The following Piscataway tribes lived on the eastern bank of the Potomac, from south to north:
Yaocomico The Yaocomico , also spelled Yaocomaco, were an Algonquian-speaking Native American group who lived along the north bank of the Potomac River near its confluence with the Chesapeake Bay in the 17th century. They were related to the Piscataway, ...
es, Chopticans, Nanjemoys, Potopacs, Mattawomans, Piscataways, Patuxents, and
Nacotchtank The Nacotchtank were an indigenous Algonquian people who lived in the area of what is now Washington, D.C. during the 17th century. The Nacotchtank village was within the modern borders of the District of Columbia along the intersection of the ...
s. The area in which the Nacotchtank lived is now the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
. On the west bank of the Potomac river in what is now
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
were the related tribes of the
Patawomeck Patawomeck is a Native American tribe based in Stafford County, Virginia, along the Potomac River. ''Patawomeck'' is another spelling of Potomac. The Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia is a state-recognized tribe in Virginia that identifies ...
and the Doeg. Further west in the
Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
, the
Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
lived near Oldtown at a site abandoned around 1731. On the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake, from south to north, there were the
Nanticoke Nanticoke may refer to: * Nanticoke people in Delaware, United States * Nanticoke language, an Algonquian language * Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape, a state-recognized tribe in New Jersey Place names Canada * Nanticoke, Ontario ** Nanticoke Generating S ...
tribes: Annemessex, Assateagues, Wicomicoes,
Nanticokes The Nanticoke people are a Native American Algonquian people, whose traditional homelands are in Chesapeake Bay and Delaware. Today they live in the Northeastern United States and Canada, especially Delaware; in Ontario; and in Oklahoma. Th ...
, Chicacone, and, on the north bank of the Choptank River, the Choptanks. The
Tockwogh tribe The Tockwogh were an Algonquian tribe first encountered in 1608 by Captain John Smith's party after being informed about them by the Massawomekes (Iroquois). The name Tockwogh is a variation of tuckahoe, a water plant with bulbous roots used f ...
lived near the headwaters of the Chesapeake near what is now
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
. They were driven further north by enemies and eventually broke apart, with some staying in the region, others merging with the Nanticoke and others, known as the Conoy, migrated west into West Virginia. Some appeared around the end of the 18th century at Fort Detroit in Michigan. When Europeans began to settle in Maryland in the early 17th century, the main tribes included the Nanticoke on the Eastern Shore, and the Iroquoian speaking Susquehannock. Early exposure to new European diseases brought widespread fatalities to the Native Americans, as they had no immunity to them. Communities were disrupted by such losses. Furthermore, The Susquehannock, already incorrectly considered savages and cannibals by the first Spanish explorers, made massive moves to control local trade with the first Swedish, Dutch and English settlers of the Chesapeake Bay region. As the century wore on, the Susquehannock would be caught up in the Beaver Wars, a war with the neighboring Lenape, a war with the Dutch, a war with the English, and a series of wars with the colonial government of Maryland. Due to colonial land claims, the exact territory of the Susquehannock was originally limited to the territory immediately surrounding the Susquehanna River, however archaeology has discovered settlements of theirs dating to the 14th and 15th centuries around the Maryland-West Virginia border, and beyond. It could generally be assumed that most of Maryland's southern border is based on the borders of their own land. All of these wars, coupled with disease, destroyed the tribe and the last of their people were offered refuge from the Iroquois Confederacy to the north shortly thereafter. The closest living language to them are the languages of the Mohawk and Tuscarora Iroquois, who once lived immediately north and south of them. The English and Dutch came to call them the Minqua, from Lenape, which breaks into min-kwe and translates to "as a woman." As to when they arrived, some early records detailing their oral history seem to point to the fact that they descended from an Iroquoian group who conquered Ohio centuries before, but were pushed back east again by Siouan and Algonquin enemies. They also conquered and absorbed other unknown groups in the process, which probably explains how languages like Tuscarora came to be so completely divergent from other Iroquoian languages. It also appears possible that the word "Iroquois" actually derived from their language. The Nanticoke seem to have been largely confined to Indian Towns, but were later relocated to New York in 1778. Afterwards, they dissolved, with groups joining the Iroquois and Lenape. Also, as Susquehannocks began to abandon much of their westernmost territory due to their own hardships, a group of Powhatan split off, becoming known as the
Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
and migrated into the western regions of Maryland and Pennsylvania briefly before moving on. At the time, they were relatively small, but they eventually made the Ohio River, migrating all the way into Ohio and merged with other nations there to become the powerful, military force that they were known to be during the 18th and 19th centuries.


Early European exploration

In 1498 the first European explorers sailed along the Eastern Shore, off present-day Worcester County.Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, MD (2013)
"Maryland Historical Chronology: 10,000 B.C. – 1599."
''Maryland Manual On-Line.''
In 1524
Giovanni da Verrazzano Giovanni da Verrazzano ( , , often misspelled Verrazano in English; 1485–1528) was an Italian ( Florentine) explorer of North America, in the service of King Francis I of France. He is renowned as the first European to explore the Atlanti ...
, sailing under the French flag, passed the mouth of
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
. In 1608 John Smith entered the bay and explored it extensively. His maps have been preserved to today. Although technically crude, they are surprisingly accurate given the technology of those times (the maps are ornate but crude by modern technical standards). The region was depicted in an earlier map by
Estêvão Gomes Estêvão Gomes, also known by the Spanish version of his name, Esteban Gómez (c. 1483 – 1538), was a Portuguese cartography, cartographer and explorer. He sailed at the service of Crown of Castile, Castile (Spain) in the fleet of Ferdinand M ...
and Diego Gutiérrez, made in 1562, in the context of the Spanish
Ajacán Mission The Ajacán Mission () (also Axaca, Axacam, Iacan, Jacán, Xacan) was a Spanish attempt in 1570 to establish a Jesuit mission in the vicinity of the Virginia Peninsula to bring Christianity to the Virginia Indians. The effort to found St. Mar ...
of the sixteenth century.


Colonial Maryland


Establishment

George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (; 1580 – 15 April 1632), was an English politician and colonial administrator. He achieved domestic political success as a member of parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I. He lost m ...
, applied to
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
for a
royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...
for what was to become the Province of Maryland. After Calvert died in April 1632, the charter for "Maryland Colony" (in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''Terra Mariae'') was granted to his son,
Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (8 August 1605 – 30 November 1675), also often known as Cecilius Calvert, was an English nobleman, who was the first Proprietor of the Province of Maryland, ninth Proprietary Governor of the Colony of Newfo ...
, on June 20, 1632. Some historians viewed this as compensation for his father having been stripped of his title of Secretary of State in 1625 after announcing his Roman Catholicism. Officially the colony is said to be named in honor of
Queen Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...
, the wife of King
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
. Some Catholic scholars believe that George Calvert named the province after
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
, the mother of Jesus. The name in the charter was phrased ''Terra Mariae'', ''anglice'', Maryland. The English name was preferred due to the undesired associations of ''Mariae'' with the Spanish Jesuit
Juan de Mariana Juan de Mariana, , also known as Father Mariana (25 September 1536 – 17 February 1624), was a Spanish Jesuit priest, Scholastic, historian, and member of the Monarchomachs. Life Juan de Mariana was born in Talavera, Kingdom of Toledo. He st ...
, linked to the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
. As did other colonies, Maryland used the
headright A headright refers to a legal grant of land given to settlers during the period of European colonization in the Americas. Headrights are most notable for their role in the expansion of the Thirteen Colonies; the Virginia Company gave headrights to s ...
system to encourage people to bring in new settlers. Led by
Leonard Calvert The Hon. Leonard Calvert (1606 – June 9, 1647) was the first proprietary governor of the Province of Maryland. He was the second son of The 1st Baron Baltimore (1579–1632), the first proprietor of Maryland. His elder brother Cecil (1605â ...
, Cecil Calvert's younger brother, the first settlers departed from Cowes, on the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
, on November 22, 1633, aboard two small ships, the ''Ark'' and the ''Dove''. Their landing on March 25, 1634, at St. Clement's Island in southern Maryland is commemorated by the state each year on that date as
Maryland Day Maryland Day is a legal holiday in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is observed on the anniversary of the March 25, 1634, landing of the first European settlers in the Province of Maryland, the third English colony to be settled in British North ...
. This was the site of the first
Catholic mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "the same Christ ...
in the Colonies, with Father Andrew White leading the service. The first group of colonists consisted of 17 gentlemen and their wives, and about two hundred others, mostly indentured servants. After purchasing land from the
Yaocomico The Yaocomico , also spelled Yaocomaco, were an Algonquian-speaking Native American group who lived along the north bank of the Potomac River near its confluence with the Chesapeake Bay in the 17th century. They were related to the Piscataway, ...
Indians and establishing the town of St. Mary's, Leonard, per his brother's instructions, attempted to govern the country under
feudalistic Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
precepts. Meeting resistance, in February 1635, he summoned a colonial
assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
. In 1638, the Assembly forced him to govern according to the laws of England. The right to initiate legislation passed to the assembly. In 1638 Calvert seized a trading post in
Kent Island Kent Island is the largest island in the Chesapeake Bay and a historic place in Maryland. To the east, a narrow channel known as the Kent Narrows barely separates the island from the Delmarva Peninsula, and on the other side, the island is sep ...
established by the Virginian
William Claiborne William Claiborne also, spelled Cleyburne (c. 1600 – c. 1677) was an English pioneer, surveyor, and an early settler in the colonies/provinces of Virginia and Maryland and around the Chesapeake Bay. Claiborne became a wealthy merchant ...
. In 1644 Claiborne led an uprising of Maryland
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
s. Calvert was forced to flee to Virginia, but he returned at the head of an armed force in 1646 and reasserted proprietarial rule. Maryland soon became one of the few predominantly Catholic regions among the English colonies in North America. Maryland was also one of the key destinations where the government sent tens of thousands of English convicts punished by sentences of transportation. Such punishment persisted until the Revolutionary War. The
Maryland Toleration Act The Maryland Toleration Act, also known as the Act Concerning Religion, the first law in North America requiring religious tolerance for Christians. It was passed on April 21, 1649, by the assembly of the Maryland colony, in St. Mary's City in S ...
, issued in 1649, was one of the first laws that explicitly defined tolerance of varieties of Christianity.


Protestant revolts

St. Mary's City was the largest settlement in Maryland and the seat of colonial government until 1695. Because Anglicanism had become the official religion in Virginia, a band of
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
s in 1642 left for Maryland; they founded Providence (now called Annapolis). In 1650 the Puritans revolted against the proprietary government. They set up a new government prohibiting both Catholicism and Anglicanism. In March 1655, the 2nd Baron Baltimore sent an army under Governor William Stone to put down this revolt. Near Annapolis, his Roman Catholic army was decisively defeated by a Puritan army in the Battle of the Severn. The Puritan Revolt lasted until 1658, when the Calvert family regained control and re-enacted the Toleration Act. In 1689, following the accession of a Protestant monarchy in England, rebels against the Catholic regime in Maryland overthrew the government and took power. Lord Baltimore was stripped of his right to govern the province, though not of his territorial rights. Maryland was designated as a royal province, administered by the crown via appointed governors until 1715. At that time, Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore, having converted to Anglicanism, was restored to proprietorship. The Protestant revolutionary government persecuted Maryland Catholics during its reign. Mobs burned down all the original Catholic churches of southern Maryland. The Anglican Church was made the established church of the colony. In 1695 the royal Governor, Francis Nicholson, moved the seat of government to Ann Arundell Town in Anne Arundel County and renamed it Annapolis in honor of the Princess Anne, who later became Queen Anne of Great Britain. Annapolis remains the capital of Maryland. St. Mary's City is now an archaeological site, with a small tourist center. Just as the city plan for St. Mary's City reflected the ideals of the founders, the city plan of Annapolis reflected those in power at the turn of the 18th century. The plan of Annapolis extends from two circles at the center of the city â€“ one including the State House and the other the established Anglican St. Anne's Church (now Episcopal). The plan reflected a stronger relationship between church and state, and a colonial government more closely aligned with Protestant churches. General British policy regarding immigration to all British America would be reflected broadly in the Plantation Act of 1740.


Mason–Dixon Line

Based on an incorrect map, the original royal charter granted to Maryland the
Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...
and territory northward to the fortieth parallel. This was found to be a problem, as the northern boundary would have put
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, the major city in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, within Maryland. The
Calvert family Baron Baltimore, of Baltimore, County Longford, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1625 and ended in 1771, upon the death of its sixth-generation male heir, aged 40. Holders of the title were usually known as Lord Baltimor ...
, which controlled Maryland, and the
Penn family William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy an ...
, which controlled Pennsylvania, decided in 1750 to engage two surveyors,
Charles Mason Charles Mason (April 1728Jeremiah Dixon Jeremiah Dixon FRS (27 July 1733 – 22 January 1779) was an English surveyor and astronomer who is best known for his work with Charles Mason, from 1763 to 1767, in determining what was later called the Mason–Dixon line. Early life and ...
, to establish a boundary between the colonies. They surveyed what became known as the
Mason–Dixon Line The Mason–Dixon line, also called the Mason and Dixon line or Mason's and Dixon's line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (part of Virginia ...
, which became the boundary between the two colonies. The crests of the Penn family and of the Calvert family were put at the Mason–Dixon line to mark it.


Horse racing and gentry values

In Chesapeake society (that is, colonial Virginia and Maryland) sports occupied a great deal of attention at every social level. Horse racing was sponsored by the wealthy gentry plantation owners, and attracted ordinary farmers as spectators and gamblers. Selected slaves often became skilled horse trainers. Horse racing was especially important for knitting the gentry together. The race was a major public event designed to demonstrate to the world the superior social status of the gentry through expensive breeding and training of horses, boasting and gambling, and especially winning the races themselves. Historian Timothy Breen explains that horseracing and high-stakes gambling were essential to maintaining the status of the gentry. When they publicly bet a large fraction of their wealth on their favorite horse, they expressed competitiveness, individualism, and materialism as the core elements of gentry values.


The Revolutionary period

Maryland did not at first favor independence from Great Britain and gave instructions to that effect to its delegates to the Second Continental Congress. During this initial phase of the Revolutionary period, Maryland was governed by a series of conventions of the Assembly of Freemen. The first convention of the Assembly lasted four days, from June 22 to 25, 1774. All sixteen
counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
then existing were represented by a total of 92 members;
Matthew Tilghman Matthew Tilghman (February 17, 1718 – May 4, 1790) was an American planter, and Revolutionary leader from Maryland. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776, where he signed the 1774 Continental Association. Early ...
was elected chairman. The eighth session decided that the continuation of an ad hoc government by the convention was not a good mechanism for all the concerns of the province. A more permanent and structured government was needed. So, on July 3, 1776, they resolved that a new convention be elected that would be responsible for drawing up their first state constitution, one that did not refer to parliament or the king, but would be a government "...of the people only." After they set dates and prepared notices to the counties they adjourned. On August 1, all freemen with property elected delegates for the last convention. The ninth and last convention was also known as the Constitutional Convention of 1776. They drafted a constitution, and when they adjourned on November 11, they would not meet again. The conventions were replaced by the new state government which the
Maryland Constitution of 1776 The Maryland Constitution of 1776 was the first of four constitutions under which the U.S. state of Maryland has been governed. It was that state's basic law from its adoption in 1776 until the Maryland Constitution of 1851 took effect on July ...
had established. Thomas Johnson became the state's first elected governor. On March 1, 1781, the
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...
was ratified and took effect with the confirmation signing of the Articles by two Maryland delegates in Philadelphia. The articles had initially been submitted to the states on November 17, 1777, but the ratification process dragged on for several years, stalled by an interstate quarrel over claims to uncolonized land in the west of the
Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
to the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
. Maryland was the last hold-out; it refused to ratify until larger states like
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and New York agreed to rescind their claims to lands in what became the old Northwest Territory and the Southwest Territory.
Chevalier de La Luzerne Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...
, French Minister to the United States, felt that the Articles would help strengthen the American government. In 1780 when Maryland requested France provide naval forces in the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
for protection from the British (who were conducting raids in the lower part of the bay), he indicated that French Admiral Destouches would do what he could but La Luzerne also "sharply pressed" Maryland to ratify the Articles, thus suggesting the two issues were related. On February 2, 1781, the much-awaited decision was taken by the
Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber ...
in Annapolis. As the last piece of business during the afternoon Session, "among engrossed Bills" was "signed and sealed by Governor
Thomas Sim Lee Thomas Sim Lee (October 29, 1745 – November 9, 1819) was an American planter and statesman of Frederick County, Maryland. Although not a signatory to the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation or the U.S. Constitution, h ...
in the Senate Chamber, in the presence of the members of both Houses... an Act to empower the delegates of this state in Congress to subscribe and ratify the articles of confederation" and perpetual union among the states. The Senate then adjourned "to the first Monday in August next." The decision of Maryland to ratify the Articles was reported to the Continental Congress on February 12, 1781. No significant
battles of the American Revolutionary War This is a list of military actions in the American Revolutionary War. Actions marked with an asterisk involved no casualties. Major campaigns, theaters, and expeditions of the war * Boston campaign (1775–1776) * Invasion of Quebec (1775†...
(1775–1783) occurred in Maryland. However, this did not prevent the state's soldiers from distinguishing themselves through their service. General
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
was impressed with the Maryland regulars (the "
Maryland Line The "Maryland Line" was a formation within the Continental Army, formed and authorized by the Second Continental Congress, meeting in the "Old Pennsylvania State House" (later known as "Independence Hall") in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in June ...
") who fought in the Continental Army and, according to one tradition, this led him to bestow the name "Old Line State" on Maryland. Today, ''the Old Line State'' is one of Maryland's two official nicknames. The Second Continental Congress met briefly in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
from December 20, 1776, through March 4, 1777 at the old hotel, later renamed Congress Hall, at the southwest corner of West Market Street (now Baltimore Street) and Sharp Street/Liberty Street. Marylander
John Hanson John Hanson ( â€“ November 15, 1783) was an American Founding Father, merchant, and politician from Maryland during the Revolutionary Era. In 1779, Hanson was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress after serving in a variety of ...
, served as
President of the Continental Congress The president of the United States in Congress Assembled, known unofficially as the president of the Continental Congress and later as the president of the Congress of the Confederation, was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress, the ...
from 1781 to 1782. Hanson was the first person to serve a full term with the title of "President of the United States in Congress Assembled" under the
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...
. Annapolis served as the temporary United States capital from November 26, 1783, to June 3, 1784, and the Confederation Congress met in the recently completed
Maryland State House The Maryland State House is located in Annapolis, Maryland. It is the oldest U.S. state capitol in continuous legislative use, dating to 1772 and houses the Maryland General Assembly, plus the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. In ...
. Annapolis was a candidate to become the new nation's permanent capital before the site along the
Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...
was selected for the District of the Columbia. It was in the old Senate chamber that General
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
famously resigned his commission as commander in chief of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783. It was also there that the
Treaty of Paris of 1783 A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...
, which ended the Revolutionary War, was ratified by Congress on January 14, 1784. Major General William Smallwood, having served under General George Washington during the Revolutionary War, then Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, became the fourth American Governor of Maryland. In 1787, Governor William Smallwood called together and convened the state convention in order to decide whether to ratify the proposed U.S. Constitution in 1788. The majority of the votes at the convention were in favor of ratification, and Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the Constitution.


Maryland, 1789–1849


Economic development

The American Revolution stimulated the domestic market for wheat and iron ore, and flour milling increased in Baltimore. Iron ore transport greatly boosted the local economy. By 1800 Baltimore had become one of the major cities of the new republic. The British naval blockade during the War of 1812 hurt Baltimore's shipping, but also freed merchants and traders from British debts, which along with the capture of British merchant vessels furthered the city's economic growth.


Transportation initiatives

The city had a deepwater port. In the early 19th century, many business leaders in Maryland were looking inland, toward the western frontier, for economic growth potential. The challenge was to devise a reliable means to transport goods and people. The
National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...
and private turnpikes were being completed throughout the state, but additional routes and capacity were needed. Following the success of the
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
(constructed 1817–25) and similar canals in the northeastern states, leaders in Maryland were also developing plans for canals. After several failed canal projects in the
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
area, the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C. and Cumberland, Maryland. It replaced the Potomac Canal, ...
(C&O) began construction there in 1828. The Baltimore business community viewed this project as a competitive threat. The geography of the Baltimore area made building a similar canal to the west impractical, but the idea of constructing railroads was beginning to gather support in the 1820s. In 1827 city leaders obtained a charter from the
Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber ...
to build a railroad to the Ohio River. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) became the first chartered railroad in the United States, and opened its first section of track for regular operation in 1830, between Baltimore and
Ellicott City Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its population was 65,834 at the 2010 census, making it the mo ...
. It became the first company to operate a locomotive built in America, with the ''
Tom Thumb Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore. ''The History of Tom Thumb'' was published in 1621 and was the first fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, tan ...
.'' The B&O built a branch line to Washington, D.C. in 1835. The main line west reached Cumberland in 1842, beating the C&O Canal there by eight years, and the railroad continued building westward. In 1852 it became the first rail line to reach the Ohio River from the eastern seaboard. Other railroads were built in and through Baltimore by mid-century, most significantly the Northern Central; the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore; and the Baltimore and Potomac. (All of these came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad.)


Industrial Revolution

Baltimore's seaport and good railroad connections fostered substantial growth during the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
of the 19th century. Many manufacturing businesses were established in Baltimore and the surrounding area after the Civil War. Cumberland was Maryland's second largest city in the 19th century, with ample nearby supplies of coal, iron ore and timber. These resources, along with railroads, the National Road and the C&O Canal, fostered its growth. The city was a major manufacturing center, with industries in glass, breweries, fabrics and tinplate. The
Pennsylvania Steel Company The Pennsylvania Steel Company was the name of two Pennsylvania steel companies. The original company was established in late 1865 by: J. Edgar Thomson, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Samuel Morse Felton Sr., recently retired president ...
founded a steel mill at
Sparrow's Point Sparrow's Point is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, adjacent to Dundalk. Named after Thomas Sparrow, landowner, it was the site of a very large industrial complex owned by Bethlehem Steel, known for steelm ...
in Baltimore in 1887. The mill was purchased by
Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...
in 1916, and it became the world's largest steel mill by the mid-20th century, employing tens of thousands of workers.


Educational institutions

In 1807, the College of Medicine of Maryland (later the University of Maryland Medical School) became the seventh medical school in the United States. In 1840, by order of the Maryland state legislature, the non-religious St. Mary's Female Seminary was founded in St. Mary's City. This would later become
St. Mary's College of Maryland St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM) is a public liberal arts college in St. Mary's City, Maryland.Maryland State Archives, Online Manual, "St. Mary's College Of Maryland: Origin & Functions" http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/25univ/stmarys ...
, the state's public honors college. The United States Naval Academy was founded in Annapolis in 1845, and the Maryland Agricultural College was chartered in 1856, growing eventually into the University of Maryland, College Park, University of Maryland.


Immigration and religion

Since the abolition of anti-Catholic laws in the early 1830s, the Catholic population rebounded considerably. The Maryland Catholic population began its resurgence with large waves of Irish Catholic immigration spurred by the Great Famine (Ireland), Great Famine (1845–49) and then continued through the first half of the 20th century."Irish Immigrants in Baltimore: Introduction", Teaching American History in Maryland, Maryland State Archives, http://teaching.msa.maryland.gov/000001/000000/000131/html/t131.html Italian immigration"Italian Jesuits in Maryland : a clash of theological cultures (2007)", McKevitt, Gerald, Volume: v.39 no.1, pages 50, 51, 52; Publisher: St. Louis, MO : Seminar on Jesuit Spirituality, Call number: BX3701.S88x, Digitizing sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries https://archive.org/details/italianjesuitsin391mcke and History of the Poles in Baltimore, Polish immigrations also supplemented the Catholic population in Maryland. Baltimore was the third largest point of entry for European immigrants on the Eastern seaboard for much of this period. Although greatly increased, the Catholic population has never become a majority in the state.


War of 1812

After the Revolution, the United States Congress approved construction of Six original frigates of the United States Navy, six heavy frigates to form a nucleus of the United States Navy. One of the first three, the USS Constellation (1797), USS ''Constellation'', was constructed in Baltimore. ''Constellation'' became the first official U.S. Navy ship put to sea, deploying to the Caribbean Sea to participate in the Quasi-War against France. During the War of 1812 the British raided cities along
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
up to Havre de Grace, Maryland, Havre de Grace. Two notable battles occurred in the state. The first was the Battle of Bladensburg on August 24, 1814, just outside the national capital,
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
The British army routed the American militiamen, who fled in confusion, and went on to capture Washington, D.C. They Burning of Washington, burned and looted major public buildings, forcing President James Madison to flee to Brookeville, Maryland. The British next marched to
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, where they hoped to strike a knockout blow against the demoralized Americans. Baltimore was not only a busy port but also suspected of harboring many of the privateers despoiling British ships. The city's defenses were under the command of Major General Samuel Smith (Maryland politician), Samuel Smith, an officer and commander of the Maryland state militia and a United States senator. Baltimore had been well fortified with excellent supplies and some 15,000 troops. Maryland militia fought a determined delaying action at the Battle of North Point, during which a Maryland militia marksman shot and killed the British commander, Major General Robert Ross (British Army officer), Robert Ross. The battle bought enough time for Baltimore's defenses to be strengthened. After advancing to the edge of American defenses, the British halted their advance and withdrew. With the failure of the land advance, the sea battle became irrelevant and the British retreated. At Fort McHenry, some 1000 soldiers under the command of Major George Armistead awaited the British naval bombardment. Their defense was augmented by the sinking of a line of American merchant ships at the adjacent entrance to Baltimore Harbor in order to thwart passage of British ships. The attack began on the morning of September 13, as the British fleet of some nineteen ships began pounding the fort with rockets and mortar shells. After an initial exchange of fire, the British fleet withdrew just beyond the range of Fort McHenry's cannons. For the next 25 hours, they bombarded the outmanned Americans. On the morning of September 14, an oversized Star-Spangled Banner Flag, American flag, which had been raised before daybreak, flew over Fort McHenry. The British knew that victory had eluded them. The bombardment of the fort inspired Francis Scott Key of Frederick, Maryland to write "The Star-Spangled Banner" as witness to the assault. It later became the country's national anthem.


American Civil War


Maryland's mixed sympathies

Maryland was a Border states (American Civil War), border state, straddling the Northern United States, North and Southern United States, South. As in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
, some planters in Maryland had freed their slaves in the years after the Revolutionary War. By 1860 Maryland's free black population comprised 49.1% of the total of African Americans in the state. After John Brown (abolitionist), John Brown's raid in 1859 on Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, Harper's Ferry, Virginia, some citizens in slaveholding areas began forming local militias for defense. Of the 1860 population of 687,000, about 60,000 Marylanders joined the
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
and about 25,000 fought for the Confederate States of America, Confederacy. The political alignments of each group generally reflected their economic interests, with slaveholders and people involved in trade with the South most likely to favor the Confederate cause, and small farmers and merchants outside the major cities and in western Maryland allied with the Union. In the 1860 election, Lincoln received only one vote in Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County, a center of large plantations in the American South, plantations.


Beginning of the war

The first bloodshed of the war Baltimore riot of 1861, occurred in Baltimore when the 6th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, 6th Massachusetts Militia battled an attacking mob while marching between railroad stations on April 19, 1861. After that, Baltimore Mayor George William Brown, Marshal George P. Kane, and former Governor Enoch Louis Lowe requested that Maryland Governor Thomas H. Hicks, a slave owner from the Eastern Shore, burn the railroad bridges and cut the telegraph lines leading to Baltimore to prevent further troops from entering the state. Hicks reportedly approved this proposal. These actions were addressed in the famous federal court case of ''Ex parte Merryman''. Maryland remained part of the Union during the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln's strong hand suppressing violence and dissent in Maryland and the belated assistance of Governor Hicks played important roles. Hicks worked with federal officials to stop further violence. Lincoln promised to avoid having Northern defenders march through Baltimore while en route to protect the acutely endangered federal capital. The majority of forces took a slow route by boat. Massachusetts militia general Benjamin Butler (politician), Benjamin F. Butler used the water route after learning about the troubles in Baltimore. He commandeered the P. W. & B. Railroad ferryboat ''Harriet Lane'' at the Susquehanna River crossing between Perryville, Maryland, Perryville in Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County to Havre de Grace, Maryland, Havre de Grace in Harford County, Maryland, Harford County. Avoiding the riotous city, he steamed down the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
to anchor at night off the United States Naval Academy, Naval Academy at Severn Point in Annapolis. He landed his troops of Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island militia over the protests of Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks (1798–1865). He put some on the old Navy training ship frigate, ''USS Constitution'' ("Old Ironsides") and moved it off shore beyond reach of easy attack. Recruiting some railroad workers and boilermakers among his soldiers, Butler had them rescue a small yard locomotive in the trainyards and use it to take cars full of soldiers up the Annapolis Line of the B&O Railroad to Relay Junction near Ellicott City, where it joined the Old Main Line Subdivision, Main Line going west to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia or south to Washington. The Northern regiments used this route to reach the train station (now Union Station (Washington, DC), Union Station near the United States Capitol, U.S. Capitol). They camped that evening in the Rotunda, which was not yet completed. An additional unit was sent up Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site, Pennsylvania Avenue to reinforce the White House, where the President greeted them with relief. Marylanders sympathetic to the South easily crossed the
Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...
to join and fight for the Confederacy. Exiles organized a "Maryland Line" in the Army of Northern Virginia which consisted of one infantry regiment, one infantry battalion, two cavalry battalions and four battalions of artillery. According to the best extant records, up to 25,000 Marylanders went south to fight for the Confederacy. About 60,000 Marylanders served in all branches of the Union military. Many of the Union troops were said to enlist on the promise of home garrison duty. Maryland's naval contribution, the relatively new sloop-of-war USS Constellation (1854), USS ''Constellation'' was flagship of the US Africa Squadron from 1859 to 1861 and continued in this role during the war. In this period, she disrupted the African slave trade by interdicting three slave ships and releasing the imprisoned slaves. The last of the ships was captured at the outbreak of the Civil War: ''Constellation'' overpowered the slaver brig ''Triton'' in African coastal waters. ''Constellation'' spent much of the war as a deterrent to Confederate cruisers and commerce raiders in the Mediterranean Sea.


Occupation of Baltimore

A Union artillery garrison was placed on Federal Hill, Baltimore, Federal Hill with express orders to destroy the city should Southern sympathizers overwhelm law and order there. Following the riot of 1861, Union troops under the command of General Benjamin Butler (politician), Benjamin F. Butler occupied the hill in the middle of the night. Butler and his troops erected a small fort, with cannon pointing towards the central business district. Their goal was to guarantee the allegiance of the city and the state of Maryland to the federal government under threat of force. This fort and the Union occupation persisted for the duration of the Civil War. A large flag, a few cannon, and a small Grand Army of the Republic monument remain to testify to this period of the hill's history. Because Maryland remained in the Union, it fell outside the scope of the Emancipation Proclamation. A constitutional convention in 1864 culminated in the passage of Maryland Constitution of 1864, a new state constitution on November 1 of that year. Article 24 of that document outlawed the practice of slavery. A campaign by state politician John Pendleton Kennedy and others ensured that abolishment of slavery would be in the new document, and the issue was hotly contested for nearly a year throughout the state. In the end the elimination of slavery was approved by a 1,000-vote margin. The right to vote was extended to non-white males in the Maryland Constitution of 1867, which is still in effect today.


The war on Maryland soil

The largest and most significant battle fought in the state was the Battle of Antietam, fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, Sharpsburg. The battle was the culmination of Robert E. Lee's Maryland Campaign, which aimed to secure new supplies, recruit fresh soldiers from among the considerable pockets of Confederate sympathies in Maryland, and to impact public opinion in the North. With those goals, Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, consisting of about 40,000 men, had entered Maryland following their recent victory at Second Bull Run. While Major General George B. McClellan's 87,000-man Army of the Potomac was moving to intercept Lee, a Union Army, Union soldier discovered a mislaid copy of the detailed battle plans of Lee's army. The order indicated that Lee had divided his army and dispersed portions geographically (to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and Hagerstown, Maryland), thus making each subject to isolation and defeat in detail if McClellan could move quickly enough. McClellan waited about 18 hours before deciding to take advantage of this intelligence and position his forces based on it, thus endangering a golden opportunity to defeat Lee decisively. The armies met near the town of Sharpsburg by Antietam Creek. Although McClellan arrived in the area on September 16, his trademark caution delayed his attack on Lee, which gave the Confederates more time to prepare defensive positions and allowed James Longstreet, Longstreet's corps to arrive from Hagerstown and Stonewall Jackson, Jackson's corps, minus A. P. Hill's division, to arrive from Harpers Ferry. McClellan's two-to-one advantage in the battle was almost completely nullified by a lack of coordination and concentration of Union forces, which allowed Lee to shift his defensive forces to parry each thrust. Although a tactical draw, the Battle of Antietam was considered a strategic Union victory and a turning point of the American Civil War, turning point of the war. It forced the end of Lee's invasion of the North. It also was enough of a victory to enable President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863. He had been advised by his Cabinet to make the announcement after a Union victory, to avoid any perception that it was issued out of desperation. The Union's winning the Battle of Antietam also may have dissuaded the governments of Second French Empire, France and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain from recognizing the Confederacy. Some observers believed they might have done so in the aftermath of another Union defeat.


Maryland, 1865–1920


Post-Civil War political developments

Since Maryland had remained in the Union during the Civil War, the state was not covered by the Reconstruction Act, as were states of the former Confederacy. After the war, many white Maryland residents struggled to re-establish white supremacy over freedmen and formerly free blacks, and racial tensions rose. There were deep divisions in the state between those who fought for the North and those who fought for the South. In the late 1860s, the white males of the History of the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Party rapidly regained power in the state and replaced History of the United States Republican Party, Republicans who had been elected or appointed during the war. Support for the Constitution of 1864 ended, and Democrats replaced it with the Maryland Constitution of 1867. That document, which is still in effect today, resembled the 1851 constitution more than its immediate predecessor and was approved by 54.1% of the state's male population. It provided for the reapportionment of the legislature based on population, not counties, which gave greater political power to more dense urban areas (and, by extension, to freedmen), but the new constitution deprived African Americans of some of the protections of the 1864 document. In 1896, a biracial Republican coalition gained election of Lloyd Lowndes, Jr. as governor, and also achieved election of some Republican congressmen, including Sydney Emanuel Mudd I, Sydney Emanuel Mudd, after Democratic dominance. Over the next several decades, the African-American population struggled in a discriminatory environment. The Democrat-dominated male legislature tried to pass disfranchising bills in 1905, 1907, and 1911, but was rebuffed on each occasion, in large part because of black opposition and strength. Black men comprised 20% of the electorate and had established themselves in several cities, where they had comparative security. In addition, immigrant men comprised 15% of the voting population and opposed these measures. The legislature had difficulty devising requirements against blacks that did not also disadvantage immigrants. In 1910, the legislature proposed the Digges Amendment to the state constitution. It would have used property requirements to effectively Disfranchisement after Reconstruction Era, disfranchise many African American men as well as many poor white men (including new immigrants), a technique used by other southern states from 1890 to 1910, beginning with Mississippi's new constitution. The
Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber ...
passed the bill, which Governor of Maryland, Governor Austin Lane Crothers supported. Before the measure went to popular vote, a bill was proposed that would have effectively passed the requirements of the Digges Amendment into law. Due to widespread public opposition, that measure failed, and the amendment was also rejected by the voters of Maryland. Nationally Maryland citizens achieved the most notable rejection of a black-disfranchising amendment. Similar measures had earlier been proposed in Maryland, but also failed to pass (the Poe Amendment in 1905 and the Straus Amendment in 1909). The power of black men at the ballot box and economically helped them resist these bills and disfranchising effort.STEPHEN TUCK, "Democratization and the Disfranchisement of African Americans in the US South during the Late 19th Century" (pdf)
Spring 2013, reading for "Challenges of Democratization", by Brandon Kendhammer, Ohio University
Businessmen Johns Hopkins, Enoch Pratt, George Peabody, and Henry Walters were philanthropists of 19th century Baltimore; they founded notable educational, health care, and cultural institutions in that city. Bearing their names, these include a Johns Hopkins University, university, Enoch Pratt Free Library, free city library, Peabody Institute, music and art school, and Walters Art Museum, art museum.


Progressive era reforms

In the early 20th century, a political reform movement arose, centered in the rising new middle class. One of their main goals included having government jobs granted on the basis of merit rather than patronage. Other changes aimed to reduce the power of political bosses and political machine, machines, which they succeeded in doing. In a series of laws passed between 1892 and 1908, reformers worked for standard state-issued ballots (rather than those distributed and pre-marked by the parties); obtained closed voting booths to prevent party workers from "assisting" voters; initiated primary elections to keep party bosses from selecting candidates; and had candidates listed without party symbols, which discouraged the illiterate from participating. Although promoted as democratic reforms, the changes had other results sought by the middle class. They discouraged participation by the lower classes and illiterate voters. Voting participation dropped from about 82% of eligible voters in the 1890s to about 49% in the 1920s. Other laws regulated working conditions. For instance, in a series of laws passed in 1902, the state regulated conditions in Mining, mines; outlawed child laborers under the age of 12; mandated compulsory school attendance; and enacted the nation's first workers' compensation law. The workers' compensation law was overturned in the courts, but was redrafted and finally enacted in 1910. The law become a model for national legislation a few decades later. The debate over prohibition of alcohol, another progressive reform, led to Maryland's gaining its second nickname. A mocking newspaper editorial dubbed Maryland "the Free State" for its allowing alcohol.


Great Baltimore Fire

The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 was a momentous event for Maryland's largest city and the state as a whole. The fire raged in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
from 10:48 a.m. Sunday, February 7, to 5:00 p.m. Monday, February 8, 1904. More than 1,231 firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control. One reason for the fire's duration was the lack of national standardization, standards in fire-fighting equipment. Although fire engines from nearby cities (such as
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
and Washington, D.C., Washington, as well as units from New York City, New York, Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington, and Atlantic City, New Jersey, Atlantic City) responded, many were useless because their hose couples failed to fit Baltimore Fire hydrant, hydrants. As a result, the fire burned over 30 hours, destroying 1,526 buildings and spanning 70 city blocks. In the aftermath, 35,000 people were left unemployed. After the fire, the city was rebuilt using more fireproof materials, such as granite pavers.


The World War I era

World War I#Entry of the United States, Entry into World War I brought changes to Maryland. Maryland was the site of new military bases, such as Camp Meade (now Fort George G. Meade, Fort Meade), the Aberdeen Proving Ground, which were established in 1917, and the Edgewood Arsenal, which was founded the following year. Other existing facilities, including Fort McHenry, were greatly expanded. To coordinate wartime activities, like the expansion of federal facilities, the General Assembly set up a Council of Defense. The 126 seats on the council were filled by appointment. The council, which had a virtually unlimited budget, was charged with defending the state, supervising the draft, maintaining wage and price controls, providing housing for war-related industries, and promoting support for the war. Citizens were encouraged to grow their own victory gardens and to obey ration laws. They were also forced to work, once the legislature adopted a compulsory labor law with the support of the Council of Defense.


Culture

H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) was the state's iconoclastic writer and intellectual trendsetter. In 1922 the "Sage of Baltimore" praised the state for its "singular and various beauty from the stately estuaries of the Chesapeake to the peaks of the Blue Ridge." He happily reported that Providence had spared Maryland the harsh weather, the decay, the intractable social problems of other states. Statistically, Maryland held tightly to the middle ground– in population, value of manufacturers, percentage of native whites, the proportion of Catholics, the first and last annual frost. Everywhere he looked he found Maryland in the middle. In national politics it worked sometimes with the northern Republicans, other times with southern Democrats. This average quality perhaps represented a national ideal toward which other states were striving. Nevertheless, Mencken sensed something was wrong. "Men are ironed out. Ideas are suspect. No one appears to be happy. Life is dull."


Maryland, early to mid-20th century


The Ritchie administration

In 1918, Maryland elected Albert C. Ritchie, a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, governor. He was reelected four times, serving from 1919 to 1934. Ritchie was handsome, aristocratic, and very pro-business. He hired a management firm to streamline government operations and established a budget process controlled largely by economists. He also won approval for a civil service system, long been sought by reformers who wanted positions given on the basis of merit and not patronage; reduced the number of state elections by extending legislative terms from two to four years; and appointed citizens' commissions to advise on nearly every aspect of government. State property taxes dropped sharply under Ritchie, but so did state services. A powerful movie censorship board kept subversive ideas away from the masses. Three times, including 1924 and 1932, Ritchie was a candidate for President of the United States, arguing that Presidents Calvin Coolidge, Coolidge and Herbert Hoover, Hoover were hopeless spendthrifts. Ritchie lost his bid for the Democratic Party's nomination for president in 1932. Despite a large demonstration of support at the convention, Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated and went on to win the election. Ritchie continued to serve as governor until 1935.


The Great Depression and World War II

Maryland's urban and rural communities had different experiences during the Great Depression, Depression. In 1932 the "Bonus Army" marched through the state on its way to
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
In addition to the nationwide New Deal reforms of President Roosevelt, which put people to work building roads and park facilities, Maryland also took steps to weather the hard times. For instance, in 1937 the state instituted its first ever income tax to generate revenue for schools and welfare. The state had some advances in civil rights. The 1935 case ''Murray v. Pearson et al.'' resulted in a Baltimore City Court's ordering integration of University of Maryland Law School. The plaintiff in that case was represented by Thurgood Marshall, a young lawyer with the NAACP and a native of Baltimore. When the state attorney general appealed to the Maryland Court of Appeals, Court of Appeals, it affirmed the decision. Because the state did not appeal the ruling in the federal courts, this state ruling under the U.S. Constitution was the first to overturn ''Plessy v. Ferguson'', the 1896 Supreme Court decision that allowed separate but equal facilities. While the ruling was a moral precedent, it had no authority outside the state of Maryland. A hurricane in 1933 created an inlet in Sinepuxent Bay at Ocean City, Maryland, Ocean City, making the then-small town attractive for recreational fishing. During World War II additional large defense facilities were established in the state such as Andrews Air Force Base, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, and the large Glenn L. Martin aircraft factory east of Baltimore.


Mid-20th century

In 1952, the eastern and western halves of Maryland were linked for the first time by the long Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which replaced a nearby ferry service. This bridge (and its later, parallel span) increased tourist traffic to Ocean City, which experienced a building boom. Soon after, the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel allowed long-distance interstate motorists to bypass downtown Baltimore, while the earlier Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge allowed them to bypass Washington, D.C. Two beltways, Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway), I-495, were built around Baltimore and Washington, while I-70, Interstate 270 (Maryland), I-270, and later I-68 linked central Maryland with western Maryland, and I-97 linked Baltimore with Annapolis. Passenger and freight steamboat transportation, previously very important throughout the Chesapeake Bay and its many tributaries, came to an end in mid-century.


Maryland, late 20th century to present

In 1980, the opening of Harborplace and the Baltimore Aquarium made that city a significant tourist destination, while Charles Center, the Baltimore World Trade Center, World Trade Center, and the popular Camden Yards baseball stadium were constructed in the downtown area. Fell's Point, Baltimore, Fells Point also became popular. The historic Annapolis waterfront area, previously a working-class fishing port, also became gentrified and a tourist destination. Baltimore's largest employer, the
Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...
factory at Sparrows Point, Maryland, Sparrows Point, shrunk, and the General Motors plant closed, while Johns Hopkins University and Health Care System took Bethlehem's place as Baltimore's largest employer. There are over 350 biotechnology companies in the state. The Social Security Administration, Social Security â€“ Health Care Financing Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Bureau of Standards, U.S. Census Bureau, National Institutes of Health, National Security Agency, and Public Health Service have their headquarters in the state. Washington Metro, Metrorail lines were constructed in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery and Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's counties, while Baltimore opened its own Metro Subway as well as the north–south Baltimore Light Rail system. In addition to general suburban growth, specially planned new communities sprung up, most notably Columbia, Maryland, Columbia, but also Montgomery Village, Maryland, Montgomery Village, Belair at Bowie, Maryland, Bowie, St. Charles, Maryland, St. Charles, Village of Cross Keys, Cross Keys, and Joppatowne, Maryland, Joppatowne, and numerous shopping malls, the state's three largest malls being Annapolis Mall, Arundel Mills and the Towson Town Center. Community colleges were established in nearly every county in Maryland. Large-scale, mechanized poultry farms became prevalent on the lower Eastern Shore, along with irrigated vegetable farming. In Southern Maryland tobacco farming had nearly vanished by the century's end, due to suburban housing development and a state tobacco incentive buy-out program. Industrial, railroad, and coal-mining jobs in the four westernmost counties declined, but that area's economy was helped by expansion of outdoor recreational tourism and new technology jobs and industries. As the 21st century dawned, Maryland joined neighboring states in a new initiative to save the health of
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
, whose aquatic life and seafood industry are threatened by waterfront residential development, as well as by fertilizer and livestock waste entering the bay, especially from Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River. In addition, about of Maryland shore are eroded per year due to the land sinking and rising sea levels. In 2013, Maryland abolished capital punishment.


See also

* Outline of Maryland#History of Maryland * Government of Maryland * Colonial South and the Chesapeake * History of the Southern United States * History of Washington, D.C. * List of people from Maryland * Timeline of Baltimore * African Americans in Maryland * Maryland in the American Civil War * History of slavery in Maryland


References


Further reading

* Timeline of Maryland: * Brugger, Robert J. ''Maryland, A Middle Temperament: 1634–1980'' (1996) full scale history * Chappelle, Suzanne. Jean H. Baker, Dean R. Esslinger, and Whitman H. Ridgeway. ''Maryland: A History of its People'' (1986)


Colonial to 1860

* Arson, Steven, "Yeoman Farmers in a Planters' Republic: Socioeconomic Conditions and Relations in Early National Prince George's County, Maryland," ''Journal of the Early Republic,'' 29 (Spring 2009), 63–99. * Brackett; Jeffrey R. ''The Negro in Maryland: A Study of the Institution of Slavery'' (1969
online edition
* Browne, Gary Lawson. ''Baltimore in the Nation, 1789–1861'' (1980) * Carr, Lois Green, Philip D. Morgan, Jean Burrell Russo, eds. ''Colonial Chesapeake Society'' (1991) * Craven, Avery. ''Soil Exhaustion as a Factor in the Agricultural History of Virginia and Maryland, 1606–1860'' (1925; reprinted 2006) * Curran, Robert Emmett, ed. ''Shaping American Catholicism: Maryland and New York, 1805–1915'' (2012
excerpt and text search
* Curran, Robert Emmett. ''Papist Devils: Catholics in British America, 1574–1783'' (2014) * Barbara J. Fields, Fields, Barbara. ''Slavery and Freedom on the Middle Ground: Maryland During the Nineteenth Century'' (1987) * Hoffman, Ronald. ''Princes of Ireland, Planters of Maryland: A Carroll Saga, 1500–1782'' (2000) 429pp . * Hoffman, Ronald. ''A Spirit of Dissension: Economics, Politics, and the Revolution in Maryland'' (1973) * Kulikoff, Allan. ''Tobacco and Slaves: The Development of Southern Cultures in the Chesapeake, 1680–1800'' (1988) * Main, Gloria L. ''Tobacco Colony: Life in Early Maryland, 1650–1720'' (1983) * wikisource:Author:Newton Dennison Mereness, Mereness, Newton Dennison.
Maryland as a Proprietary Province
'. New York: Macmillan, 1901. * Middleton, Arthur Pierce. ''Tobacco Coast: A Maritime History of Chesapeake Bay in the Colonial Era'' (1984
online edition
* Risjord; Norman K. ''Chesapeake Politics, 1781–1800'' (1978
online edition
* Steiner; Bernard C. ''Maryland under the Commonwealth: A Chronicle of the Years 1649–1658'' 1911 * Tate, Thad W. ed. ''The Chesapeake in the seventeenth century: Essays on Anglo-American society'' (1979), scholarly studies


Since 1860

* Anderson, Alan D. ''The Origin and Resolution of an Urban Crisis: Baltimore, 1890–1930'' (1977) * Argersinger, Jo Ann E. ''Toward a New Deal in Baltimore: People and Government in the Great Depression'' (1988) * Durr, Kenneth D. Behind the Backlash: White Working-Class Politics in Baltimore, 1940–1980'' University of North Carolina Press, 200
online edition
* Ellis; John Tracy ''The Life of James Cardinal Gibbons: Archbishop of Baltimore, 1834–1921'' 2 vol 1952
online edition v.1online ed. v.2
* Fein, Isaac M. ''The Making of an American Jewish Community: The History of Baltimore Jewry from 1773 to 1920'' 197
online edition
* Wennersten, John R. ''Maryland's Eastern Shore: A Journey in Time and Place'' (1992)


Primary sources

* Clayton Colman Hall, ed. ''Narratives of Early Maryland, 1633–1684'' (1910) 460 pp
online edition
* David Hein, editor. ''Religion and Politics in Maryland on the Eve of the Civil War: The Letters of W. Wilkins Davis.'' 1988; revised ed., Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2009.


Online essays

* Maryland State Archives (September 16, 2004

* Whitman H. Ridgway. Maryland Humanities Council (2001).
(Maryland) Politics and Law
* Maryland State Archives. (October 29, 2004

Retrieved June 1, 2005. *

. ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Retrieved May 22, 2005. *
Maryland
. ''The Jewish Encyclopedia''. Retrieved May 22, 2005. * Dennis C. Curry (2001).
Native Maryland, 9000 B.C.–1600 A.D.
. * Whitman H. Ridgway. Maryland Humanities Council (2001).
(Maryland in) the Nineteenth Century
. * George H. Callcott. Maryland Humanities Council (2001).
(Maryland in) the Twentieth Century
.


External links


Maryland Historical Society

Maryland Military Historical Society

Maryland State Archives
* Boston Public Library, Map Center
Maps of Maryland
various dates. * * {{Authority control History of Maryland, History of the Southern United States by state, Maryland History of the United States by state, Maryland African-American history of Maryland History of slavery in Maryland St. Mary's County, Maryland