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MARYLAND , a See also:South See also:Atlantic See also:state of the See also:United States, and one of the See also:original thirteen, situated between latitudes 370 53' and 390 44 N. and longitudes 75° 4' and 790 33' W. (the precise western boundary has not been determined). It is bounded N. by See also:Pennsylvania and See also:Delaware; E. by Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean; S. and W. by the See also:Potomac See also:river and its See also:north See also:branch, which See also:separate it, except on the extreme W. border, from See also:Virginia and See also:West Virginia; W., also, by West Virginia. It is one of the small states of the See also:Union—only seven are smaller—its See also:total See also:area being 12,327 sq. m. of which 2386 sq. m. are See also:water See also:surface. See also:Physical Features.—Maryland is crossed from north to south by each of the leading topographical regions of the See also:east See also:section of the united States—the Coastal See also:Plain, the See also:Piedmont See also:Plateau, the Appalachian Mountains, and the Appalachian Plateau—hence its See also:great diversity of surface. The portion within the Coastal Plain embraces nearly the whole of the south-east See also:half of the state and is commonly known as See also:tide-water Maryland. It is marked off from the Piedmont Plateau by a " Fall See also:Line " extending from See also:Washington (D.C.) north-east through See also:Baltimore to a point a little south of the north-east corner of the state, and is divided by the Chesapeake See also:Bay into two parts known as the East See also:Shore and the West Shore. The East Shore is a See also:low level plain, the least elevated section of the state. Along its entire Atlantic border extends the narrow sandy Sinepuxent See also:Beach, which encloses a shallow See also:lagoon or bay also called Sinepuxent at the north, where, except in the extreme north, it is very narrow, and Chincoteague at the south, where its width is in most places from 4 to 5 M. Between this and the Chesapeake to the west and north-west there is a slight See also:general rise, a height of about 10o ft. being reached in the extreme north. A water-parting extending from north-east to south-west and See also:close to the Atlantic border separates the East Shore into two drainage systems, though that next to the Atlantic is insignificant. That on the Chesapeake See also:side is drained chiefly by the Pocomoke, See also:Nanticoke, Choptank and See also:Chester See also:rivers, together with their numerous branches, the general direction of all of which is south-west. The branches as well as the upper parts of the See also:main streams flow through broad and shallow valleys; the See also:middle courses of the main streams See also:wind their way through See also:reed-covered marshes, the water ebbing and flowing with the tide; in their See also:lower courses they become estuarine and the water flows between low See also:banks. The West Shore is somewhat more undulating than the East and also more elevated. Its general slope is from north-west to south-east; along the west border are points 300 ft. or more in height. The See also:principal riverscrossing this section are the Patuxent, Patapsco and See also:Gunpowder, with which may be grouped the Potomac, forming the state's See also:southern boundary. These rivers, lined in most instances with terraces 30 to 40 ft. high on one or both sides, flow south-east into the Chesapeake Bay through valleys bounded by low hills. The Fall Line, which forms the boundary between the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont Plateau, is a See also:zone in which a descent of about Too ft. or more is made in many places within a few See also:miles and in consequence is marked by waterfalls, cascades and rapids.
The See also:part of Maryland within the Piedmont Plateau extends west from the Fall Line to the See also:base of Catoctin See also:Mountain, or the west border of See also:Frederick See also:county, and has an area of about 2500 sq. m. In general it has a broad See also:rolling surface. It is divided into two sections by an elevated See also:strip known as See also:Parr's See also:Ridge, which extends from north-east to south-west a See also:short distance west of the middle. The east section rises from about 450 ft. along the Fall Line to from 85o to 900 ft. along the See also:summit of Parr's Ridge. Its principal streams are those that See also:cross the West Shore of the Coastal Plain and here wind their way from Parr's Ridge rapidly toward the south-east in narrow steep-sided See also:gorges through broad See also:lime-See also: The portion of the state lying within the Appalachian Region is commonly known as Western Maryland. To the eastward it abounds in mountains and valleys; to the westward it is a rolling plateau. West of Catoctin Mountain (1800 ft.) is See also:Middletown Valley, with Catoctin See also:Creek See also:running through it from north to south, and the See also:Blue Ridge Mountains (2400 ft.), near the Pennsylvania border, forming its west slope. Farther west the serrated crests of the Blue Ridge overlook the Greater Appalachian Valley, here 73 M. in width, the broad gently-rolling slopes of the Great Cumber-See also:land or See also:Hagerstown Valley occupying its eastern and the Appalachian Ridges its western portion. Through the eastern portion See also:Antietam Creek to the east and Conococheague Creek to the west flow rapidly in meandering trenches that in places exceed 75 ft. in See also:depth. The Appalachian Ridges of the western portion begin with North Mountain on the east and end with See also:Wills Mountain on the west. They are See also:long, narrow, uniformly-sloping and level-crested mountains, extending along parallel lines from north-east to south-west, and reaching a maximum height in See also: Deer, See also:black bears and See also:wild See also:cats (See also:lynx) are still found•in some uncultivated sections. Much more numerous are squirrels, rabbits, ground-hogs " (woodchucks), opossums, skunks, weasels and minks. Many See also:species of ducks are also still found; and the reed-See also:bird (bobolink), " See also:partridge " (elsewhere called See also:quail or " Bob See also: The normal annual precipitation for the state is about 43 in. It is greatest, county producing the second largest quantity of strawberries of about 53 in., on the east slope of Catoctin Mountain, owing to the elevations which obstruct the moisture-bearing winds, and is above the average along the middle of the shores of the Chesapeake. It is least, from 25 to 35 in., in the Greater Appalachian Valley, in the south on the West Shore, and along the Atlantic border. During See also:spring and summer the precipitation throughout the state is about 2 in. more than during autumn and winter. Soils and See also:Agriculture.—The great variety of soils is one of the more marked features of Maryland. On the East Shore to the north is a marly See also:loam overlying a yellowish-red See also:clay sub-soil, to the south is a soil quite stiff with See also:light coloured clay, while here and there, especially in the middle and south, are considerable areas both of light sandy soils and tidal See also:marsh loains. On the West Shore the soils range from a light sandy loam in the lower levels south from Baltimore to rather heavy barns overlying a yellowish clay on the rolling uplands and on the terraces along the Potomac and Patuxent. See also:Crossing the state along the lower edge of the Fall Line is a See also:belt heavy with clay, but so impervious to water as to be of little value for agricultural purposes. The soils of the Piedmont Plateau east of Parr's Ridge are, like the under-lying rocks, exceptionally variable in See also:composition, texture and See also:colour. For the most part they are considerably heavier with clay than are those of the Coastal Plain, and better adapted to general agricultural purposes. Light loams, however, are found both in the north-east and south-east. A soil of very close texture, the See also:gabbro, is found, most largely in the north-east. Alluvial barns occupy the narrow river valleys; but the most common soil of the section is that formed from See also:gneiss with a large per cent. of clay in the subsoil. West of Parr's Ridge in the Piedmont, the principal soils are those the See also:character of which is determined either by decomposed red See also:sandstone or by decomposed See also:limestone. In the east portion of the mountainous region the soil so well adapted to See also:peach culture contains much clay, together with particles of See also:Cambrian sandstone. In Hagerstown Valley are rich red or yellow limestone-clay soils. The See also:Allegheny ridges have only a thin stony soil; but See also:good limestone, sandstone, shale and alluvial soils, occur in the valleys and in some of the plateaus of the extreme west. Of the total land surface of the state 82 % was in 1900 included in farms and 68% of the farmland was improved. There were 46,012 farms, of which 15,833 contained less than 5o acres, 3940 contained 26o acres or more, and 79 contained 1,000 acres or more—the average See also:size being 112.4 acres. In 1890, 69% of the farms were worked by the owners or their managers, in 1900 only 66.4%; but See also:share tenants outnumber See also:cash tenants by almost three to one. Of the total number of farms about seven times as many are operated by white as by negro farmers, though the number of farms operated by white share tenants outnumber those operated by negro share tenants by only about five to one. Of all the inhabitants of the state, at least ten years old, who in 1900 were engaged in gainful occupations, 20.8% were farmers. The leading agricultural pursuits are the growing of See also:Indian See also:corn and See also:wheat and the raising of livestock, yet it is in the See also:production of fruits, vegetables and See also:tobacco, that Maryland ranks highest as an agricultural state, and in no other state except South Carolina is so large a per cent. of the value of the See also:crop expended for fertilizers. In 1907, according to the See also:Year See also:Book of the U.S. See also:Department of Agriculture, the Indian corn crop was 22,196,000 bushels, valued at $11,986,000; the wheat crop was 14,763,000 bushels, valued at $14,172,000; the See also:oat crop was 825,000 bushels, valued at $404,000; and the crop of See also:rye was 315,000 bushels, valued at $236,000. Of the livestock, hogs were the most numerous in 1900, See also:cattle next, See also:sheep third, and horses See also:fourth. The See also:hay and See also:forage crop of 1899 (exclusive of corn-stalks) See also:grew on 374,848 acres. Until after the middle of the 18th See also:century tobacco was the See also:staple crop of Maryland, and the total yield did not reach its maximum until 186o when the crop amounted to 51,000 hhds. ; from this it decreased to 14,000 hhds., or 12,356,838 lb in 1889; in 1899 it See also:rose again to 24,589,480 lb, in 1907 the crop was only 16,962,000 lb, less than that of nine other states. In See also:market-See also:garden products, including small fruits, Maryland ranked in 1899 See also:sixth among the states of the Union, the crop being valued at $4,766,760, an increase of 350'9% over that of 1889. In the yield both of strawberries and of tomatoes it ranked first; the yield of raspberries and blackberries is also large. In its crop of See also:green-peas Maryland was exceeded (1899) by New See also:York only; in sweet Indian corn it ranked fifth; in kale, second; in See also:spinach, third; in cabbages, ninth. The number of peach-trees, especially in the west part of the state, where the quality is of the best, is rapidly increasing, and in the yield of peaches and nectarines the state ranked thirteenth in 1899; in the yield of See also:pears it ranked fifth; in apples seventeenth. The Indian-corn, wheat and livestock sections of the state, are in the Piedmont Plateau, the Hagerstown Valley and the central portion of the East Shore. See also:Garrett county in the extreme north-west, however, raises the largest number of sheep. Most of the tobacco is grown in the south counties of the West Shore. The great centre for vegetables and small fruits is in the counties bordering on the north-west shore of the Chesapeake, and in See also:Howard, Frederick and Washington counties, directly west, Anne See also:Arundel all the counties in the Union in 1899. Peaches and pears grow in large quantities in See also:Kent and neighbouring counties on the East Shore and in Washington and Frederick counties; apples grow in abundance in all parts of the Piedmont Plateau. The woodland area of the state in 1900 was 4400 sq. m., about 44% (estimated in 1907 to be 3450 sq. m., about 35%) of the total land area, but with the exception of considerable oak and See also:chest-See also:nut, some maple and other hard woods in west Maryland, about all of the merchantable See also:timber has been cut. The See also:lumber See also:industry, nevertheless, has steadily increased in importance, the value of the product in 1860 amounting to only $605,864, that in 1890 to $1,600,472, and that in 1900 to $2,650,082, of which sum $2,495,169 was the value of products under the factory See also:system; in 1905 the value of the factory product was $2,750,339. See also:Fisheries.—In 1897 the value of the See also:fishery product of Maryland was exceeded only by that of See also:Massachusetts, but by 1901, although it had, increased somewhat during the four years, it was exceeded by the product of New See also:Jersey, of Virginia and of New York. Oysters constitute more than 8o% of the total value, the product in 1901 amounting to 5,685,561 bushels, and being valued at $3,031,518. The See also:supply on natural beds has been diminishing, but the planting of private beds promises a large increase. Crabs are next in value and are caught chiefly along the East Shore and in Anne Arundel and See also:Calvert counties on the West Shore. Shad, to the number of 3,111,181 and valued at $120,602, were caught during 1901. In See also:Somerset and See also:Worcester counties clams are a source of considerable value. The terrapin catch decreased in value from $22,333 in 1891. to $1,139 in 1901. The total value of the fish product of 1901 was $3,767,461. The state See also:laws for the See also:protection of fish and See also:shell-fish were long carelessly enforced because of the fishermen's strong feeling against them, but this sentiment has slowly changed and enforcement has become more vigorous.
Minerals and Manufactures.—The See also:coal deposits, which See also:form a part of the well-known See also:Cumberland See also: Between 185o and 1900, while the See also:population increased 103.8%, the average number of wage-earners employed in manufacturing establishments increased 2,58'5%, constituting 5.2% of the total population in 185o and 9.1% in 1900. In 1900 the total value of manufactured goods was $242,552,990, an increase of 41.1% over that of 1890. Of the total given for 1900, $211,076,143 was the value of products under the factory system; and in 1905 the value of factory products was $243,375,996, being 15.3 % more than in 1900. The products of greatest value in 1905 were: See also:custom-made men's clothing; fruits and vegetables and oysters, canned and preserved; iron and See also:steel; foundry and See also:machine-See also:shop products, including stoves and furnaces; See also:flour and grist See also: He is himself one of the See also:board of education, of the board of public See also:works, and of the board for the management of the See also:house of correction. No See also:veto power whatever was given to the governor until 1867, when, in the present constitution, it was provided that no See also:bill vetoed by him should become a law unless passed over his veto by a three-fifths vote of the members elected to each house, and an amendment of 1890 (ratified by the people in 1891) further provides that any See also:item of a See also:money bill may likewise be separately vetoed. The governor's See also:salary is fixed by the constitution at $4500 a year. Other executive officers are a treasurer, elected by See also:joint See also:ballot of the General Assembly for a term of two years, a See also:comptroller elected by popular vote for a similar term, and an See also:attorney-general elected by popular vote for four years. The legislature, or General Assembly, meets biennially in even numbered years, at See also:Annapolis, and consists of a Senate and a House of Delegates. Senators are elected, one from each of the twenty-three counties and one from each of the four legislative districts of the city of Baltimore, for a term of four years, the terms of one-half expiring every two years. Delegates are elected for a term of two years, from each county and from each legislative district of Baltimore, according to population, as follows: for a population of 18,000 or less, two delegates; 18,000 to 28,000, three; 28,000 to 40,000, four; 40,000 to 55,000, five; 55,000 and upwards, six. Each legislative district of Baltimore is entitled to the number of delegates to which the largest county shall or may be entitled under the foregoing See also:apportionment, and the General Assembly may from time to time alter the boundaries of Baltimore city districts in See also:order to equalize their population. This system of apportionment gives to the rural counties a considerable pplitical advantage over the city of Baltimore, which, with 42.8 % of the total population according to the See also:census of 1900, has only 4 out of 27 members of the Senate and only 24 out of See also:lot members of the House of Delegates. Since far back in the colonial era, no See also:minister, preacher, or See also:priest See also:cotton goods; See also:malt liquors; and cigars and cigarettes. In the value of fertilizers manufactured, and in that of .oysters canned and preserved, Maryland was first among the states in 1900 and second in 1905; in 1900 and in 1905 it was fourth among the states in the value of men's clothing. Baltimore is still the great manufacturing centre, but of the state's total product the percentage in value of that manufactured there decreased from 82.5 in 1890 to 66.5 in 1900, and to 62.3 (of the factory product) in 1905. The largest secondary centres are Cumberland, Hagerstown and Frederick the total value of whose factory products in 1905 was less than $10,000,000. Communications.—Tide-water Maryland is afforded rather unusual facilities of water transportation by the Chesapeake Bay, with its deep channel, numerous deep inlets, and navigable tributaries, together with the Chesapeake and Delaware See also:Canal, which crosses the state of Delaware and connects its waters with those of the Delaware river and bay. As early as 1783 steps were taken to extend these facilities to the navigable waters of the See also:Ohio, chiefly by improving the See also:navigation of the Potomac above See also:Georgetown. By 1820 this project was merged into a See also:movement for a Chesapeake and Ohio canal along the same line. Ground was broken in 1828 and in 185o the canal was opened to navigation from Georgetown to Cumberland, a distance of 186 m. In 1878 and again in 1889 it was wrecked by a freshet, and since then has been of little service.' However, on the same See also:day that ground was broken for this canal, ground was also broken for the Baltimore & Ohio railway, of which 15 m. was built in 1828–183o and which was one of the first steam railway lines in operation in the United States. Since then railway building has progressed steadily. In Maryland (and including the District of See also:Columbia) there were 259 M. of railway in 185o, 386 m. in 186o, 671 in. in 187o, and 1040 M. in 188o; in 189o, in Maryland alone, the mileage was 1270.04 m., and in 1909 it was 1394.19 M. The more important railway lines are the Baltimore & Ohio, the See also:Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington (controlled by the Pennsylvania and a consolidation of the Philadelphia, See also:Wilmington & Baltimore, and the Baltimore&Potomac), the Western Maryland, the West Virginia Central & See also:Pittsburg (leased by the Western Maryland), the See also:Northern Central, the Maryland electric railways (including what was formerly the Baltimore & Annapolis Short Line), and the Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis electric railway. Baltimore is the chief railway centre and its See also:harbour is one of the most important in the country. Inhabitants.—The population of Maryland in 188o was 934,943; in 189o, 1,042,390, an increase of 11.5%; in 1900, 1,188,044 (14%); in 1910, 1,295,346 (increase 9%). Of the total population in 'goo there were 952,424 whites, 235,064 negroes, J44 See also:Chinese, 9 See also:Japanese and 3 See also:Indians, the increase in the white population from 1890 to 19oo being 15'2%, while that of the negroes was only 9%. In 'goo there were 1,094,110 native See also:born to 93,934 See also:foreign-born, and of the foreign-born 44,990 were natives of See also:Germany and 68,600 were residents of the city of Baltimore. The See also:urban population, i.e. total population of cities of 4000 or more inhabitants, in 1900, was 572,795, or 48.2% of the total and an increase of 16.6% over that of 189o; while the rural population, i.e. population outside of incorporated places, was 539,685, an increase of about 8% over that of 1890. .There are about 59 religious sects, of which the members of the See also:Roman See also:Catholic See also: Each county board is also appointed by the governor for a term of six years. In both the state and the county boards at least one-third of the members appointed by the governor are not to be of the dominant See also:political party and only one-third of the members are to be appointed every two years. The state board enacts by-laws for the administration of the system; its decision of controversies arising under the school law is final; it may suspend or remove a county superintendent for inefficiency or incompetency; it issues See also:life state certificates, but applicants must have had seven years of experience in teaching, five in Maryland, and must hold a first-class certificate or a See also:college or normal school diploma; and it See also:pensions teachers who have taught successfully for twenty-five years in any of the public or normal schools of the state, who have reached the age of sixty, and who have become physically or mentally incapable of teaching longer, the See also:pension amounting to $200 a year. The legislature of 1908 passed a law under which the minimum pay for a teacher holding a first-class certificate should be $350 a year after three years' teaching, $400 after five years' teaching and $450 after eight years' teaching. By a law of 1904 all teachers who taught an average of 15 pupils were to receive at least $300. School books are See also:purchased out of the proceeds of the school tax, but parents may See also:purchase if they prefer. In 1908 the average school year was nine and seven-tenths months—ten in the cities and nine and four-tenths in the counties; the aim is ten months throughout, and a law of 1904 provides that if a school is taught less than nine months a portion of the funds set apart for it shall be withheld. A compulsory education law of 1902—to operate, however, only in the city of Baltimore and in Allegany county—requires the attendance for the whole school year of See also:children between the ages of eight and twelve and also of those between the ages of twelve and sixteen who are not employed at See also:home or elsewhere. A separate school for negro children is to be maintained in every election district in which the population warrants it. The system is maintained by a state tax of 16 cents on each $See also:loo of taxably See also:property. The higher state educational institutions are two normal schools and one agricultural college. One of the normal schools was opened in Baltimore in 1866, the other at Frostburg in 1904. Both are under the management of the state Board of Education, which appoints the principals and teachers and prescribes the course of study. There is besides, in Washington College at Chestertown, a normal department supported by the state and under the supervision of the state Board of Education. The Maryland Agricultural College, to which an experiment station has been added, was opened in 1859; it is at College See also:Park in Prince George's county, and is largely under state management. Maryland supports no state university, but Johns See also:Hopkins University, one of the leading institutions of its See also:kind in the country, receives $25,000 a year from the state; the medical department of the university of Maryland receives an annual See also:appropriation of about $2500, and St See also: The three judges elected in each circuit constitute the circuit court of each of the several counties in such circuit. The courts have both original and appellate jurisdiction and are required to hold at least two sessions to which jurors shall be summoned every year in each county of its circuit, and if only two such terms are held, there must be two other and intermediate terms to which jurors shall not be summoned. Three other judges are elected for four-year terms, in each county and in the city of Baltimore to constitute an orphans' court. The number of justices of the peace for each county is fixed by See also:local law; they are appointed by the governor, subject to the confirmation of the Senate, for a term of two years. In the colonial era Maryland had an interesting See also:list of governmental subdivisions—the See also:manor, the See also:hundred, the See also:parish, the county, and the city—but the two last are about all that remain and even these are in considerable measure subject to the special local acts of the General Assembly. In general, each county has from three to seven commissioners—the number is fixed by county laws—elected on a general See also:ticket of each county for a term of from two to six years, entrusted with the See also:charge and See also:control of property owned by the county, empowered to appoint constables, judges of elections, collectors of taxes, trustees of the poor, and road supervisors, to See also:levy taxes, to revise taxable valuations of real property, and open or close public roads. In Maryland a wife holds her property as if single except that she can convey real See also:estate only by a joint See also:deed with her See also:husband (this requirement being for the purpose of effecting a See also:release of the husband's " See also:dower See also:interest "), neither husband nor wife is liable for the separate debts of the other, and on the See also:death of either the rights of the survivor in the estate of the other are about equal. Wife-beating is made punishable by See also:whipping in See also:gaol, not exceeding See also:forty lashes. Prior to 1841 a See also:divorce was granted by the legislature only, from then until 1851 it could be granted by either the legislature or the See also:equity courts, since 1851 by the courts only. The grounds for a divorce a See also:mensa et thoro, which may be granted for ever or for a limited time only, are See also:cruelty, excessively vicious conduct, or See also:desertion; for a divorce a vinculo matrimonii the chief grounds are See also:impotence at the time of See also:marriage, See also:adultery or deliberate See also:abandonment for three years. There is no See also:homestead exemption law and exemptions from levy for the See also:satisfaction of debts extend only to $loo See also:worth of property, besides wearing See also:apparel and books and tools used by the debtor in his profession or See also:trade, and to all money payable in the nature of See also:insurance. Employers of workmen in a clay or coal mine, stone See also:quarry, or on a steam or See also:street railway are liable for damage in case of an injury to any of their workmen where such injury is caused by the See also:negligence of the employer or of any servant or employee of the employer. The chief of the See also:bureau of labour See also:statistics is directed in case of danger of a strike or lockout to seek to mediate between the parties and if unsuccessful in that, then to endeavour to secure their consent to the formation of a board of See also:arbitration. The state penal and charitable institutions include a See also:penitentiary at Baltimore; a house of correction at Jessups, two houses of See also:refuge at Baltimore; a house of See also:reformation in Prince George's county; St Mary's See also:industrial school for boys at Baltimore; an industrial home for negro girls at Melvale; an See also:asylum and training school for the feeble-minded at Owings See also:Mills; an infirmary at Cumberland; the Maryland See also:hospital for the insane at Catonsville; the See also:Springfield state hospital for the insane; the Maryland school for the See also:deaf and dumb at Frederick city; and the Maryland school for the See also:blind at Baltimore. Each of these is under the management of a board appointed by the governor subject to the confirmation of the senate. Besides these there are a large number of state-aided charitable institutions. In 1900 there was created a board of state aid and charities, composed of seven members appointed by the governor for a term of two years, not more than four to be reappointed. There is also a state lunacy See also:commission of four members, who are appointed for terms of four years, one annually, by the governor. tax, fines, forfeitures and fees; and the penitentiary yields an annual See also:net revenue of about $40,000. There is no See also:provision for a general periodic See also:assessment, but a state tax commissioner appointed by the governor, treasurer and comptroller assesses the corporations, and the county commissioners (in the counties) and the See also:appeal tax court (in the city of Baltimore) revise valuations of real property every two years. From 182o to 1836 Maryland, in its See also:enthusiasm over See also:internal improvements, incurred an indebtedness of more than $16,000,000. To meet the interest, such heavy taxes were levied that See also:anti-tax associations were formed to resist the collection, and in 1842 the state failed to pay what was due; but the accumulated interest had been funded by 1848 and was paid soon afterwards, the expenses of the government were curtailed by the constitution of 1851, and after the Civil War the amount of indebtedness steadily decreased until in 1902 the funded See also:debt was $6,909,326 and the net debt only $2,797,269.13, while on the Ist of See also:October 1908 the net debt was $366,643.91. As a result of incurring the large debt, a clause in the constitution prohibits the legislature from contracting a debt without providing by the See also:imposition of taxes for the See also:payment of the interest annually and the principal within fifteen years, except to meet a temporary deficiency not exceeding $50,000. The first bank of the state was established in 1790, and by 1817 there was one in each of twelve counties and several in Baltimore; in 1818–182o and in 1837–1839 there were several serious bank failures, but there have been no serious failures since. A constitutional provision makes each stockholder in a state bank liable to the amount of his share or shares for all the bank's debts and liabilities. A savings bank is taxed on its deposits, and a state bank is taxed on its See also:capital-stock.
History.—The history of Maryland begins in 1632 with the See also:procedure of Charles I. to See also: To this end he promised religious See also:toleration from the beginning and directed his officers accordingly; this led to the famous toleration See also:act passed by the assembly in 1649, which, however, extended its protection only to sects of Trinitarian See also:Christianity. Again, although the charter reserved to the proprietor the right of calling an assembly of the freemen or their delegates at suchtimes and in such form and manner as he should choose, he surrendered in 1638 his claim to the See also:sole right of initiating legislation. By 165o the assembly had been divided into two houses, in one of which sat only the representatives of the freemen without whose consent no bill could become a law, and annual sessions as well as triennial elections were coming to be the usual order. When suffrage had thus come to be a thing really worth possessing, the proprietor, in 1670, sought to check the opposition by disfranchising all freemen who did not have a See also:freehold of fifty acres or a visible estate of forty pounds See also:sterling. But this step was followed by more and more impassioned complaints against him, such as: that he was interfering with elections, that he was summoning only a part of the delegates elected, that he was seeking to overawe those summoned, that he was abusing his veto power, and that he was keeping the government in the hands of Roman Catholics, who were mostly members of his own See also:family. About this time also the north and east boundaries of the province were beginning to suffer from the aggressions of William See also:Penn. The territory now forming the state of Delaware was within the boundaries defined by the Maryland charter, but in 1682 it was transferred by the See also:duke of York to William Penn and in 1685 Lord Baltimore's claim to it was denied by an order in See also:council, on the ground that it had been inhabited by Christians before the Maryland charter was granted. In the next place, although it was clear from the words of the charter that the parallel of 400 N. was intended for its north boundary, and although Penn's charter prescribed that Pennsylvania should extend on the south to the " beginning of the fortieth degree of Northern See also:Latitude," a controversy arose with regard to the boundary between the two provinces, and there was a long period of litigation; in 1763–1767 Charles See also:Mason and See also:Jeremiah See also:Dixon, two English mathematicians, established the line named from them (see MASON AND DIXON LINE), which runs along the parallel 390 43' 26"•3 N. and later became famous as the dividing line between the free states and the slave states. While the proprietor was absent defending his claims against Penn the English Revolution of 1688 was started. Owing to the death of a messenger there was long delay in proclaiming the new monarchs in Maryland; this delay, together with a rumor of a Popish See also:plot to slaughter the Protestants, enabled the opposition to overthrow the proprietary government, and then the See also:crown, in the interest of its trade policy, set up a royal government in its place, in 1692, without, however, divesting the proprietor of his territorial rights. Under the royal government the Church of England was established, the people acquired a strong control of their branch of the legislature and they were governed more by See also:statute law and less by executive See also:ordinance. The proprietor having become a Protestant, the proprietary government was restored in 1715. Roman Catholics were disfranchised immediately afterward. In 1730 Germans began to See also:settle in considerable numbers in the west-central part of the See also:colony, where they greatly promoted its industrial development but at the same time added much strength to the opposition. The first great dispute between proprietor and people after the restoration of 1715 was with regard to the See also:extension of the English statutes to Maryland, the popular branch of the legislature vigorously contending that all such statutes except those expressly excluded extended to the province, and the lord proprietor contending that only those in which the dominions were expressly mentioned were in force there. Many other disputes speedily followed and when the final struggle between the English and See also:French for See also:possession in See also:America came, although appropriations were made at its beginning to protect her own west frontier from the attacks of the enemy, a dead-See also:lock between the two branches of the assembly prevented Maryland from responding to repeated appeals from the mother country for aid in the latter part of that struggle. This failure was used as an See also:argument in favour of imposing the famous See also:Stamp Act. Nevertheless, popular clamour against parliament on See also:account of that measure was even greater than it had been against the proprietor. The stamp distributor was driven out, and the arguments of See also:Daniel Dulany (1721-1797), the ablest lawyer in the province, against the act were quoted by speakers in parliament for its See also:repeal. In the years immediately preceding the See also:Declaration of Independence Maryland pursued much the same course as did other leading colonies in the struggle—a See also:vessel with See also:tea on board was even burned to the water's edge—and yet when it came to the decisive act of declaring independence there was hesitation. As the contest against the proprietor had been nearly won, the majority of the best citizens desired the continuance of the old government and it was not until the Maryland delegates in the See also:Continental See also:Congress were found almost alone in holding back that their instructions not to vote for independence were rescinded. The new constitution See also:drawn and adopted in 1776 to take the place of the charter was of an aristocratic rather than a democratic nature. Under it the property qualification for suffrage was a freehold of 50 acres or 30 current money, the property qualifications for delegates Soo, for senators £1000, and for governor £5000. Four delegates were chosen from each county and two each from Baltimore and Annapolis, the same as under the proprietary government, population not being taken into account. Senators were chosen by a college of fifteen See also:electors elected in the same manner as the delegates, and the governor by a joint ballot of the two houses of assembly. In 1802 negroes were disfranchised, and in 1810 property qualifications for suffrage and office were abolished. The system of representation that, with the rapid growth of population in the north-east sections, especially in the city of Baltimore, placed the government in the hands of a decreasing minority also began to be attacked about this time; but the fear of that minority which represented the tobacco-raising and slave-holding counties of south Maryland, with respect to the attitude of the majority toward See also:slavery prevented any changes until 1837, when the opposition awakened by the enthusiasm over internal improvements effected the See also:adoption of amendments which provided for the election of the governor and senators by a direct vote of the people, a slight increase in the representation of the city of Baltimore and the larger counties, and a slight decrease in that of the smaller counties. Scarcely had these amendments been carried when the serious See also:financial straits brought on by debt incurred through the state's promotion of internal improvements gave rise to the demand for a reduction of governmental expenses and a See also:limitation of the power of the General Assembly to See also:contract debts. The result was the new constitution of 1851, which fully established representation in the counties on the basis of population and further increased that of Baltimore. The constitution of 1851 was however chiefly a patchwork of compromises. So, when during the Civil War Maryland was largely under Federal control and the demand arose for the abolition of slavery by the state, another constitutional convention was called, in 1864, which framed a constitution providing that those who had given aid to the See also:Rebellion should be disfranchised and that only those qualified for suffrage in accordance with the new document could vote on its adoption. This was too revolutionary to stand long and in 1867 it was superseded by the present constitution. In See also:national affairs Maryland early took a stand of perhaps far-reaching consequences in refusing to sign the Articles of See also:Con-federation (which •required the assent of all the states before coming into effect), after all the other states had done so (in 1779), until those states claiming territory between the See also:Alleghany Mountains and the See also:Mississippi and north of the Ohio—Virginia, New York, Massachusetts and See also:Connecticut—should have surrendered such claims. As those states finally yielded, the Union was strengthened by See also:reason of a greater equality and consequently less See also:jealousy among the original states, and the United States came into possession of the first territory in which all the states had a common interest and out of which new states were to be created. In the War of 1812 Frederick, See also:Havre de See also:Grace, and Frenchtown were burned by the See also:British; but particularly noteworthy were the unsuccessful movements of the enemy by land and by sea against Baltimore, in which General See also:Robert See also:Ross
(c. 1766-1814), the British See also:commander of the land force, was
killed before anything had been accomplished and the failure
of the See also:fleet to take Fort McHenry after a See also:siege of a day and a
See also:night inspired the See also:song The See also:Star-spangled Banner, composed byFrancis See also:Scott See also: In 1861 Maryland as a whole was opposed to See also:secession but also opposed to coercing the seceded states. During the war that followed the west section was generally loyal to the north while the south section favoured the Confederacy and furnished many soldiers for its See also:army; but most of the state was kept under Federal control, the See also:writ of habeas corpus being suspended. The only See also:battle of much importance fought on Maryland soil during the war was that of See also:Sharpsburg or Antietam on the 16th and 17th of See also:September 1862. As between political parties the state has usually been quite equally divided. From 182o to 186o, however, the Whigs were in general a trifle the stronger; and from r866 to 1895 the Democrats were triumphant; in 1895 a Republican governor was elected; in 1896 Maryland gave See also:McKinley 32,232 votes more than it gave See also:Bryan; and in 1904 seven Democratic electors and one Republican were chosen; and in 1908 five Democratic and three Republican.
The proprietors of Maryland were: Cecilius Calvert, second Lord Baltimore (16o5[?]–1675) from 1632 to 1675; Charles Calvert, third Lord Baltimore (1629–1715) from 1675 to 1715; See also:Benedict Leonard Calvert, fourth Lord Baltimore (1684?–1715) 1715; Charles Calvert, fifth Lord Baltimore (1699–1751) from 1715 to 1751; Frederick Calvert, sixth and last Lord Baltimore (1731–1771) from 1751 to 1771; See also: 1649-1652
Richard See also:Bennett (commissioners of 1652
See also:Edmund See also:Curtis •
parliament) 1652-1654
William Claiborne
William Stone . .
William See also:Fuller and others (appointed by the com- 1654–1658
missioners of parliament)
Josias Fendall 1658–166o
See also: . 1791-1792
1 Died in office.
See also: Democratic Republican 1819-1822
Samuel See also:Stevens, jun. I822—1825
Joseph Kent . 1825-1828
Daniel Martin Anti-See also:Jackson 1828-1829
Thomas See also: 1865-1868
Oden Bowie . Democrat 1868-1872
William See also:Pinkney Whyte2 „ 1872-1874
James Black Groome 1874-1876
John Lee Carroll . " 1876-1880
William T. See also: 2 Resigned in 1874 to become (March 4, 1875) U.S. senator from Maryland. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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