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 4 of that year.
Background and drafting
In the months before the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, a group of powerful Marylanders formed an association which eventually took the form of a convention in Annapolis. This group made preparations to form a new government for Maryland and sent representatives to participate in the Continental Congress.[1]
The eighth session decided that the continuation of an ad hoc government by the convention was not a good mechanism for governing the state and that 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
On August 1, all freemen with property elected delegates for the
Declaration of Rights
The document included a Declaration of Rights. This, among other things, ended the position of the
Creation of government
The 1776 constitution defined the
Elections and the franchise
Despite the declaration that all power emanates from the people, the document kept political power in the hands of the male citizens who met a minimum property requirement. When adopted, the 1776 constitution allowed 20,000 of the 300,000+ people living in Maryland to vote.[2]
Slaves and women could not vote, nor did they have equal rights to men. Only Christians could hold office until 1826, when legislation was adopted allowing Jews to hold office and have equal rights and privileges with Christians.
They directly elected delegates to the
Subsequent history
The 1776 constitution was amended 66 times, most notably in 1837, to, among other things, provide for a popularly elected governor, instead of one chosen by the legislature. The constitution was initially about 8,800 words long. The several amendments added to it between 1792 and 1846 brought its total length to about 15,200 words.
Black men who met the property requirement could vote until 1810, when the General Assembly ratified a constitutional amendment (approved by the 1809 assembly) to change "freemen" to "free white men" in Article 2 of the constitution.[3]
See also
- Government of Maryland
- History of Maryland
- History of the United States (1776–1789)
- List of delegates to the Maryland Constitutional Convention (1776)
- Maryland Constitution of 1867
- Maryland Constitution of 1864
- Maryland Constitution of 1851
- State constitution (United States)
References
- ^ Smith & Willis, Maryland Politics and Government (2012), p. 135. "Businessmen, landowners, and political leaders in Maryland, including the state's signers of the Declaration of Independence (Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Samuel Chase, William Paca, and Thomas Stone), participated actively in the events that produced the American Revolution. Like their counterparts in other parts of colonial America, they initiated a committee of correspondence, held meetings of a provincial convention, created a council of safety to manage the affairs of the nascent independent government, and sent representatives to the revolutionary Continental Congresses. Responding to the request of the Second Continental Congress made on May 15, 1776, Maryland's revolutionary-era leaders began the process of drafting new governance documents for the soon to be declared independent state."
- ^ a b c d Smith & Willis, Maryland Politics and Government (2012), p. 137.
- ^ Smith & Willis, Maryland Politics and Government (2012), pp. 139–140."
Bibliography
- Russo, Jean. Maryland Humanities Council (2001). "From Revolution to Revolution: Eighteenth-Century Maryland".
- Ridgway, Whitman H. Maryland Humanities Council (2001). "(Maryland) Politics and Law"
- Smith, Herbert C., and John T. Willis. Maryland Politics and Government: Democratic Dominance. University of Nebraska Press, 2012. ISBN 9780803238435