USA > Maryland > Leading events of Maryland history; with topical analyses, references, and questions for original thought and research > Part 6
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Advertisement for a Runaway Servant From The Maryland Gazette of July 19, 1745
TOPICS AND QUESTIONS
33. The Maryland Constitution.
The government of Maryland to 1658 characterized by change and ex- periment ; cause of these characteristics.
The government permanently organized in 1658.
State the duties of the proprietary, the powers and duties of the governor, and those of the secretary.
Describe the organization of the Assembly ; the judicial system.
34. The Administration of Governor Fendall, and His Rebellion.
Josias Fendall succeeds Stone as governor.
Difficulty with the Quakers, and its cause.
Fendall's rebellion.
Philip Calvert appointed governor ; end of the rebellion.
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MARYLAND BECOMES A ROYAL PROVINCE
35. Charles Calvert Appointed Governor ; Death of Cecilius, and Character of His Successor.
Overproduction of tobacco ; the proprietary fails in his effort to relieve the situation by circulating coin.
Death of Cecilius Calvert ; his high character.
Character of Charles Calvert, second proprietary.
36. Loss of Territory.
The Swedes and Dutch in Maryland.
The Dutch colonies seized by the Duke of York.
William Penn and his schemes.
He succeeds in depriving Maryland of much valuable territory.
37. Affairs in England.
James II is deposed, and succeeded by William and Mary.
38. The Difficult Position of the Second Proprietary ; Fear and Hatred of the Catholics.
What made Lord Baltimore's position difficult ?
Absurd charges against the Catholics believed by the people.
His religion the most serious difficulty of Lord Baltimore.
39. Other Causes of Discontent.
Members of the Calvert family hold the chief offices.
Controversies between the two Houses of Assembly.
40. Murder of the King's Collectors.
Ill feeling between the collectors and Maryland government. The murder of Collector Rousby.
Effects of the murder of the king's collectors.
41. The Protestant Revolution (1689), by which Maryland Became a Royal Province.
Why were not William and Mary proclaimed ?
Formation of the Protestant Association.
Who was president of the Association, and what was his character?
With what success did the rebellion meet?
Mention the probable causes of the Protestant Revolution.
What was the effect of the revolution on the position of Lord Balti- more ?
42. The Royal Government ; Religious Intolerance and the Established Church. The Protestant Episcopal Church established, and everybody taxed for its support. Persecution of the Catholics.
43. Removal of the Capital to Annapolis ; King William's School. Francis Nicholson appointed governor.
He removes the capital to Annapolis and founds there King William's School.
The fate of St. Mary's.
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LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
44. The Province Restored to the Calverts.
How was Maryland restored to the Calverts?
Death of Charles Calvert and succession of Benedict Leonard.
Succession of Charles, fifth baron and fourth proprietary.
45. State of Society ; Manners, Customs, and Character of the People.
Show how the physical geography of Maryland affected the life of the people.
What was the chief occupation of the people?
How did the planters sell their tobacco and obtain their supplies?
Describe the houses of this period.
Tell what you can about the food of the people.
Describe the money in use.
Tell about the different kinds of servants held.
Generally speaking, what was the character of the Maryland people at the end of the seventeenth century?
QUESTIONS FOR ORIGINAL THOUGHT AND RESEARCH
1. How many of the functions of government were united in the governor's council? Show how the powers of the proprietary were dangerously large. Name the particulars in which you think the form of government in Maryland in 1658 was good, and those in which it was bad, and give reasons for your opinion.
2. What fact is shown by the prompt collapse of Fendall's rebellion? "
3. Find the meaning of " nepotism." Is it a fault? Was Charles Calvert's
policy in this respect right? Was it wise? Are Quakers excused from taking oaths at the present time? What did the contests between the Houses of Assembly show about the spirit of the people?
4. Explain as fully as you can the causes of the Protestant Revolution. What just cases of complaint were there against the proprietary gov- ernment? What charges were groundless?
Compare the condition of the people under the royal government with their condition under the proprietary; was the change to their ad- vantage?
REFERENCES
Browne's Maryland, pp. 90-202. Browne's Calverts, pp. 160-175. Fiske's Old Virginia and Her Neighbors, Vol. II., pp. 139-169. Sparks' Causes of the Maryland Revolution of 1689 (Johns Hopkins University Studies in History and Politics, Fourteenth Series, xi-xii). Mereness' Maryland as a Proprietary Province - see index for topics desired.
CHAPTER V
THE PROVINCE BECOMES AN INDEPENDENT STATE
46. Effects of the Royal Government. - The royal govern- ment had now come to an end, and the control was again in the hands of Calvert, but you are not to suppose that the proprie- tary government after its restoration was like the rule of Cecil- ius or Charles. In name it was identical, and constitutionally it was the same, but conditions had changed vastly, and in reality the character of the proprietary government had changed with them. Religious toleration was not restored, and the people were still taxed for the support of the Episcopal church. The new proprietary was a Protestant, dependent upon the favor of a Protestant king, and there was thus no great religious barrier between him and the majority of his people. The colonists were no longer divided into classes, friendly and unfriendly to the proprietary, and the change was in many respects merely a change in name. The revolution of 1689 had given a new char- acter to Maryland history, and it was a change that had come to stay for the life of the province.
One of the last acts of the royal government was also one of the best. The laws of the province, many of which had been enacted for limited times, while alterations and amendments had frequently taken place, had fallen into great confusion. By the Assembly of 1715 a complete revision was made, and a copy of the body of laws thus made sent to each county. So well was this work done that it laid the foundations of legislation that has lasted almost to the present day.
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LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
47. Demanding the Privileges of Englishmen ; the Founding of Baltimore ; Coming of the Germans. - The rule of the fourth proprietary was, on the whole, mild and just. The royal gov- ernor, Hart, was continued in office for a time. He was suc- ceeded in turn by Charles Calvert, probably a relative of the proprietary, and Benedict Leonard Calvert, brother of the pro- prietary. The latter was succeeded, on his resignation in 1731, by Samuel Ogle. Lord Baltimore was present and governed personally from December, 1732, to June, 1733. The period was one of peace and prosperity, but was marked by struggles between the two Houses of Assembly, the Lower House jeal- ously guarding the rights and liberties of the people. Highly significant was the determined stand made by the people and their representatives in Maryland for all the rights and privileges of the people of England, in particular their contention that Maryland was entitled to the benefit of the common and statute law of England. This was undoubtedly one of the far-off begin- nings of the American Revolution.
The most important event of this period was the founding of the city of Baltimore. The slow growth of towns in the early times has already been mentioned. The Assembly found it use- less to lay off towns and invest them with privileges ; people would not buy the lots and build houses, and so there were no towns. For ninety years the only real towns of the province were St. Mary's and Annapolis. Joppa, on the Gunpowder river, flourished for fifty years, and then dwindled away to "a soli- tary house and a grass-grown graveyard." Baltimore's success was Joppa's ruin. Three towns named Baltimore are mentioned before the founding of Baltimore on the Patapsco. There was a Baltimore on the Bush river, Baltimore county, in 1683 ; an- other in Dorchester county, in 1693; and a third in St. Mary's county.
Baltimore in 1752 From a print in possession of the Maryland Historical Society
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LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
The planters about the Patapsco being in need of a port, the Assembly passed an act in 1729 for the purchase of the neces- sary land, which was bought of Daniel and Charles Carroll. Settlers immediately took up the land bordering on the water. The city is possessed of an excellent harbor, and although its growth for several years was very slow, it has now come to be a leading seaport and one of the largest cities in the Union.
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View of Hagerstown
From a photograph
Important in the upbuilding of Baltimore were the Germans, who settled in Maryland in the first half of the eighteenth cen- tury. The majority of the Germans "drifted down" from Pennsylvania, but many came directly from Germany. In 1732 Lord Baltimore offered very liberal terms to settlers in western Maryland, and many Germans, with some others, took advan- tage of the offer. In 1735 about one hundred families came over from Germany, under the leadership of Thomas Schley, progen- itor of the prominent Maryland and Georgia families of that name. The Germans continued to come, both from Germany and Penn-
Baltimore as it Appeared before the Fire of 1904 From a photograph
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LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
sylvania, many settling in Baltimore city and county, but more in the western counties. In 1745 the Germans founded Frederick, named either for Frederick Calvert or for the heir-apparent to the English throne. In 1762 Hagerstown was laid out by Jonathan Hager, the town being called Elizabeth at first, in honor of Hager's wife. These Germans were thrifty and in- dustrious people; their mechanics were skillful, as a rule, and their merchants or traders enterprising and successful. The first care of the Germans when they settled a new community was a schoolhouse, and their next, a church. They have con- tributed a very valuable element to the population of Maryland.
Scotch-Irish immigrants also contributed to the population of western Maryland.
48. Mason and Dixon's Line; Further Loss of Territory. - How Maryland lost much valuable territory through the schemes of William Penn has already been related (see Sec. 36). The wicked decision by which, in 1685, Penn gained part of the Eastern Shore of Maryland (Delaware), settled the eastern boun- dary, but the northern boundary was not at that time established. There was no conflict between the charters, as both named the fortieth parallel as the boundary; but Penn would never agree to running a line as the charters had fixed it. Penn died in 1718, but his sons succeeded to his designs, and "by some unexplained means obtained from Charles, Lord Baltimore, in 1732, a written agreement by which he yielded all that they demanded, and pre- sented them with two and a half millions of acres of territory to which they had not even the shadow of a claim." 1
Before long, however, Lord Baltimore seems to have discov- ered his costly mistake, and to have made some effort to save himself. The unsettled state of affairs naturally led to a border warfare between the settlers in the disputed territory. In the course of these affrays men were roughly treated and impris-
1 William Hand Browne's Maryland : The History of a Palatinate, p. 212.
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THE PROVINCE BECOMES AN INDEPENDENT STATE
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Five Mile Stone, Mason and Dixon's Line From photographs of the original in possession of the Maryland Historical Society
oned, houses were burned, and some lives were lost. One bold Marylander who took a leading part in the contests was Thomas Cresap. The Pennsylvanians hated him accordingly, and a party of them burned his house and carried him off to jail in Philadelphia, where he taunted them by exclaiming, "Why, this is the finest city in the province of Maryland !" The dispute after a while became so dangerous that it was necessary for the king to issue an order for the parties to keep the peace until a decision was reached in the English courts.
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LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
A settlement was not reached until 1760, when Charles Cal- vert was compelled to carry out the agreement of 1732., On the east the line ran from a point midway between Cape Hen- lopen and Chesapeake bay until it touched a circle of twelve miles' radius drawn from New Castle as a centre, then north to a point fifteen miles south of Philadelphia, and from thence due west. Even then, the Penns managed to run the line from " False Cape," twenty-three miles south of the true Cape Henlo- pen. The boundary line between Maryland and Pennsylvania was finally established in 1763-1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, two noted English mathematicians. Milestones were set up as the surveyors proceeded, and on every fifth stone were placed the arms of Lord Baltimore and those of the Penns, on the proper sides. This line was then called Mason and Dixon's Line, and became celebrated as the boundary line between the Northern and Southern sections of the United States, - before the Civil War the dividing line between the free and the slave states.
It will be remembered that according to the charter of Mary- land the boundary line ran along the south bank of the Potomac river to its source, and thence northward to the fortieth parallel. In the early days it was not certain whether the source was at the head of the north or of the south branch, and after the south branch was proved to be the true source the question of the control of the territory remained in dispute. Virginia claimed as far as the northern branch, and finally, in 1852, the Mary- land Assembly, for some reason, gave up Maryland's claims, thus sacrificing about half a million acres of fertile land on the south and west, to which the state was undoubtedly entitled.
49. Frederick Calvert becomes Fifth Proprietary. - In 1751 Charles Calvert, fifth Lord Baltimore and fourth proprietary of Maryland, died, and was succeeded by his son Frederick, the
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THE PROVINCE BECOMES AN INDEPENDENT STATE
sixth and last of the Barons of Baltimore. Frederick was a man of exceedingly bad character. He was selfish and guilty of some of the worst vices, and seemed to care nothing for his province except to get all the money out of it that he possibly could for the enjoyment of his selfish and immoral pleasures. He never visited Maryland.
50. Wars with the French ; the English Gain Control of North America. - The English were not in undisturbed possession of North America. The colonies of the English extended in a long line down the Atlantic coast, but the vast region along the St. Lawrence river, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi river had been to some extent explored and settled by the French. This territory the French took vigorous measures to retain. But the English laid claim to the whole of the continent, by virtue of the explorations of Cabot, who sailed along the Atlantic coast in 1497, and again in 1498. The natural result of the jealousy thus aroused was a great struggle between the English and the French, to determine which should be the masters of this continent. The first of the four wars that followed was King William's War, which broke out when William became king of England, and took his name. Then followed in succes- sion Queen Anne's War and King George's War, named from the reigning sovereigns of England. In these struggles Mary- land was not much involved, beyond requests for money to help to carry on the war in other parts of the continent. But we now come to the final struggle for the possession of the great prize, which lasted from 1754 to 1763.1
King George's War ended in 1748, but the peace was recog- nized as a mere truce, preceding the decisive conflict. The French erected forts and prepared themselves energetically. The English, especially in Maryland and Virginia, cast longing
1 War was not formally declared until 1756, after two years of fighting.
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LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
eyes across the Alleghany mountains, and presently the Ohio Company was formed for the purpose of colonizing the country along the Ohio river. At the point where the Allegheny and Monongahela unite to form the Ohio, called the Gateway of the West, the English began the construction of a fort, but a stronger party of French drove them off and erected a fort for themselves, which they called Fort Duquesne. On the way to strengthen the English at this very time was a party of Virginia troops under George Washington, then only twenty-one years of age, but destined, in coming years, to play the most important part in American history.
Fort Duquesne
From a drawing by Charles Copeland, based on a photograph and contemporary sources
When matters began to grow serious, a force was sent over from England under General Braddock, an able and experienced officer. Both the English and the French made use The war, indeed, is
of Indian allies, particularly the French. known as the French and Indian War. The Indians did not fight in open field like Europeans, but delighted to surprise an enemy from ambush and shoot down men while they themselves were concealed by trees and rocks. But the most terrible feature of Indian wars was the murder of families taking no direct part in the contest. Men, women, and children were not only murdered, but tortured with the most horrible cruelty. Now Braddock, in spite of his skill, knew nothing of Indian methods of fighting, and
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THE PROVINCE BECOMES AN INDEPENDENT STATE
thought that while the savages beat the colonial troops, they could be no match for his own disciplined soldiers. He accordingly marched through western Maryland, directly on Fort Duquesne, rejecting with scorn the advice of Washington and others, and refusing to allow rangers and scouts to go in advance L. ERIE to prevent surprise. When a short distance from the N. fort a murderous fire was suddenly poured into his French" Ft. French Ft. troops by a hidden foe - he had fallen into an Indian F meghany ambush. Such warfare was new to the king's troops, Fr.Ft. and they huddled together like sheep, to be shot down Indian Village in scores. Braddock was mortally wounded, and the 0 remnant of the army was brought Ft. Braddocks Field off through the skill of Washing- Duquesne se . Necessity N I A ton.
Ft.Cumberland
Monongahel,
A
R
ock's Braddock I The frontier was now left ex- Route posed, and the savages swept down tomac A Alexandria upon scattered homes, burning N I A houses, murdering the inhabitants, and torturing and mangling horri- bly, without regard to age or sex. The panic extended even to the Chesapeake bay. Horatio Sharpe, an able and energetic man, had been governor of Maryland since 1753. When the news of Braddock's defeat reached Annapolis, Sharpe hurried at once to Fort Cumberland (on the present site of Cumberland city), where he found all in confusion and alarm. The governor did his best to encourage the frightened people ; he caused a line of stockades, or small forts, to be built, and later a strong stone fort called Fort Frederick, near the site of the present town of Hancock. Fort Cumberland was too far west to afford much protection. Order was gradually restored, while the war was fought out in the north, but Indian outrages were long continued west of the Blue Ridge. The great strongholds of
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LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
the French were captured, and the war ended in complete vic- tory for the English. Peace was concluded in 1763 by the treaty of Paris, and France gave up to England all territory east of the Mississippi river.
Old Fort Frederick From a photograph
51. Governor Sharpe and the Assemblies. - During the French and Indian War there were many sharp disputes between the governor and the Lower House of Assembly. The Lower House resisted the demands of the king and insisted that the proprietary should pay a share of the expenses for the defense of the province by paying taxes on his estates. This was of course resisted by the governor, who was bound to protect the interests of the proprietary, but after a severe struggle he was obliged to yield. This shows the independent spirit of the people, though it must be acknowledged that the delegates seemed to grudge the expenditure of money in any cause, and so stubborn a stand as they took for this principle can scarcely be justified when we remember that it was at the cost of the lives of the people. At one time, indeed, the angry settlers of Frederick county threatened to march on Annapolis and compel the Assembly to vote supplies. While we honor their defense
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THE PROVINCE BECOMES AN INDEPENDENT STATE
of the rights of the people, therefore, we cannot but regret that they should have displayed such meanness and obstinacy.
52. England's Oppressions, and Growth of the Spirit of Free- dom. - At this time the king of England was George III, a man of singular narrowness and obstinacy. Hard laws had long been in force, by which the commerce of the American colonies was seriously interfered with and manufactures repressed. In a word, the colonies were governed with no regard for their own welfare, but only with a view to the advan- tage of the mother country. But the colonists were always a sturdy and liberty-loving people, willing to give up none of their rights as Englishmen, and the result of the various oppressions of the mother country had been the growth of a strong sentiment for freedom and a determination firmly to maintain their rights.
When the French wars were over, the king and Parliament declared that the resulting advantages went to the Americans, and that they ought to pay a share of the enormous expenses that had been incurred. The colonies had paid a share, for- during the progress of the wars they had furnished men, money, and supplies, and had suffered heavy losses of life and property. Yet it was not this so much that the Americans urged, as the fact that the manner of raising the money was illegal and oppressive. It was claimed that when Parliament imposed taxes on the American colonies, it violated a right of Englishmen that had been acknowledged for centuries : that they could be taxed only by their own representatives. This principle had prevailed in the colonies from the earliest times, where taxes were imposed by the Assemblies, composed of the representatives of the people ; the colonies had no representatives in Parliament. The position of Maryland was particularly strong, since her charter expressly exempted her from taxation by the English king, which was construed to mean the English government.
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LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
53. The Stamp Act; Maryland Asserts Her Rights. - But the English government was determined to raise a tax in America, and accordingly, in March, 1765, Parliament passed the famous Stamp Act. This required that stamps, issued by the British government, should be bought and placed on all legal and busi- ness documents and newspapers. Everywhere throughout the colonies the highest excitement and indignation prevailed, and it was determined never to use the stamps. When Hood, the stamp distributor for Maryland, arrived, considerably more attention was bestowed upon him than he. found agreeable. In several places his effigy was whipped, hanged, and burned; his house in Annapolis was torn down, and he himself obliged to flee from the prov- SOIT QUI SO ince. When the British ship Hawke ar- B rived, bearing the stamps, the governor did not dare to have them landed.
I SHILLING
When the Assembly met, resolutions were A British Stamp From an original stamp drawn up and unanimously passed, in which the rights of the people of Maryland were emphatically asserted. It was declared that the first settlers of Maryland had brought with them from England and transmitted to their children all the rights and privileges possessed by the people of Great Britain, and it was, moreover, pointed out that these rights were expressly preserved to them in their charter, together with exemption from taxation by the king. They further declared that the right to impose taxes upon the people of Maryland rested with the Assembly, and that any tax imposed by any other authority was a violation of their rights.
When the time came for the Stamp Act to go into operation, the court of Frederick county boldly declared that its business
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THE PROVINCE BECOMES AN INDEPENDENT STATE
should be carried on without stamps,1 and other courts soon fol- lowed the example. Throughout the colonies the same fierce resentment was shown against the Stamp Act. Associations called the Sons of Liberty were formed, and the people generally refused to use the stamps. Under these circumstances Parlia- ment wisely repealed the Stamp Act, and for the moment the colonists went wild with joy.
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