Thread by @IJSanders

1. Maryland was the 7th state to adopt a constitution, but what it got sure wasn’t the 7th boldest. This week we look at the constitutional history of a state with 1 of the longest declarations of rights & most compromises to get constitutions written. #50Weeks50Constitutions

2. In the run-up to Independence, Marylanders self-organized a series of conventions to effectively run the place. In July 1776 the 8th such convention addressed the new independence with a call for a 9th convention that would draft a new constitution.

3. The framers of MD's 1st constitution met from August until mid-November, drafting a full governing document that included a Declaration of Rights, a very strong legislature, and a VERY weak governor (no veto, one-year term, no naming of advisors . . . no nothing, basically).

4. They took existing constitutions from New Hampshire, Virginia, etc., and ran with them. Lots o’ rights. Go ahead and read the Declaration of Rights. At the end you’ll find yourself fist pumping and ready to take the hill.
avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/m…

5. In the middle of the Dec of Rts there’s a provision on the independence of judges, which says that “salaries, liberal, but not profuse, ought to be secured” to them. It also called for (but didn’t exactly mandate) department heads to rotate positions.

6. Also, we at @IJ like Article XXXIX a lot: “That monopolies are odious, contrary to the spirit of a free government, and the principles of commerce; and ought not to be suffered.”

@IJ 7. Over the next few decades pressure bubbled up for reform concerning apportionment & the governor. Amendments in 1837 changed how some senators were chosen, & a popularly elected governor, oddly selected from one of three districts which rotated every election.

@IJ 8. Another change in 1837 was a sign of the times: it mandated that if the legislature were to abolish slavery, it had to do so *unanimously* in two consecutive terms.

@IJ 9. Despite these amendments, pressure grew for a constitutional convention. Slave owners resisted one because they feared it might end slavery. A convention was eventually called, but on the understanding that the delegates couldn’t do exactly that.

@IJ 10. That convention struck a compromise on representation and created elected judges. All-in-all, though, the 1851 Constitution was not considered a very strong document, and many delegates didn’t end up supporting it. Nevertheless, it was adopted by the voters.

@IJ 11. But then the war came. As the Civil War lead to the Emancipation Proclamation, which did not free slaves in Union states, Marylanders could nevertheless read the writing on the wall & the state constitution’s support of slavery. So another convention looked like a good idea.

@IJ 12. The 1864 constitution abolished slavery in the state, made explicit the laws of the US took precedence over those of Maryland, & required loyalty oaths to vote. But we needn’t dwell on it b/c a subsequent, massive, backlash against the unionists led to the 1867 Constitution.

@IJ 13 The loyalty oaths weren’t enforced in the 1866 elections, & non-Unionist “Conservative-Democrats” swept to power. They promptly called a constitutional convention & for some reason the Republican party didn’t nominate candidates. So all 118 delegates were Conservative-Democrat

@IJ 14. The new constitution rolled back many changes from 1864, including the loyalty oaths. It also called for compensation from the US to former slaveholders (it didn’t also say, but could have, “good luck with that”). Among other changes, there was the 1st a gubernatorial veto.

@IJ 15. With many amendments along the way (including deleting that whole slavery-compensation thing), especially for legislative apportionment, that constitution still serves the people of Maryland today.

@IJ 16. Sources:

Friedman, The Maryland State Constitution (2011)

avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/m…