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.]] The history of Maryland could be said to have begun circa 10,000 BC, when the first people arrived in what would later become the U.S. State of Maryland . Native Americans were the sole inhabitants of the area for thousands of years until Europeans, starting with John Cabot in 1498, began exploring the area. However, it wasn't until the 1600s that Europeans began settling the area, and not until 1632 that the colony itself was founded and named. Maryland remained an English colony until the American Revolution , when Maryland became a state in the United States . A Slave State with Confederate sympathies, Maryland nevertheless remained in the Union during the American Civil War , mainly because of Union occupation. PRE-COLUMBIAN HISTORY ''See also Pre-Colonial America '' It appears that the first humans to arrive in the area that would become Maryland appeared around the 10th Millennium BC , about the time that the last Ice Age ended. They were Hunter-gatherer s organized into semi-nomadic bands. They adapted as the region's environment changed, developing the spear for hunting as smaller animals, like Deer , became more prevalent and by about 1,500 B.C. Oysters had became 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 1,000 B.C. pottery was being produced. With the eventual rise of Agriculture more permanent Native-American villages were built. But even with the advent of farming, hunting and fishing were still major sources of food. The Bow And Arrow were first used for hunting in the area around the year 800 . Europeans did not encounter Maryland's indigenous people until the early 1600s . At that time, the main tribes in the state spoke Algonquian languages. These tribes included the Nanticoke on the Eastern Shore , and the Accohannock and Powhatan on the Western shore. Within about a century of first contact, the state's Native Americans were all but gone, having been pushed out by the European settlers. The Shawnee were the last major tribe in the state, and they left Western Maryland in the 1740s . EARLY EUROPEAN EXPLORATION John Cabot , an Italian sailing under the English flag, was the first European to explore the area. In 1498 he sailed along the Eastern Shore , off present-day Worcester County . The next notable European visit to the area occurred in 1524 when Giovanni Da Verrazano , another Italian, who sailed under the French flag, passed the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay . The bay itself was explored in 1572 by Pedro Menendez De Aviles , the Spanish governor of Florida, and in 1608 by John Smith . COLONIAL MARYLAND ''See also: Colonial America and British Colonization Of The Americas '' , inherited the Colony of Maryland on the death of his father George . Maryland's first Proprietary Governor , he never visited the colony.]] George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore applied to Charles I for a new royal charter for what was to become the Province Of Maryland . George Calvert died in April 1632, but a charter for "Maryland Colony" (in Latin , "Terra Maria") was granted to his son, Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore , on June 20 , 1632 . Some historians view this as a form of compensation for his father's being stripped of his title of Secretary Of State upon announcing his Roman Catholicism in 1625 . The colony was named in honour of Queen Henrietta Maria {Link without Title} . Lord Baltimore was a staunch Catholic , which was extremely stigmatic for a nobleman in 17th Century England , where Roman Catholics were widely regarded as enemies of the crown and of the country. Baltimore's two goals were to create a haven for British Catholics but at the same time turn a profit. Without Protestant settlers to provide the backbone of the colony's population, it would most likely fail. For this reason, Lord Baltimore instructed his brother Leonard Calvert , who was to be the colony's Governor , to keep the religion of the Catholic settlers quiet to avoid dissension. The first settlers, led by Leonard Calvert , Cecil Calvert's younger brother, departed from Cowes , on the Isle Of Wight , on November 22 , 1633 aboard two small ships, the ''Ark'' and the ''Dove''. Their landing on March 25 , 1634 is commemorated by the state each year on that date as Maryland Day . The first group of colonists consisted of 17 Gentlemen and their wives and about two hundred others. After purchasing from the Yaocomico Indians and establishing the town of St. Mary's , Leonard, per his brother's instructions, at first attempted to govern the country under Feudalistic precepts. However, this met resistance and in February 1635 he had to summon a colonial Assembly . In 1638 the assembly forced him to govern according to the laws of England , and subsequently the right to initiate legislation passed to the assembly. In 1638 Calvert seized a trading post in Kent Island established by the Virginian William Claiborne . In 1644 Claiborne led an uprising of Maryland Protestant s. Calvert was forced to flee to Virginia , but he returned at the head of an armed force in 1646 and reasserted Proprietorial rule. .]] Maryland soon became one of the few predominantly Catholic regions among the English colonies in America. Maryland was also one of the key destinations for tens of thousands of British convicts punished by sentences of transportation, which carried on until independence. The Maryland Toleration Act , issued in 1649 , was one of the first laws that explicitly tolerated varieties of religion (as long as it was Christian ), and is sometimes seen as a precursor to the First Amendment . St. Mary's City was the largest site of the original Maryland colony, and was the seat of the colonial government until 1708. After Virginia made the practice of Anglicanism mandatory, a large number of Puritans migrated from Virginia to Maryland, and were given land for a settlement called Providence (now called Annapolis). In 1650 the Puritans revolted against the proprietary government and set up a new government that outlawed both Catholicism and Anglicanism. This lasted until 1658 when the Calvert family regained control and re-enacted the Toleration Act. During the persecution of Maryland Catholics by the Puritan revolutionary government, all of the original Catholic churches of southern Maryland were burned down. St Mary's City is now an archeological site, with a small tourist center. In 1708 the seat of government was moved to Providence, renamed Annapolis in honor of Queen Anne . Originally, based on an incorrect map, the royal charter granted Maryland the Potomac River and territory northward to the fortieth parallel. This was found to be a problem, because the northern boundary would put Philadelphia , the major city in Pennsylvania , within Maryland. The Calvert Family , which controlled Maryland, and the Penn Family , which controlled Pennsylvania, decided in 1750 to engage two surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon , to survey what became known as the Mason-Dixon Line which would form the boundary between their two colonies. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 would later create political conditions which made the Mason-Dixon line important to the history of slavery, whose expansion was only permitted in territories south of the line. THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD ''See also: History Of The United States (1776-1789) '' Maryland did not at first favor independence from Great Britain and gave instructions to that effect to its delegates to the Continental Congress . During this initial phase of the revolutionary period, Maryland was governed by the Assembly Of Freemen , an Assembly of the state's Counties . The first convention lasted four days, from June 22 to June 25 , 1774. All sixteen counties then existing were represented by a total of 92 members; Matthew Tilghman was elected chairman. , Maryland's first elected governor under its 1776 Constitution .]] 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 11th, they would not meet again. The Conventions were replaced by the new state government which the Maryland Constitution Of 1776 had established. Thomas Johnson became the state's first elected governor. On March 1 , 1781 the Articles Of Confederation took effect with Maryland's ratification. 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. Maryland was the last hold-out; it refused to ratify until Virginia and New York agreed to rescind their claims to lands in the Ohio River valley. All of the colonies rebelling against Britain ratified it by 1781 . No significant Battles Of The American Revolutionary War occurred in Maryland. However, this did not prevent the state's soldiers from distinguishing themselves through their service. General George Washington was impressed with the Maryland regulars who fought in the Continental Army and, according to some historians, this lead him to bestow the name "Old Line State" on Maryland {Link without Title} . Today, ''the Old Line State'' is one of Maryland's two official nicknames. (''circa'' 1765 to 1770 ) was the first person to serve a full term as President Of The Continental Congress under the Articles Of Confederation .]] The state also filled other roles during the war. For instance, the Continental Congress met briefly in Baltimore from December 20 , 1776 through March 4 , 1777 . Furthermore, a Marylander, John Hanson , served as President Of The Continental Congress from 1781 to 1782 . Hanson was the first person to serve a full term as President of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation. (He is thus sometimes incorrectly referred to as the "First President of the United States".) From 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 , which ended the Revolutionary War , was ratified by Congress on January 14 , 1784 . MARYLAND, 1789-1849 ''See also: History Of The United States (1789-1849) '' Early days under the U.S. Constitution ''See also: See also: History Of The United States Constitution '' In a small way, the story of the United States Constitution began in Maryland, as it was in Annapolis that delegates from five states (''not'' including Maryland) first met to call for a Constitutional Convention to correct the problems with the Articles of Confederation. This meeting, called the Annapolis Convention , met from September 11 to September 14 , 1786 , but the commissioners felt that there were not a sufficient number of states represented to make any substantive agreement. However, the meeting did result in having a Constitutional Convention called. While Maryland was the last state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, it was the seventh state to ratify the Constitution , which it did by a vote of 63-11 on March 28 , 1788 . The document would take effect about a year later, on March 4 , 1789 after it had secured the ratifications of all states except North Carolina and Rhode Island , which would both ratify shortly. German map of Washington, D.C.]] One of the first issues which the new government had to decide upon was the site for a permanent capital for the young nation. A Southern site for the capital was agreed at a sit-down dinner between Thomas Jefferson , who wanted the capital located in the south, and Alexander Hamilton , who wanted support for his banking and federal bond plans. They worked together and each got what he wanted. The actual site of the District Of Columbia on the Potomac River was chosen by President Washington . Washington may have chosen the site for its natural scenery, its location near the center of the new country, in the belief that the Potomac had the potential to be a great navigable waterway, or even in the hope of increasing the value of his land holdings in the area. In the end, Virginia ceded about 39 squares miles and Maryland ceded about 61 square miles to the Federal Government for the District of Columbia. (The Virginian portion of the District would be retroceded back to that state in 1846 ) Maryland in the War of 1812 During the War Of 1812 the British conducted raids against cities along the Chesapeake Bay, up to and including Havre De Grace . There were also two notable battles that occurred in the state. The first was the Battle Of Bladensburg , which occurred on August 24 , 1814 just outside the national capital, Washington, D.C. The militiamen defending the city were routed and retreated in confusion through the streets of the city. After overrunning the confused American defenders at the Bladensburg the British took the nation's capital of Washington, D.C. . After burning and looting major public buildings there (see Burning Of Washington ) and forcing President James Madison to flee, they turned their attention north to Baltimore, where they hoped to strike a knockout blow against the demoralized Americans. Baltimore was not only a busy port, but was thought by the British to harbor many of the privateers who were despoiling British ships. The British planned a combined operation, with Major General Robert Ross launching a land attack at North Point, and Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane laying siege to Fort McHenry, which defended the harbor. - 1875 , which appears on both the flag and the seal of Baltimore, Maryland .]] The British army of 5000 landed as planned, marched toward Baltimore, and first met heavy resistance at the Battle Of North Point on September 12 , 1814 . But the British managed to push the American defenders back, and advanced to within two miles of the city. The city's defenses were under the command of Major General Samuel Smith ,an officer of Maryland Militia and also a United States Senator. Baltimore had been well fortified, with excellent supplies and some 15,000 troops. The British, knowing that the success of their attack depended on the results of the sea campaign, halted their advance. .]] 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 further thwart the 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 1 1/2 mile range of Fort McHenry's cannons, and continued to bombard the outmanned Americans for the next 25 hours. On the morning of September 14 , an oversized American Flag , which had been hastily sewn in hopes of this event, still flew over Fort McHenry, and the British knew that victory had eluded them. The bombardment of the fort prompted Francis Scott Key , a native of Baltimore who witnessed the assault, to write " The Star-Spangled Banner ", which would later become the country's National Anthem . MARYLAND IN THE CIVIL WAR ''See also: American Civil War and Origins Of The American Civil War '' Maryland's sympathies Maryland, a slave state, was one of the Border States , straddling the North and South . However, in the lead up to the American Civil War , it became clear that the state was more sympathetic to the South than to the North. After John Brown 's raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia (now in West Virginia ), citizens began forming local militias. Of these, about two-thirds opposed abolition with only about one-third supporting it. Additionally, in the Presidential Election Of 1860 , Republican Abraham Lincoln came in fourth place, received only 1,211 votes statewide (2.5%). Lincoln received only a handful of votes in the entire capital of Annapolis . Of its 1860 population of 687,000, about 85,000 joined the Union and about 25,000 fought for the Confederacy. Southern and Eastern Maryland were especially close to the South while Northern and Western areas of the state had stronger economic ties to the North. The first bloodshed of the Civil War occurred in Baltimore involving the Massachusetts troops that were fired on 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 Supreme Court case of Ex Parte Merryman . prevented Maryland from seceding in 1861.]] However, despite considerable popular support for the cause of the Confederate States Of America , Maryland did not secede during the United States Civil War . This was due to Abraham Lincoln 's strong hand suppressing violence and dissent in Maryland and the belated assistance of Governor Hicks who eventually worked with the federal government to stop further violence and prevent the state from seceding. Many Marylanders sympathetic to the South easily crossed the Potamac River 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 escaped south to fight for the Confederacy while about 60,000 Maryland men served in all branches of the Union military. However, of those Union troops signed up largely because they were promised home garrison duty. Because Maryland remained in the Union it was not included under the Emancipation Proclamation . A Constitutional Convention was held during 1864 that culminated in the passage of A New State Constitution (see Below ) on November 1 of that year. Article 24 of that document outlawed the practice of Slavery . The right to vote was not, however, extended to non-white males until the Maryland Constitution Of 1867 , which is still in effect today. Baltimore Riot of 1861 and aftermath ''Main article: Baltimore Riot Of 1861 '' The first bloodshed of the Civil War occurred in Maryland. Concerned about the Confederates capturing the capital, Washington, D.C. , President Lincoln ordered troops to defend the city. They were transported by rail to Baltimore , where they had to disembark, march through the city, and board another train to continue their journey south to Washington. As one Massachusetts regiment was transferred between stations on April 19 , a mob of secessionists and Southern sympathizers attacked the train cars and block the route. The mob began throwing stones and bricks at the troops. Panicked by the situation, several soldiers fired into the mob, and chaos immediately ensued as a giant brawl began between fleeing soldiers, the violent mob, and the Baltimore police who tried to suppress the violence. Four soldiers and twelve civilians were killed in the riot. This event inspired James Ryder Randall to write a poem which would be put to music and eventually become the State Song , " Maryland, My Maryland ". After the April 19th rioting, some small skirmishes continued in Baltimore for the next month, but a sense of normalcy returned as the city was cleaned up. Mayor George William Brown and Maryland Governor Thomas Hicks implored President Lincoln to reroute troops around Baltimore city and through Annapolis to avoid further confrontations. On the evening of April 20 th Hicks also authorized Brown to dispatch the Maryland state militia for the purpose of disabling the railroad bridges into the city - an act he would later deny. One of the militia captains was John Merryman , who was arrested without a writ of Habeas Corpus one month later, sparking the case of '' Ex Parte Merryman ''. Lincoln complied with the request to reroute troops to Annapolis at first. However, on May 13 , the Union army entered Baltimore, occupied the city and declared Martial Law , to prevent all further incidents. The mayor, city council, and police commissioner, who were pro-South and seemingly incompetent at maintaining order in the situation, were arrested and imprisoned at Fort McHenry . Meanwhile, the states of Arkansas and Tennessee , seeing how federal troops acted in the pro-South Union state on April 19, seceded on May 6 . After the occupation of the city, Union troops were garrisoned throughout the state. Several members of the Maryland Legislature were arrested (which was days from approving secession), and the state was placed under direct Federal administration. Days afterward, North Carolina became the final state to approve secession ( May 21 ). Delaware was occupied by Union troops due to its proximity to (and to prevent a repeat of the events that took place in) Maryland. Kentucky declared its Neutrality (although it would eventually join the Union's side), and although Missouri was on the Union side, a Confederate Government-in-exile existed in Arkansas and Texas . Maryland would remain under federal administration, and Delaware occupied, until April 1865 , the end of the war. The war on Maryland soil ''See also: '' Unlike the Revolutionary War, the Civil War would see large battles fought in Maryland. The largest and most significant of these was the Battle Of Antietam , fought on September 17 , 1862 , near Sharpsburg . The battle was the culmination of Robert E. Lee 's Maryland Campaign , which aimed to secure new supplies; recruit fresh men 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 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 of the town of Sharpsburg by the 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 Longstreet's corps to arrive from Hagerstown and 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 is considered a strategic Union victory and a Turning Point of the war because it forced the end of Lee's invasion of the North and it allowed President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, taking effect on January 1 , 1863 . Although Lincoln had intended to do so earlier, he was advised by his Cabinet to make this announcement after a Union victory to avoid the perception that it was issued out of desperation. The winning of the Battle of Antietam also may have dissuaded the governments of France and Great Britain from recognizing the Confederacy; some suspected they were planning to do so in the aftermath of another Union defeat. RECONSTRUCTION THROUGH WWI ''See also: History Of The United States (1865-1918) '' Post-Civil War political developments Since Maryland had, reluctantly or not, remained in the Union during the Civil War, the state did not undergo Reconstruction like the states of the former Confederacy. However, as both a Southern state and a former Slave State , Maryland did experience many of the same problems with civil rights and racial tensions as did the rest of the south. The deep divisions in the state between those who fought for the North and those who fought for the South were also difficult to repair. , the only Governor Of Maryland elected under the state's 1864 Constitution .]] These issues were all brought up by the Constitution Which The State Adopted In 1864 . The document, which replaced the Maryland Constitution Of 1851 was largely the product of Unionists who temporarily had control of the state and was designed to reduce the influence of Southern sympathizers, who had almost caused the state to secede in 1861 . The document Emancipated the state's slaves (who were not covered by the Emancipation Proclamation ), disenfranchised southern sympathizers, and reapportioned the General Assembly based upon white inhabitants. This last provision diminished the power of the small counties where the majority of the state's large former slave population lived. The constitution was submitted to the people for Ratification on October 13 , 1864 and it was narrowly approved by a vote of 30,174 to 29,799 (50.31% to 49.69%). This was a very controversial result, given the state's Confederate ties and sympathies. Those voting at their usual polling places were opposed to the Constitution by 29,536 to 27,541. However, it secured ratification after the soldiers' votes were tallied. Soldiers from Maryland serving in the Union Army were overwhelmingly in favor (2,633 to 263). Of course, the state's soldiers who fought for the Confederacy, who would have overwhelmingly opposed it, could not vote in the referendum. While the constitution emancipated the state's slaves, this did not mean equality for them, in part because the franchise was restricted to "white" males. Additionally, the Maryland legislature refused to ratify both the 14th Amendment , which conferred citizenship rights on former slaves, and the 15th Amendment , which gave the vote to African Americans. At the Civil War's conclusion, Maryland was trying to pull together and move forward and found its political landscape altered dramatically. The Democratic Party regained power in the state from the Republicans who had temporarily gained control of the government during the war. This was facilitated by two developments. First, the Marylanders who had gone south to support the Confederacy returned home. Though they were initially disenfranchised, they largely opposed the policies of the Republicans. Secondly, the Union's occupying forces, who had remained in the state during the war to both to defend Washington, D.C. and to prevent the state from seceeding, were withdrawn. With the shift in power away from the Republicans, support for the Constitution of 1864 ended and it was replaced after being in effect for only three years by 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 a solid 54.1% of the state's population. However, while reapportioning the legislature based on population, not counties, which gave greater power to freed slaves, the document undid many of the benefits that the prior constitution had given to the state's African American population. , the 46th Governor Of Maryland , supported the Digges Amendment .]] Over the next several decades, the position of the state's Black population would remain an issue. This matter was brought to the forefront of Maryland politics in 1910 by the proposed Digges Amendment to the state constitution. The amendment would have used property requirements to effectively disenfranchise many African Americans (and possibly some immigrants) in the state. It was passed by the Maryland General Assembly and had the approval of the Governor , Austin Lane Crothers ), but it still required the approval of the people. Even before the people even had a chance to vote on the amendment, a bill was proposed which would have effectively passed the requirements of the Digges Amendment into law anyway. Not only did that measure fail (after a public outcry) but the amendment itself was rejected by the voters of Maryland. This was only the most notable rejection of a black-disenfranchising amendment. At least two other defeated proposals, the Poe Amendment in 1905 and the Straus Amendment in 1909, tried to restrict the voting rights of blacks in the state and other such proposals would arise in Maryland over the next several years. Progressive era reforms ''See also: Progressivism '' In the early twentieth century, a political reform movement, centered in the rising new middle class arose. 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 Boss es and Machines , which they succeeded in doing. In a series of laws passed between 1892 and 1908 , reformers had ballots distributed and pre-marked by the parties replaced with uniform state-issued ballots; obtained closed voting booths to prevent party workers from "assisting" voters; initiated Primary Election s 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 the effect the middle class was seeking. The illiterate and lower classes were discouraged from going to the polls. Voting participation dropped from about 82% of eligible voters in the 1890s to about 49% in the 1920s . Other laws that were passed did more to help the state's working men and women. For instance, in a series of laws passed in 1902 , the state regulated conditions in 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 would be overturned in the courts, but was redrafted and finally enacted in 1910 . The law would become a model for national legislation a few decades later. Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 .]] The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 was a momentous event for the Maryland's largest city and the state as a whole. The fire raged in , 1904 and Over 1,231 Firefighter s were required to bring the blaze under control. One reason for the fire's duration was the lack of national Standard s in fire-fighting equipment. Although fire engines from nearby cities (such as Philadelphia and Washington , as well as units from New York , Wilmington , and Atlantic City ) responded, many were useless because their hose couples failed to fit Baltimore Hydrant s. As a result, the fire burned over 30 hours, destroying 1,526 buildings spanning 70 city blocks. In the aftermath, 35,000 people were made unemployed. After the fire, the city was rebuilt using more fireproof materials, such as Granite pavers. During the Great War The United States initially tried to avoid involvement in ). This, of course, brought many changes to the nation and Maryland was no exception. Maryland was the site of many new military bases, like Camp Meade (now Fort Meade ) and 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 in the state, like the expansion of federal facilities, the General Assembly set up a Council of Defense. The 126 seats on the council were filled by many of the state's most prominent citizens. 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 Garden s 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. MARYLAND IN THE 20TH CENTURY ''See also: History Of The United States (1918-1945) '' The Ritchie administration , elected to his first of five terms in 1918, is probably the most popular governor in state history.]] In 1918, Maryland elected Albert C. Ritchie , a Democrat , governor. He would be reelected four times, serving from 1919 to 1934, and is arguably the state's all-time most popular governor. Handsome and aristocratic, Ritchie was 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 that had 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 he appointed many citizens' commissions to advise on nearly every aspect of government. State property taxes dropped sharply under Ritchie, but so did state services. A powerful state 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 Coolidge and Hoover were hopeless spendthrifts. Meanwhile, Congress submitted the Nineteenth Amendment to the states for ratification in June of 1919. This amendment, which Granted Women The Right To Vote , was rejected by the Maryland legislature on February 24 , 1920 . However, the amendment was finally ratified six months later when Tennessee became the 36th state to approve the measure. (Maryland would subsequently ratify the amendment on March 29 , 1941, a purely symbolic gesture.) The Presidential Election Of 1920 was thus the first election in which women could vote in Maryland (the state went for Warren Harding , the Republican nominee and ultimate winner). Albert Ritchie also lost his bid for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in 1932. Despite a large demonstration for support at the convention, Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated and went on the win the election. Ritchie continued to serve as governor until 1935. Upon his retirement, one newspaper said he was "the greatest governor Maryland ever had." But, like the rest of the country and much of the world, the state was now in the midst of the Great Depression . The Great Depression and World War II Maryland's experience during the worldwide economic downturn was not particularly unique, though in 1932 the " Bonus Army " marched through the state on its way to Washington, D.C. In addition to the nationwide New Deal reforms of President Roosevelt, Maryland also took steps to weather the hard times. For instance, in 1937 the state instituted its first ever Income Tax . The decade also saw advancements in Civil Rights . The 1935 case ''Murray v. Pearson et al'' resulted in a Baltimore City Court ordering integration of University Of Maryland Law School . The plaintiff in that case was represented by Thurgood Marshall , a young lawyer working with the NAACP and a native of Baltimore. The Attorney General appealed to the state's highest tribunal, the Court Of Appeals , which affired 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 approving Racial Segregation . While it was a moral precedent, it was not a legal one, and had no authority outside the state of Maryland. FOR FURTHER READING Surveys
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