The Maryland Constitution of 1851 was the second constitution of the U.S. state of Maryland following the revolution, replacing the Constitution of 1776. [1]
The primary reason for the new constitution was a need to re-apportion Maryland's legislature, the Maryland General Assembly. It also permitted a change in the status of the City of Baltimore (designated as a "port of entry" in 1706, chartered as a town in 1729, incorporated in 1796–97, and county seat since 1768) and its relationship with the surrounding Baltimore County (which was erected in 1659). By the provisions of this 1851 Constitution, Baltimore City was to be separated and given the status of the other (soon-to-be) 23 counties of the State, with a provision of "home rule", which was later extended in 1923. By 1854, Baltimore County by election of its voters had moved its county seat and courts to Towsontown, north of the city and began building a new courthouse. However, there were several critiques of the Constitution of 1851, especially in changes in how the judiciary functioned which allowed for gaps in judiciary oversight. These critiques led to the relatively rapid adoption of a new Constitution of 1864.
Maryland is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. With a total land area of 12,407 square miles (32,130 km2), Maryland is the 8th-smallest state by land area. Its population of 6,177,224 ranks it the 18th-most populous state and the 5th-most densely populated. Baltimore is the largest city in the state, and the capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State. It is named after Henrietta Maria, the French-born queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, who was known then in England as Mary.
Baltimore County is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County is part of the Northeast megalopolis, which stretches from Northern Virginia northward to Boston. Baltimore County hosts a diversified economy, with particular emphasis on education, government, and health care. As of the 2020 census, the population was 854,535.
The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, the state capital. The State House also houses the Maryland State Senate Chamber and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the State of Maryland. Each delegate has offices in Annapolis, in the nearby Casper R. Taylor Jr. House Office Building.
The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals to its current name by a constitutional amendment. The court, which is composed of one chief justice and six associate justices, meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in the state capital, Annapolis. The term of the Court begins the second Monday of September. The Court is unique among American courts in that the justices wear red robes.
The government of Maryland is conducted according to the Maryland Constitution. The United States is a federation; consequently, the government of Maryland, like the other 49 state governments, has exclusive authority over matters that lie entirely within the state's borders, except as limited by the Constitution of the United States.
The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single-member districts, the Senate is responsible, along with the Maryland House of Delegates, for passage of laws in Maryland, and for confirming executive appointments made by the Governor of Maryland.
The recorded history of Maryland dates back to the beginning of European exploration, starting with the Venetian John Cabot, who explored the coast of North America for the Kingdom of England in 1498. After European settlements had been made to the south and north, the colonial Province of Maryland was granted by King Charles I to Sir George Calvert (1579–1632), his former Secretary of State in 1632, for settlement beginning in March 1634. It was notable for having been established with religious freedom for Roman Catholics, since Calvert had publicly converted to that faith. Like other colonies and settlements of the Chesapeake Bay region, its economy was soon based on tobacco as a commodity crop, highly prized among the English, cultivated primarily by African slave labor, although many young people came from Britain sent as indentured servants or criminal prisoners in the early years.
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), Maryland, a slave state, was one of the border states, straddling the South and North. Despite some popular support for the cause of the Confederate States of America, Maryland did not secede during the Civil War. Governor Thomas H. Hicks, despite his early sympathies for the South, helped prevent the state from seceding.
Franklin High School is a public high school located in Reisterstown, Maryland, United States, an old historic town in the now northwestern suburbs of the modern City of Baltimore in Baltimore County, Maryland. It is in the Baltimore County Public Schools system.
The Baltimore County Courthouses are located in Towson, the county seat. The older, original Baltimore County Courthouse of 1854-1856 houses many of the offices of the County government, including both the executive branch and the legislative branch. The County Courts Building lies to the west, separated by a plaza. Built in 1970-1971, it houses the civil, criminal, family and juvenile divisions of the Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore County, as well as the Baltimore County Sheriff's Office. The latter office protects the Courthouse and its judicial personnel, as well as having countywide law enforcement functions.
Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is a division of the state government of Maryland in the United States. The agency oversees public school districts, which are 24 local school systems—one for each of Maryland's 23 counties plus one for Baltimore City. Maryland has more than 1,400 public schools in 24 public school systems, with a 2019 enrollment of approximately 900,000. Of the student body, 42% are on FARMS and 22% are Title 1.
Luke Clippinger is an American politician and lawyer from Maryland. A Democrat, he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2010, representing the state's 46th district in Baltimore. He took office on January 12, 2011.
The Baltimore City Sheriff's Office is the law enforcement arm of the court, serving Baltimore City, Maryland. The office is headquartered in the Baltimore City Circuit Courthouses which serves as the sites for the Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore City.
In the United States, an independent city is a city that is not in the territory of any county or counties and is considered a primary administrative division of its state. Independent cities are classified by the United States Census Bureau as "county equivalents" and may also have similar governmental powers to a consolidated city-county. However, in the case of a consolidated city-county, a city and a county were merged into a unified jurisdiction in which the county at least nominally exists to this day, whereas an independent city was legally separated from any county or merged with a county that simultaneously ceased to exist even in name.
John Hanson Thomas Jerome was Mayor of Baltimore from 1850–1852.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Maryland on November 8, 2022. All of Maryland's executive officers were up for election as well as all of Maryland's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives, one of its U.S. senators, and the state legislature. Primaries were held on July 19, 2022. Polls were open from 7 AM to 8 PM EST.
Norman Scott Phillips is an American politician, attorney, and management consultant who is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for District 10 in Baltimore County, Maryland.