ANNAPOLIS 1864
EMANCIPATION HISTORY
Maryland, one of the thirteen colonies has a very rich history within the fabric of America. Maryland's relationship with slavery began in the 1600's. Beginning in 1642 the first African's were brought into St. Mary's City. Before slavery reached a legal status in 1663, much labor was done by indentured servants, which were soon replaced by cheaper labor. From the waterways that outstretched from the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland became a striving colony, becoming a plantation colony in the 18th century which had an ever growing black population. In fact by 1755, 40% of Maryland's population would be made up of blacks.
Maryland, a Southern state located below the Mason Dixon line, never left the Union and was excluded from President Lincolns' Emancipation Proclamation. In April 1864, Maryland’s 3rd Constitutional Convention was held in the City of Annapolis which culminated in passage of a new state constitution, effective on November 1, 1864. The new Constitution outlawed the practice of slavery, disenfranchised southern sympathizers, reapportioned the General Assembly and created for the first time the position of Lieutenant Governor and Superintendent of Public Instruction. The narrowly approved vote (50.31% to 49.69%) passed the Constitution which was carried after Maryland soldiers in the Union Army voted overwhelming in favor (2,633 to 263).
ANNAPOLIS
Annapolis, capital of Maryland was originally called "Providence" when settled by the Puritans. It was later called "Anne Arundel's Towne" after the wife of Lord Baltimore, who owned the proprietary colony. It wasn't until a Royal Governor, Sir Francis Nicholson, moved the capital here from St. Mary's City that the small seaport received its present name. Sir Francis chose to honor Princess Anne, heir to the throne. In 1708, as Queen, she chartered her colonial namesake as a city. Her royal badge, with a crown over the entwined thistle of Scotland and Tudor rose of England, is depicted on the Annapolis flag.
From the middle of the 18th century until the American Revolutionary War, Annapolis was noted for its wealthy and cultivated society. The Maryland Gazette, which became an important weekly journal, was founded there by Jonas Green in 1745; in 1769 a theatre was opened; during this period also the commerce was considerable, but declined rapidly after Baltimore, with its deeper harbor, was made a port of entry in 1780.
The institution of slavery in Maryland would last around 200 years, from its beginnings in 1642 when the first Africans were brought to St Mary's City, to the final elimination of slavery on November 1, 1864 during the penultimate year of the American Civil War.