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Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Law and government
3 Geography and climate
3.1 Geography
3.2 Climate
4 Economy
5 Military facilities
6 Transportation
7 Demographics
7.1 Religion
8 Important cities and towns
9 Counties
10 Famous Marylanders
11 Education
11.1 Colleges and universities
12 Professional sports teams
13 Miscellaneous information
14 External links
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History
Main article: History of Maryland
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. The new colony was named in honour of Henrietta Maria, Queen Consort of Charles I.
The English colony of Maryland was founded by Lord Baltimore who on March 25, 1634 sent the first settlers into this area which would soon become one of the few dominantly Catholic regions among the English colonies in America. Maryland was one of the key destinations of tens of thousands of British convicts, which carried on until independence. The Maryland Toleration Act (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.
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, engaged 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.
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 archaelogical site, with a small tourist center.
In 1708 the seat of government was moved to Providence, renamed Annapolis in honor of Queen Anne.
During the War of 1812 the British military attempted to capture the port of Baltimore which was protected by Fort McHenry. It was during this bombardment that the Star Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key.
Despite some popular support for the cause of the Confederate States of America, Maryland did not secede during the Civil War, in part due to precautions taken by the government in Washington, D.C.. Because of this it was not included under the Emancipation Proclamation (The Emancipation Proclamation only applied to states in rebellion). A constitutional convention was held during 1864 that culminated in the passage of a new state constitution on November 1 of that year. Article 24 of that document outlawed the practice of slavery. The right to vote was extended to non-white males in 1867.
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Law and government
Main article: Government of Maryland
The Government of Maryland is conducted according to the state 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. Maryland is a republic; the United States guarantees her "republican form of government" [|USC Article IV, section 4] although there is considerable disagreement about the meaning of that phrase.
Power in Maryland is divided among three branches of government, executive, legislative, and judicial. Unlike most other states, significant autonomy is granted to many of Maryland's counties.
Most of the business of government is done in Annapolis, the State capital. Virtually all state and county elections are held in even numbered years not divisible by four, in which the President of the United States is not elected - this, as in other States, is intended to divide State and Federal politics.
Since pre-Civil War times, Maryland politics has been largely controlled by the Democrats. In the last decade, however, Republicans have made inroads in the state, including the election of the first Republican governor in almost four decades, and larger numbers of new voters are classifying themselves as independents. Blue-collar "Reagan Democrats" frequently vote Republican. Despite this, the state continues to be overwhelmingly Democratic. The state is dominated by the two urban/inner suburban regions of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. In addition, many jobs are directly or indirectly dependent upon the federal government. Thus the three-County voting block of Baltimore City, Montgomery County and Prince George's County often decides statewide elections. This is balanced by lesser populated areas on the Eastern Shore, Western Maryland, and outer suburbs that tend to support Republicans.
As a result, voters have chosen the Democratic candidate in the last four presidential elections, both of the Maryland Senators are Democrats, as are six of its eight Representatives in Congress, and super-majorities in the state Senate and House of Delegates. John Kerry easily won the state's 10 electoral votes in 2004 by a margin of 13 percentage points with 55.9% of the vote. These statistics easily make Maryland one of the most liberal states in the country (Maryland gave John Kerry a higher percentage of its popular vote in 2004 than even Rhode Island), but it has escaped much of the criticism and defamation heaped on such other Democratic states as Massachusetts.
There is great debate as to whether Maryland is in the North or South, and many have resorted to referring to Maryland and Delaware as the Mid Atlantic. Some people include Virginia in this category, but it usually applies exclusively to Maryland and Delaware.
However, presidential election years are not deeply contested as national party resources are spent in other states and turnout and interest is frequently relatively low.
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Geography and climate
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Geography
See: List of Maryland counties, List of Maryland rivers
Maryland countiesMaryland is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania, on the west by West Virginia, on the east by Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south, across the Potomac River, by Virginia. It shares a border near the center of the state along the Potomac with Washington, DC. The Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state, and the counties east of the Bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore. A portion of extreme western Maryland in Garrett County is drained by the Youghiogheny River as part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The highest point in Maryland is Backbone Mountain, which is the southwest corner of Garrett County, right near the border with West Virginia near the headwaters of the North Branch of the Potomac. Also in Western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state line, is a point at which the state of Maryland is only two miles wide. This geographical curiosity, the "Maryland wasp-waist" is located near the small town of Hancock.
Physical formations
Appalachian Mountains
Chesapeake Bay
The Delmarva Peninsula is a geographic term for the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland, the state of Delaware, and two counties of Virginia, which all together form a long extension down the Atlantic seaboard. One of the most noted features of Delmarva is Maryland's Assateague Island, on the Atlantic, with its herd of wild ponies accustomed to the seashore.
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Climate
Climate varies greatly across the state, depending on factors like elevation, rainfall, and proximity to water. The Eastern Shore region, as well as a small part of the western shore (including Baltimore, Annapolis, and St. Mary's City) are a part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, which has a humid subtropical climate of hot summers and mild winters. Beyond the plain rise the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and the Piedmont region has warm summers and colder winters, where snow often falls. Extreme western Maryland has a mountain climate with mild summers and cold winters. Growing climate varies from USDA Zone 8 on the Eastern Shore and in the cities of Baltimore and Washington DC to Zones 7 and 6 is the Piedmont, to Zone 5 in the mountainous west.
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Economy
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Maryland's total state product in 2003 was $212 billion. Per capita personal income in 2003 was $37,446, 5th in the nation.
Maryland's economic activity is strongly concentrated in the tertiary service sector, and this sector, in turn, is strongly influenced by location. One major service activity is transportation, centered around the Port of Baltimore and its related rail and trucking access. The port ranked 10th in the USA by tonnage in 2002 (Source: U.S. Corps of Engineers, "Waterborn Commerce Statistics"). Although the port handles a wide variety of products, the most typical imports are raw materials and bulk commodities, such as iron ore, petroleum, sugar, and fertilizers, often distributed to the relatively close manufacturing centers of the inland Midwest via good overland transportation.
A second service activity takes advantage of the close location of the center of government in Washington, D.C. and emphasizes technical and administrative tasks for the defense/aerospace industry and bio-research laboratories, as well as staffing of satellite government headquarters in the suburban or exurban Baltimore/Washington area. In addition to these are many educational and medical research institutions. In fact, the various components of Johns Hopkins University and its medical research facilities are now the largest single employer in the Baltimore area. Altogether, white collar technical and administrative workers comprise 25% of Maryland's labor force, one of the highest state percentages in the country. A list of government agencies located in Maryland is summarized below:
Federal Agencies
Census Bureau
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Center
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
National Security Agency (NSA)
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)
Social Security Administration (SSA)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Maryland has a large food producing sector. One component is commercial fishing, centered in Chesapeake Bay, but also including activity off the short Atlantic seacoast. The largest catches by species are the blue crab, oysters, striped bass, and menhaden. The Bay also has uncounted millions of overwintering waterfowl in its many wildlife refuges. While not, strictly speaking, a commercial food resource, the waterfowl support a tourism sector of sportsmen.
Maryland has a large amount of fertile agricultural land in its coastal and Piedmont zones, although this land use is being encroached upon by urbanization. Agriculture is oriented to dairying for nearby large city milksheads plus specialty perishable horticulture crops, such as cucumbers, watermelons, sweet corn, tomatoes, muskmelons, squash, and peas (Source:USDA Crop Profiles). In addition, the southern counties of the western shoreline of Chesapeake Bay support a tobacco cash crop zone, which has been in existence since early Colonial times. There is also a large chicken-farming sector in the state.
The third component of the food producing sector are food processing plants, which are the most significant type of manufacturing by value in the state.
Manufacturing, while large in dollar value, is highly diversified with no sub-sector contributing over 20% of the total. Typical forms of manufacturing include electronics, computer equipment, and chemicals. The once mighty primary metals sub-sector, which at one time included what was then the largest steel factory in the world at Sparrows Point, still exists, but is pressed with foreign competition, bankruptcies, and company mergers.
Mining other than construction materials is virtually limited to coal, located in the mountainous western part of the state. In construction mention should be made of the brownstone quarries in the east, which gave Baltimore and Washington much of their characteristic architecture in the mid-1800's. Historically, there used to be small gold mining operations in Maryland, some surprisingly near Washington, but these no longer exist.
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Military facilities
Aberdeen Proving Ground
Andrews Air Force Base
Army Research Laboratory
National Naval Medical Center
Fort Meade
Fort Detrick
Indian Head Naval Surface Weapons Center
Naval Air Station Patuxent River
School of Military Packing Technology
Webster Field
Historical facilities
Fort McHenry
Bainbridge Naval Training Center
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Transportation
The sample version of Maryland's license plate, first introduced in 1986.Maryland's major Interstate Highways include I-95, which enters the northeast portion of the state, goes through Baltimore, and becomes the Capital Beltway to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. I-68 connects the western portions of the state to Frederick, and I-70 connects Frederick with Baltimore. I-695 is the Baltimore beltway.
Maryland's main airport is Baltimore-Washington International Airport (formerly known as Friendship Airport and recently renamed for former Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall). The Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. are also serviced by the other two airports in the region, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Dulles International Airport, both in northern Virginia.
Amtrak trains serve Baltimore along the Northeast Corridor. In addition, train service is provided between Washington, D.C., Rockville, Maryland, and Cumberland, Maryland on the Amtrak Capitol Limited. MARC trains, operated by the State's Transit Authority, connect nearby Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, and other towns.
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Demographics
Historical populations
Census
year Population
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1790 319,728
1800 341,548
1810 380,546
1820 407,350
1830 447,040
1840 470,019
1850 583,034
1860 687,049
1870 780,894
1880 934,943
1890 1,042,390
1900 1,188,044
1910 1,295,346
1920 1,449,661
1930 1,631,526
1940 1,821,244
1950 2,343,001
1960 3,100,689
1970 3,922,399
1980 4,216,975
1990 4,781,468
2000 5,296,486
As of 2004, Maryland's population was estimated to be 5,558,058. The state has 583,900 foreign-born residents (10.6% of the state population), of which an estimated 56,000 are illegal aliens (1% of the state population). Maryland's population grew by 777,000 between 1990 and 2004, a 16% growth.
Most of the population of Maryland lives in the central region of the state, in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The Eastern Shore is less populous and more rural, as are the counties of southern Maryland. The three counties of Western Maryland (Allegany, Garrett, and Washington) are mountainous and sparsely populated, resembling West Virginia more than they do the rest of Maryland. Although the African American proportion is not as high as it was during the eighteenth century peak of tobacco plantation production (when it was 38%), Maryland still has the largest black population of any state outside of the Deep South.
Race
The racial makeup of the state:
62.1% White non-Hispanic
27.9% Black
4.3% Hispanic
4.0% Asian
0.3% Native American
2% Mixed race
The five largest reported ancestries in Maryland are: German (15.7%), Irish (11.7%), English (9%), American (5.8%).
Blacks are concentrated in Baltimore City, the Washington suburbs (especially Prince George's county), and the southern Eastern Shore. Most of the Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland are populated by Marylanders of British ancestry. Western and northern Maryland have large German-American populations.
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Religion
Maryland was founded for the purpose of providing religious toleration of England's Catholic minority. Nevertheless, the Crown later reversed that policy and discouraged the practice of Catholicism in Maryland. Despite the founding intent of the colony, Catholics have never been in a majority in Maryland since early Colonial times. The present religious composition of the state is shown below:
Christian – 82%
Protestant – 56%
Baptist – 18%
Methodist – 11%
Lutheran – 5%
Episcopal – 3%
Other Protestant or general Protestant – 19%
Roman Catholic – 23%
Other Christian – 3%
Jewish – 3%
Other Religions – 1%
Non-Religious – 14%
Notwithstanding numerical positions, the founding intent of Maryland has made the state prominent in US Catholic tradition. For example, Baltimore was the location of the first Catholic bishop in the USA ( 1789) and Emmitsburg, the home and burial place of the first American-born citizen to be canonized, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
See also:Places in Maryland Ranked by Per Capita Income
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Important cities and towns
See incorporated cities at List of cities in Maryland and unincorporated cities at List of census-designated places in Maryland.
Annapolis – state capital, home of United States Naval Academy
Baltimore – most populous city; commercial and cultural hub
College Park – D.C. suburb, home to the University of Maryland, College Park
Columbia – large unincorporated planned community managed by The Rouse Company; were it incorporated, it would be Maryland's 2nd largest city
Ellicott City – county seat of Howard County
Frederick – western gateway to Appalachian Mountains, suburban center
Hagerstown – largest community in 3 county Western Maryland region, has decaying industrial base
Ocean City – very popular beach resort on Atlantic coastline; 2nd most populous city in numbers of residents during the summer months
Rockville – county seat and business center of Montgomery County northwest of Washington
Salisbury – largest city and business center of Delmarva pennisula
Towson – county seat of suburban Baltimore County
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Counties
See List of counties in Maryland
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Famous Marylanders
See List of people from Maryland
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Education
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Colleges and universities
Alleghany College of Maryland
Anne Arundel Community College
Baltimore City Community College
Baltimore Hebrew University
Baltimore International College
Carroll Community College
Capitol College
Cecil Community College
Chesapeake College
College of Notre Dame of Maryland
College of Southern Maryland
Columbia Union College
Community College of Baltimore County
Frederick Community College
Frostburg State University
Garrett College
Goucher College
Hagerstown Community College
Hood College
Howard Community College
Johns Hopkins University
Loyola College
Maryland Institute College of Art
McDaniel College
Montgomery College
Morgan State University
Mount St. Mary's University
Prince George's Community College
St. John's College, Annapolis
St. Mary's College of Maryland
Sojourner-Douglass College
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
United States Naval Academy
University System of Maryland
Bowie State University
Coppin State University
Frostburg State University
Salisbury University
Towson University
University of Baltimore
University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Maryland Baltimore County
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
University of Maryland University College
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute
Universities at Shady Grove
Washington Bible College
Washington College
Wor-Wic Community College
Villa Julie College
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Professional sports teams
National Football League
Baltimore Ravens
Washington Redskins
Baltimore Bayhawks, Major League Lacrosse
Baltimore Blast, Major Indoor Soccer League
Baltimore Orioles, Major League Baseball
Minor League baseball teams
Hagerstown Suns
Bowie Baysox
Frederick Keys
Aberdeen IronBirds
Delmarva Shorebirds
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Miscellaneous information
State bird: Baltimore Oriole
State boat: skipjack
State cat: calico cat
State crustacean: blue crab
State dinosaur: Astrodon johnstoni
State dog: Chesapeake Bay Retriever
State drink: milk
State fish: rockfish (striped bass)
State flower: black-eyed susan
State folk dance: square dance
State fossil: Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae
State gem: Patuxent River Stone
State horse: thoroughbred horse
State insect: Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly
State nicknames: "The Old Line State" and "The Free State."
State reptile: diamondback terrapin
State song: "Maryland, My Maryland"
State sport: jousting, lacrosse (state team sport)
State theatres: Center Stage and Olney Theatre
State tree: white oak
Maryland is about two miles wide around the town of Hancock, making it the narrowest state.
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External links
State of Maryland (government website)
U.S. Census Bureau
Catholic Encyclopedia article
Jewish Encyclopedia article
State of Maryland
Cities | Government | History | U.S. Senators and Representatives
State capital: Annapolis
Regions: Western | Southern | Eastern Shore | Baltimore-Washington Metro Area | Chesapeake | Delaware Valley
Notable Cities: Baltimore | Bowie | College Park | Cumberland | Frederick | Gaithersburg | Greenbelt | Hagerstown | Laurel | Rockville | Salisbury | Takoma Park | Westminster
Counties: Allegany | Anne Arundel | Baltimore City | Baltimore County | Calvert | Caroline | Carroll | Cecil | Charles | Dorchester | Frederick | Garrett | Harford | Howard | Kent | Montgomery | Prince George's | Queen Anne's | St. Mary's | Somerset | Talbot | Washington | Wicomico | Worcester
Political divisions of the United States
States Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming
Federal district District of Columbia
Insular areas American Samoa | Baker Island | Guam | Howland Island | Jarvis Island | Johnston Atoll | Kingman Reef | Midway Atoll | Navassa Island | Northern Mariana Islands | Palmyra Atoll | Puerto Rico | Virgin Islands | Wake Island
