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After the Revolutionary War our state, like many others, split itself geographically. The eastern counties consisted of large farms and plantations that grew mainly tobacco and other grains. There were many slaves with some free blacks but the region, unlike the southern counties, wanted to end its geographical isolation from the rest of the state and so they became swing counties during state votes.
The northern and western counties consisted largely of small farms that grew grains and fruit with few slaves. Most of the free blacks in the state lived in towns and cities in these counties. Also, almost every factory and school was located in this region which included Baltimore.
The southern region was just like the “deep south” in that tobacco was the “king” crop and almost every farm was a plantation. There was very little to no industry and the population mix was 55% white and 45% black (slaves). There were no free blacks due to the whites’ suspicion of a slave revolt.
Politically speaking the Democratic Party was popular in the northern and western part of the state while the Whigs held the majority in the southern part. Control of the House of Delegates and a slim majority of the State Senate were also held by the Whigs. The Democrats goal was to redistrict the state.
It is important to note that at this time (pre-Civil War) these two parties were not the same as they are today. The Democratic Party believed in using national power in foreign affairs when the national interest was at stake but held to a hands off policy when it came to social issues. The Party at this time believed in the responsibility of the individual States and their local governments to deal with their own problems.
The Whigs believed that Congress should have control over the executive Branch of our government and pushed a platform of modernization and economic protectionism. The party split and eventually ended on the question of the expansion of slavery to the new territories with those against going to form the new Republican Party.
With all that being said the states House of Delegates brought a vote to the floor for the Constitutional Convention of 1850 and surprisingly it was passed with the help of the delegates of the eastern counties. The political breakdown at the time was: Whig delegates 25 southern, 19 eastern and 11 northern and western; Democrat delegates 3 southern, 17 eastern and 28 northern and western.
The first issue was to change the number of representatives from 78 to 73; this was passed by the democrats and a few Whigs. The next step was to change the states Senatorial distribution to 1 for each county and 1 for Baltimore. This helped the southern and eastern sections because they had 14 counties combined while the north and west only had 8 including Baltimore. This issue was also passed.
The convention ended and the redistricting plan was put up for a popular vote in the state. The vote broke down along regional lines with all 6 southern counties voting no, 6 of the 8 eastern counties voting yes and all 7 counties in the north and west plus Baltimore voting yes. The Whig party would never control the state government again.
Now you might ask “what the hell does all this have to do with the question at hand?” Well it serves as a basis of understanding of where we come from as a state and why our laws are the way they are. After the Civil War we are all aware of how the modern political parties, due mainly to the issue of States Rights, evolved into what they are today; which was to basically switch platforms. Our state, however, retained a great deal of its regional identity. The eastern and southern regions, which were slave counties, became a stronghold for “States Rights” while the northern and eastern regions, which were free counties, believe in the power of the Federal Government. Also, the majority of the states population lives in the northern and western counties of the state.
Laws have been passed throughout the history of Maryland following these regional/party lines. Such “Liberal “ legislation as stiff gun controls, weak first offense marijuana laws, strict motorist and gambling laws, high insurance mandates, restrictive home schooling laws and harsh eminent domain laws are all what are considered part of the Democratic Party’s platform. As far as victimless crime arrest rates, I don’t believe there are such things as victimless crimes and the disallowing of civil unions I believe goes back to Maryland’s provincial past along with some of our counties antiquated liquor laws and will be overturned in time.
I remember in grade school we learned that Maryland was described as “The United Stares in miniature”. This description is true politically as well as geographically. As a political entity Maryland has always been a blue state and its laws will follow accordingly. Just remember to stay politically aware and active within your own communities and changes can come, even to Maryland.
ocdevilsadvocate
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