Maryland became the 7th US state


28 april 1788         USAUSA, Maryland

USA, Maryland

Maryland was the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution and has two nicknames, the Old Line State and the Free State. It was named in honor of Queen Henrietta Maria (1609-1669), the wife of Britain’s King Charles I. Its history as a border state has led it to exhibit characteristics of both the Northern and Southern regions of the United States.

In 1861, when the Civil War broke out, President Lincoln issued a call for troops from the northern states to come defend the U.S. Capital. To reach Washington, troops initially sought to come by train through Baltimore. But the secessionist element in Maryland would have none of it. On April 19, the men of the Sixth Massachusetts, on their way to defend the nation’s capitol, had to change from one train station to another in Baltimore. Angry crowds attacked them, and at the end of the conflict nine soldiers were dead as well as twelve civilians. These were the first casualties of the war, aside from an accidental death during the bombardment of Ft. Sumter a week earlier.

Fast forward to my childhood, growing up in the suburbs of D.C. in Maryland. In our elementary school, we all learned our state song, “Maryland My Maryland.” The lyrics include:

The despot’s heel is on thy shore, Maryland My Maryland!

His torch is at thy temple door, Maryland My Maryland!

Avenge the patriotic gore

That flecked the streets of Baltimore

And be the battle queen of yore, Maryland My Maryland!

We had no idea the tune was a “secesh” (pronounced like “see-sesh”) song that referenced that first Civil War clash, written by a Marylander teaching in Louisiana. (The “despot” referenced was Abraham Lincoln!) In fact, I had a Rebel hat and other Rebel accoutrements, thinking they represented my “team.” I didn’t know it was any different than rooting for the Washington Redskins, nor did my parents (unbelievably!) opt to enlighten me.

Only recently, a group of fourth graders have protested to the Maryland State Legislature. (Read about it here.)

Various wags have come up with alternate lyrics. My favorite proposal is by Gene Weingarten of The Washington Post in this article:

We sing to thee, our fav’rite state

Maryland, my Maryland

You joined the North, tho’ pretty late,

Maryland, my Maryland

Your morals were a bit unkempt

Your ethics were beneath contempt,

When slaves were freed, you stayed exempt.

Maryland, my Maryland.

Thou gave the world the great Babe Ruth

Maryland, my Maryland

(Not to mention John Wilkes Booth)

Maryland, my Maryland

But thy greatest hero we salute

A gov named Spiro — what a hoot –

He stuffed his pants with wads of loot,

Maryland, my Maryland.

Thy landscapes are of mixed motifs

Maryland, my Maryland

Tho’ most of them have cloverleafs

Maryland, my Maryland

Thy chicken farms, near every day

Send chicken poop from brook to Bay

‘Tis why thy crabs now taste that way,

Maryland, my Maryland.

Like Ireland, which has no snakes

Maryland, my Maryland,

Thou art the state that has no lakes

Maryland, my Maryland

There is one way that first you rate

Income’s highest in your state

So you’re the one the rest can hate,

Maryland, my Maryland.

To this day, Maryland’s identity is a divided one. Generally, it is said that rural Western Maryland resembles West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania, the Southern and Eastern Shore regions of Maryland evince a “Southern” culture, and densely-populated Central Maryland—radiating outward from Baltimore and the Washington Beltway—exhibits characteristics of the Northeast. All this, in only a little over 12,400 square miles.

The State Flag, toward which I still hold some irrational vestiges of affection, was officially adopted in 1904. It is the only US state flag based on British heraldry (the coats of arms of noble families). The flag’s design was based on the coat of arms adopted by George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore. The alternating yellow and black are from Lord Calvert’s family shield; the red and white design is either from Calvert’s maternal family, or his wife’s family.

Some state symbols everyone may recognize:

State Bird: Baltimore Oriole

State Reptile: Diamondback Terrapin

State Crustacean: Maryland Blue Crab

Ссылка на источник: https://rhapsodyinbooks.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/april-28-1788-maryland-becomes-the-seventh-state-in-the-union/


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