Maryland

This article is about the U.S. state of Maryland. For other uses, see Maryland (disambiguation).

Maryland
State
Country	United States
Before statehood	Province of Maryland
Admitted to the Union	April 28, 1788 (7th)
Capital	Annapolis
Largest city	Baltimore
Largest metro and urban areas	Baltimore-Washington Metro Area
Government
• Governor	Martin O'Malley (D)
• Lieutenant governor	Anthony G. Brown (D)
Legislature	General Assembly
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Delegates
U.S. senators	Barbara Mikulski (D) Ben Cardin (D)
U.S. House delegation	7 Democrats, 1 Republican (list)
Population
• Total	5,928,814 (2,013 est)
• Density	596/sq mi (230/km2)
• Median household income	$69,272
• Income rank	1st
Language
• Official language	none
Latitude	37° 53′ N to 39° 43′ N
Longitude	75° 03′ W to 79° 29′ W

Symbols

Maryland /ˈmɛrlənd/ is a U.S. state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east. Maryland was the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution, and has three occasionally used nicknames: the Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State.

Maryland is one of the smallest states in terms of area, as well as one of the most densely populated states of the United States. The state's largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Although the state is officially claimed to be named after Queen Henrietta Maria, many historians believe Maryland was named after Mary, the mother of Jesus, by George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore prior to his death in 1632. The original intent may never be known. Maryland has the highest median household income, making it the wealthiest state in the nation.

Geography

See also: List of islands of Maryland and List of rivers of Maryland

Maryland has an area of 12,406.68 square miles (32,133.2 km²) and is comparable in overall area with the European country of Belgium (11,787 square miles (30,530 km²)). It is the 42nd largest and 9th smallest state and is closest in size to the state of Hawaii (10,930.98 square miles (28,311.1 km²)), the next smallest state. The next largest state, its neighbor West Virginia, is almost twice the size of Maryland (24,229.76 square miles (62,754.8 km²)).

Maryland possesses a variety of topography within its borders, contributing to its nickname America in Miniature. It ranges from sandy dunes dotted with seagrass in the east, to low marshlands teeming with wildlife and large bald cypress near the Chesapeake Bay, to gently rolling hills of oak forests in the Piedmont Region, and pine groves in the mountains to the west.

A panoramic view of Deep Creek Lake and the surrounding Appalachian Mountains in Garrett County.

Physical regions of Maryland

Tidal wetlands of the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States and the largest water feature in Maryland.

Maryland is bounded on its north by Pennsylvania, on its west by West Virginia, on its east by Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean, and on its south, across the Potomac River, by West Virginia and Virginia. The mid-portion of this border is interrupted by Washington, D.C., which sits on land originally part of Montgomery and Prince George's counties, including the town of Georgetown, Maryland, that was ceded to the Federal Government in 1790 to form the District of Columbia. (The Commonwealth of Virginia gave land south of the Potomac, including the town of Alexandria, Virginia, however Virginia retroceded its portion in 1846). The Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state and the counties east of the bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore.

The Patapsco River includes the famous Thomas Viaduct and is part of the Patapsco Valley State Park. Later, the river forms the Inner Harbor as it empties into the Chesapeake Bay.

Most of the state's waterways are part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, with the exceptions of a tiny portion of extreme western Garrett County (drained by the Youghiogheny River as part of the watershed of the Mississippi River), the eastern half of Worcester County (which drains into Maryland's Atlantic coastal bays), and a small portion of the state's northeast corner (which drains into the Delaware River watershed). So prominent is the Chesapeake in Maryland's geography and economic life that there has been periodic agitation to change the state's official nickname to the Bay State, a nickname that has been used by Massachusetts for decades.

The highest point in Maryland, with an elevation of 3,360 feet (1,020 m), is Hoye Crest on Backbone Mountain, in the southwest corner of Garrett County, near the border with West Virginia and near the headwaters of the North Branch of the Potomac River. Close to the small town of Hancock, in western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state, there is 1.83 miles (2.95 km) between its borders. This geographical curiosity makes Maryland the narrowest state, bordered by the Mason-Dixon Line to the north, and the northwards-arching Potomac River to the south.

Portions of Maryland are included in various official and unofficial geographic regions. For example, the Delmarva Peninsula is composed of the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland, the entire state of Delaware, and the two counties that make up the Eastern Shore of Virginia, whereas the westernmost counties of Maryland are considered part of Appalachia. Much of the Baltimore–Washington corridor lies just south of the Piedmont in the Coastal Plain, though it straddles the border between the two regions.

There are no natural lakes, though there are numerous ponds. During the latter Ice Ages, the glaciers did not reach as far south as Maryland, and therefore they did not carve out the deep natural lakes that exist in states farther north. There are numerous man-made lakes, the largest of these being the Deep Creek Lake, a reservoir in Garrett County in westernmost Maryland. The lack of a glacial history also accounts for Maryland's soil, which is sandier and muddier than the rocky soils farther to the north and northeast.

Climate

Maryland has a wide array of climates, due to local variances in elevation, proximity to water, and protection from colder weather due to downslope winds.

The eastern half of Maryland lies on the Atlantic Coastal Plain, with very flat topography and very sandy or muddy soil. This region has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with hot, humid summers and a short, mild to cool winter; it falls under USDA Hardiness zone 8a. This region includes the cities of Ocean City, Salisbury, Annapolis, and the southern and eastern suburbs of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.

Sunset over a marsh at Cardinal Cove on the Patuxent River

Beyond this region lies the Piedmont, with average seasonal snowfall totals generally exceeding 20 inches (51 cm) and, as part of USDA Hardiness zones 7b and 7a, temperatures below 10 °F (−12 °C) are less rare. From the Cumberland Valley on westward, the climate begins to transition to a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). This region includes northern and western greater Baltimore, Westminster, Gaithersburg, Frederick, and Hagerstown.

Farther into western Maryland, the higher elevations of Allegany County and Garrett County display more characteristics of the humid continental zone, due in part to elevation, and are more similar to that of south-central Pennsylvania, including the cities of Cumberland, Frostburg, and Oakland. They fall under USDA Hardiness zones 6b and below.

Precipitation in the state is characteristic of the East Coast. Annual rainfall ranges from 35 to 45 inches (890 to 1,140 mm) with more in higher elevations. Nearly every part of Maryland receives 3.5–4.5 inches (89–114 mm) per month of rain. Average annual snowfall varies from 9 inches (23 cm) in the coastal areas to over 100 inches (250 cm) in the western mountains of the state.

Because of its location near the Atlantic Coast, Maryland is somewhat vulnerable to tropical cyclones, although the Delmarva Peninsula, and the outer banks of North Carolina to the south provide a large buffer, such that a strike from a major hurricane (category 3 or above) is not very likely but is not impossible. More often, Maryland might get the remnants of a tropical system which has already come ashore and released most of its wind energy. Maryland averages around 30–40 days of thunderstorms a year, and averages around six tornado strikes annually.

Monthly normal high and low temperatures for various Maryland cities
City	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Oakland	34 °F (1 °C) 16 °F (−9 °C)	38 °F (3 °C) 17 °F (−8 °C)	48 °F (9 °C) 25 °F (−4 °C)	59 °F (15 °C) 34 °F (1 °C)	68 °F (20 °C) 45 °F (7 °C)	75 °F (24 °C) 53 °F (12 °C)	79 °F (26 °C) 58 °F (14 °C)	78 °F (26 °C) 56 °F (13 °C)	71 °F (22 °C) 49 °F (9 °C)	62 °F (17 °C) 37 °F (3 °C)	50 °F (10 °C) 28 °F (−2 °C)	39 °F (4 °C) 21 °F (−6 °C)
Cumberland	41 °F (5 °C) 22 °F (−6 °C)	46 °F (8 °C) 24 °F (−4 °C)	56 °F (13 °C) 32 °F (0 °C)	68 °F (20 °C) 41 °F (5 °C)	77 °F (25 °C) 51 °F (11 °C)	85 °F (29 °C) 60 °F (16 °C)	89 °F (32 °C) 65 °F (18 °C)	87 °F (31 °C) 63 °F (17 °C)	80 °F (27 °C) 55 °F (13 °C)	69 °F (21 °C) 43 °F (6 °C)	57 °F (14 °C) 34 °F (1 °C)	45 °F (7 °C) 26 °F (−3 °C)
Hagerstown	39 °F (4 °C) 22 °F (−6 °C)	42 °F (6 °C) 23 °F (−5 °C)	52 °F (11 °C) 30 °F (−1 °C)	63 °F (17 °C) 39 °F (4 °C)	72 °F (22 °C) 50 °F (10 °C)	81 °F (27 °C) 59 °F (15 °C)	85 °F (29 °C) 64 °F (18 °C)	83 °F (28 °C) 62 °F (17 °C)	76 °F (24 °C) 54 °F (12 °C)	65 °F (18 °C) 43 °F (6 °C)	54 °F (12 °C) 34 °F (1 °C)	43 °F (6 °C) 26 °F (−3 °C)
Frederick	42 °F (6 °C) 26 °F (−3 °C)	47 °F (8 °C) 28 °F (−2 °C)	56 °F (13 °C) 35 °F (2 °C)	68 °F (20 °C) 45 °F (7 °C)	77 °F (25 °C) 54 °F (12 °C)	85 °F (29 °C) 63 °F (17 °C)	89 °F (32 °C) 68 °F (20 °C)	87 °F (31 °C) 66 °F (19 °C)	80 °F (27 °C) 59 °F (15 °C)	68 °F (20 °C) 47 °F (8 °C)	56 °F (13 °C) 38 °F (3 °C)	45 °F (7 °C) 30 °F (−1 °C)
Baltimore	42 °F (6 °C) 29 °F (−2 °C)	46 °F (8 °C) 31 °F (−1 °C)	54 °F (12 °C) 39 °F (4 °C)	65 °F (18 °C) 48 °F (9 °C)	75 °F (24 °C) 57 °F (14 °C)	85 °F (29 °C) 67 °F (19 °C)	89 °F (32 °C) 72 °F (22 °C)	87 °F (31 °C) 71 °F (22 °C)	80 °F (27 °C) 64 °F (18 °C)	68 °F (20 °C) 52 °F (11 °C)	58 °F (14 °C) 43 °F (6 °C)	46 °F (8 °C) 33 °F (1 °C)
Ocean City	45 °F (7 °C) 28 °F (−2 °C)	46 °F (8 °C) 29 °F (−2 °C)	53 °F (12 °C) 35 °F (2 °C)	61 °F (16 °C) 44 °F (7 °C)	70 °F (21 °C) 53 °F (12 °C)	79 °F (26 °C) 63 °F (17 °C)	84 °F (29 °C) 68 °F (20 °C)	82 °F (28 °C) 67 °F (19 °C)	77 °F (25 °C) 60 °F (16 °C)	68 °F (20 °C) 51 °F (11 °C)	58 °F (14 °C) 39 °F (4 °C)	49 °F (9 °C) 32 °F (0 °C)

Flora

As is typical of states on the East Coast, Maryland's plant life is abundant and healthy. A good dose of annual precipitation helps to support many types of plants, including seagrass and various reeds at the smaller end of the spectrum to the gigantic Wye Oak, a huge example of White oak, the state tree, which can grow in excess of 70 feet (21 m) tall.

Middle Atlantic coastal forests, typical of the southeastern Atlantic coastal plain, grow around Chesapeake Bay and on the Delmarva Peninsula. Moving west, a mixture of Northeastern coastal forests and Southeastern mixed forests cover the central part of the state. The Appalachian Mountains of western Maryland are home to Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests. These give way to Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests near the West Virginia border.

Many foreign species are cultivated in the state, some as ornamentals, others as novelty species. Included among these are the Crape Myrtle, Italian Cypress, live oak in the warmer parts of the state, and even hardy palm trees in the warmer central and eastern parts of the state. USDA plant hardiness zones in the state range from Zones 5 and 6 in the extreme western part of the state to Zone 7 in the central part, and Zone 8 around the southern part of the coast, the bay area, and parts of metropolitan Baltimore. Invasive plant species, such as kudzu, tree of heaven, multiflora rose, and Japanese stiltgrass, stifle growth of endemic plant life. Maryland's state flower, the Black-eyed Susan, grows in abundance in wild flower groups throughout the state. The state insect, the Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly, is not common as it is near the southern edge of its range. 435 species of birds have been reported from Maryland.

Fauna

The state harbors a great number of deer, especially in the woody and mountainous west of the state, and overpopulation can become a problem from year-to-year. Mammals can be found ranging from the mountains in the west to the central areas and include bears, bobcats, foxes, coyote, raccoons, and otters.

A wild Chincoteague Pony on Assateague Island

There is a population of rare wild horses found on Assateague Island. Every year during the last week of July, wild horses are captured and waded across a shallow bay for sale at Chincoteague, Virginia. This conservation technique ensures the tiny island is not overrun by the horses. The ponies and their sale were popularized by the children's book, Misty of Chincoteague. They are believed to be descended from horses who escaped from shipwrecks.

The purebred Chesapeake Bay Retriever dog was bred specifically for water sports, hunting and search and rescue in the Chesapeake area. In 1878 the Chesapeake Bay Retriever was the first individual retriever breed recognized by the American Kennel Club.

Maryland's reptile and amphibian population is led by the Diamondback Terrapin turtle, which was adopted as the mascot of University of Maryland, College Park. The state is the territory of the Baltimore Oriole, which is the official state bird and mascot of the MLB team the Baltimore Orioles.

Environmental awareness

In 2007, Forbes.com rated Maryland as the fifth "Greenest" state in the country behind three of the Pacific States and Vermont. Maryland ranks 40th in total energy consumption nationwide, and it managed less toxic waste per capita than all but six states in 2005. In April 2007 Maryland joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)—a regional initiative formed by all of the Northeastern states, Washington D.C., and three Canadian provinces to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Earthquakes

Earthquakes in Maryland are infrequent due to its distance from tectonic plates and seismic/earthquake zones. The earthquakes that do occur are small, but may be felt over wide areas. The M5.8 Virginia earthquake in 2011 was felt moderately throughout Maryland. Buildings in the state are not well-designed for earthquakes and can suffer damage easily.

History

Main article: History of Maryland

17th century

Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, 1st Proprietor of the Maryland colony.

In 1629, George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore in the Peerage of Ireland, fresh from his failure further north with Newfoundland's Province of Avalon colony, applied to Charles I for a royal charter for what was to become the Province of Maryland. Calvert's interest in creating a colony derived from his Catholicism and his desire for the creation of a haven in the New World for Catholics. He wanted a share of fortunes, such as those made by the sale of the commodity tobacco in Virginia, and hoped to recoup some of the financial losses he had sustained in his earlier colonial venture in Newfoundland.

George Calvert died in April 1632, but a charter for "Maryland Colony" (in Latin, Terra Maria) was granted to his son, Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore, on June 20, 1632. The new colony may have been named in honor of Henrietta Maria of France, wife of Charles I of England. The name recorded in the charter was phrased "Terra Mariae, anglice, Maryland". The English name was preferred over the Latin due in part to the undesired association of "Mariae" with the Spanish Jesuit Juan de Mariana of the Inquisition. The Calvert family, who founded Maryland partly as a refuge for English Catholics, sought enactment of the law to protect Catholic settlers and those of other religions that did not conform to the dominant Anglicanism of England and her colonies. This led to the Maryland Toleration Act in 1649. It was the first law ever to guarantee the right to worship regardless of denomination.

To try to gain settlers, Maryland used what is known as the headright system, which originated in Jamestown. Settlers were given 50 acres of land for each person they brought into the colony, whether as settler, indentured servant or slave.

On March 25, 1634, Lord Baltimore sent the first colonists into this area. Although most of the settlers were Protestants, Maryland soon became one of the few regions in the English Empire where Catholics held the highest positions of political authority. Maryland was also a key destination for transport of tens of thousands of English convicts to work as indentured servants.

The royal charter granted Maryland the land north of the entire length of the Potomac River up to the 40th parallel. A problem arose when Charles II granted a charter for Pennsylvania. The grant defined Pennsylvania's southern border as identical to Maryland's northern border, the 40th parallel. But the terms of the grant clearly indicate that Charles II and William Penn assumed the 40th parallel would pass close to New Castle, Delaware when it falls north of Philadelphia, the site of which Penn had already selected for his colony's capital city. Negotiations ensued after the problem was discovered in 1681.

A compromise proposed by Charles II in 1682, which might have resolved the issue, was undermined by Penn's receiving the additional grant of what is now Delaware — which previously had been part of Maryland. The dispute remained unresolved for nearly a century, carried on by the descendants of William Penn and Lord Baltimore—the Calvert family, which controlled Maryland, and the Penn family, which controlled Pennsylvania.

18th century

The conflict led to the Cresap's War (also known as the Conojocular War), a border conflict between Pennsylvania and Maryland, fought in the 1730s. Hostilities erupted in 1730 with a series of violent incidents prompted by disputes over property rights and law enforcement, and escalated through the first half of the decade, culminating in the deployment of military forces by Maryland in 1736 and by Pennsylvania in 1737. The armed phase of the conflict ended in May 1738 with the intervention of King George II, who compelled the negotiation of a cease-fire. A provisional agreement had been established in 1732.

Negotiations continued until a final agreement was signed in 1760. The agreement defined Maryland's border with what is now Delaware as well as Pennsylvania. The border between Maryland and Pennsylvania was defined as the line of latitude 15 miles (24 km) south of the southernmost house of Philadelphia, a line now known as the Mason-Dixon Line. Maryland's border with Delaware was based on a Transpeninsular Line and the Twelve-Mile Circle around New Castle.

An artist's rendering of the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, which inspired the composition of the song, "Star Spangled Banner".

After Virginia made Anglicanism the established religion in the colony, numerous Puritans migrated from Virginia to Maryland. They were given land for a settlement called Providence (now Annapolis). In 1650, the Puritans revolted against the proprietary government and set up a new government that prohibited both Catholicism and Anglicanism. In March 1654, the 2nd Lord Baltimore sent an army under the command of Governor William Stone to put down the revolt, but his forces were decisively defeated by a Puritan army near Annapolis in what was to be known as the Battle of the Severn.

During the persecution of Catholics in the Puritan revolt, Protestants burned down all of the original Catholic churches of southern Maryland. The Puritan revolt lasted until 1658, when the Calvert family regained control of the colony and re-enacted the Toleration Act. However, after England's "Glorious Revolution" of 1688, when William of Orange came to the throne and established the Protestant faith in England, Maryland outlawed Catholicism. This lasted until after the American Revolutionary War. Wealthy Catholic planters built chapels on their land to practice their religion in relative secrecy.

St. Mary's City was the first (besides St. Clement's Island, where the first colonists of Maryland landed) and largest site of the original Maryland colony, and was the seat of the colonial government until 1695, when the capitol was moved to Annapolis. St Mary's is now a state-owned archaeological site and museum adjacent to St. Mary's College of Maryland.

Most of the English colonists arrived in Maryland as indentured servants, and had to serve a several years' term as laborers to pay for their passage. In the early years, the line between indentured servants and African slaves or laborers was fluid, and white and black laborers commonly lived and worked together, and formed unions. Mixed-race children born to white mothers were considered free by the principle of partus sequitur ventrem, by which children took the social status of their mothers, a principle of slave law that was adopted throughout the colonies, following Virginia in 1662. During the colonial era, families of free people of color were formed most often by unions of white women and African men.

Many of the free black families migrated to Delaware, where land was cheaper. As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in England, planters in Maryland imported thousands more slaves and racial caste lines hardened. The economy's growth and prosperity was based on slave labor, devoted first to the production of tobacco as the commodity crop.

Maryland was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. On February 2, 1781, Maryland became the 13th state to approve the ratification of the Articles of Confederation which brought into being the United States as a united, sovereign and national state. It also became the seventh state admitted to the U.S. after ratifying the new Constitution. In December 1790, Maryland donated land selected by President George Washington to the federal government for the creation of the new national capital of Washington, D.C. The land was provided from Montgomery and Prince George's counties, as well as from Fairfax County and Alexandria in Virginia; however, the land donated by Virginia was later returned to that state by the District of Columbia retrocession.

19th century

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.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) was the first chartered railroad in the United States, and it opened its first section of track for regular operation in 1830, between Baltimore and Ellicott City. In 1852 it became the first rail line to reach the Ohio River from the eastern seaboard. Baltimore's seaport and good railroad connections fostered substantial growth during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. Many manufacturing businesses were established in Baltimore and the surrounding area after the Civil War.

Influenced by a changing economy, revolutionary ideals, and preaching by Methodist and Quaker ministers, numerous planters in Maryland freed their slaves in the twenty years after the Revolutionary War. This was a pattern across the Upper South, in which the free black population increased markedly from less than 1% before the war to 14% by 1810.

Civil War

Main article: Maryland in the American Civil War

The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862 — the single bloodiest day of the Civil War and all of American military history, with nearly 23,000 casualties.

By 1860 Maryland's free black population comprised 49% of the total of African Americans in the state. This contributed to the state's remaining loyal to the Union during the Civil War. In addition, Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks temporarily suspended the state legislature, and President Abraham Lincoln had a number of its pro-slavery politicians, called "fire eaters," arrested prior to its reconvening. Lincoln ordered U.S. troops to place artillery on Federal Hill to threaten the city of Baltimore, and helped ensure the election of a new pro-union governor and legislature. Lincoln ordered certain pro-South members of the state legislature and other prominent men jailed at Fort McHenry, including the Mayor of Baltimore, George William Brown. The grandson of Francis Scott Key was included in those jailed. Historians continue to debate the constitutionality of these actions taken during the crisis of wartime. The Thomas Viaduct, which crosses the Patapsco River on the B&O Railroad, was considered so strategically important that Union troops were assigned to guard it throughout the entirety of the war.

In April 1861, Federal regular military units and state militia regiments arrived in Baltimore at the President Street Station of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, located east of the "Basin" (Inner Harbor). The troops, headed for Washington, D.C., marched through Baltimore towards the B&O Camden Station to continue their journey, and along the way they were attacked by an unruly mob. The incident, later known as the Baltimore riot of 1861, was the first bloodshed in the Civil War. Four soldiers and twelve civilians were killed in the riot.

Lincoln promised to avoid having more Northern defenders march through Baltimore while getting to areas to protect the acutely endangered Federal Capital. This forced the majority of forces traveling to reinforce the National Capital to take a slow route by boat which Massachusetts militia Gen. Benjamin F. Butler (1818–1893) did several days later after hearing of the bloody reception in Baltimore by commandeering the P. W. & B. Railroad ferryboat "Harriet Lane" at the Susquehanna River crossing between Perryville in Cecil County to Havre de Grace in Harford County. Avoiding the riotous city, he steamed down the Chesapeake Bay to anchor at night off the Naval Academy at Severn Point in Annapolis and landing his troops of Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island militia over the protests of Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks (1798–1865) after pulling the old Navy training ship frigate USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides") further off the shore so that southern sympathizers couldn't attack it. Then recruiting some railroad workers and boilermakers among his soldiers, they rescued a small yard locomotive in the trainyards and pushed up the Annapolis Line of the B&O Railroad to Relay Junction near Ellicott City, where it joined the Main Line going west to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia or south to Washington. The Northern regiments shortly arrived in the station by the U.S. Capitol and camped that evening in the Rotunda under the still un-completed dome under construction tending to their wounded. An additional unit was sent up Pennsylvania Avenue to reinforce the White House where the President awaited with joy and relief.

Antietam National Battlefield today

Of the 115,000 men from Maryland who joined the military during the Civil War, 85,000, or 77%, joined the Union army, while the remainder joined the Confederate Army. To help ensure Maryland's inclusion in the Union, President Lincoln suspended several civil liberties, including the writ of habeas corpus. This suspension was later deemed illegal by Chief Justice Roger Taney of the United States Supreme Court, a Maryland native.

The largest and most significant battle fought in the state was the Battle of Antietam, fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg. Although a tactical draw, the Battle of Antietam was considered a strategic Union victory and a turning point of the war.

Because Maryland remained in the Union, it was exempted from the abolition provisions of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which applied only to states in rebellion. In 1864 the state held a constitutional convention that culminated in the passage of a new state constitution. Article 24 of that document abolished slavery. In 1867, following passage of constitutional amendments that granted voting rights to freedmen, the state extended suffrage to non-white males.

After the war

The Democratic Party rapidly regained power in the state and replaced Republicans who had ruled during the war. Support for the Constitution of 1864 ended, and Democrats replaced it with the Maryland Constitution of 1867.

As the industrial revolution swept across the northeast and midwestern United States, Baltimore continued to expand and prosper. Baltimore businessmen, including Johns Hopkins, Enoch Pratt, George Peabody, and Henry Walters founded notable educational, health care, and cultural institutions in the city, which bear their names, including a university, library, music school and art museum.

Cumberland was Maryland's second largest city in the 19th century, with ample nearby supplies of coal, iron ore and timber. These resources, along with railroads, the National Road and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, fostered its growth. The city was a major manufacturing center, with industries in glass, breweries, fabrics and tinplate.

20th century

The Progressive Era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought reforms in the political arena and in working conditions for Maryland's labor force. In a series of laws passed between 1892 and 1908, reformers worked for standard state-issued ballots (rather than those distributed and pre-marked by the parties); obtained closed voting booths to prevent party workers from "assisting" voters; initiated primary elections to keep party bosses from selecting candidates; and had candidates listed without party symbols, which discouraged the illiterate from participating.

In 1902, the state regulated conditions in mines; outlawed child laborers under the age of 12; mandated compulsory school attendance; and enacted the nation's first workers' compensation law. The workers' compensation law was overturned in the courts, but was redrafted and finally enacted in 1910.

The Great Baltimore Fire of February 8, 1904 was a momentous event for Maryland's largest city and the state as a whole. More than 1,231 firefighters, some coming from cities as far away as New York, worked to bring the blaze under control. The fire burned over 30 hours, destroying 1,526 buildings and spanning 70 city blocks.

The nation's entry into World War I in 1917 brought changes to Maryland. New military bases, such as Camp Meade (now Fort Meade) and the Aberdeen Proving Ground were established in 1917, and the Edgewood Arsenal was founded the following year. Other existing facilities, including Fort McHenry, were greatly expanded.

Maryland's urban and rural communities had different experiences during the Great Depression. In 1932 the "Bonus Army" marched through the state on its way to Washington, D.C. In addition to the nationwide New Deal reforms of President Franklin Roosevelt, which put men to work building roads and park facilities, Maryland also took steps to weather the hard times. For instance, in 1937 the state instituted its first ever income tax to generate revenue for schools and welfare.

Baltimore was a major war production center during World War II. The biggest operations were Bethlehem Steel's Fairfield Yard, which built Liberty ships; and Glenn Martin, an aircraft manufacturer.

Following World War II, Maryland experienced growth in the suburbs, particularly in the region surrounding Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Agricultural tracts gave way to residential communities such as Columbia and Montgomery Village. Concurrently the Interstate Highway System was built throughout the state, most notably I-95 and the Capital Beltway, permanently altering the landscape and travel patterns. In 1952, the eastern and western halves of Maryland were linked for the first time by the long Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which replaced a nearby ferry service. This bridge (and its later, parallel span) increased tourist traffic to Ocean City, which experienced a building boom. Soon after, the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel allowed long-distance interstate motorists to bypass downtown Baltimore, while the earlier Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge allowed them to bypass Washington, D.C.

In a pattern similar to that of other U.S. cities, heavy manufacturing declined in Baltimore after the war. Large-scale, mechanized poultry farms became prevalent on the lower Eastern Shore, along with irrigated vegetable farming. In Southern Maryland tobacco farming had nearly vanished by the century's end, due to suburban housing development and a state tobacco incentive buy-out program. Industrial, railroad, and coal mining jobs in the four westernmost counties declined.

Baltimore initiated urban renewal projects beginning in the 1960s with Charles Center and the Baltimore World Trade Center. In 1980, the opening of Harborplace and the Baltimore Aquarium made the city a significant tourist destination. The popular Camden Yards baseball stadium opened in 1992 in the downtown area.

At the end of the century, Maryland joined with neighboring states to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay. The bay's aquatic life and seafood industry have been threatened by suburban and waterfront residential development, as well as by fertilizer and livestock waste entering the bay in stormwater runoff, especially from the upper Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1790	319,728		—
1800	341,548		6.8%
1810	380,546		11.4%
1820	407,350		7.0%
1830	447,040		9.7%
1840	470,019		5.1%
1850	583,034		24.0%
1860	687,049		17.8%
1870	780,894		13.7%
1880	934,943		19.7%
1890	1,042,390		11.5%
1900	1,188,044		14.0%
1910	1,295,346		9.0%
1920	1,449,661		11.9%
1930	1,631,526		12.5%
1940	1,821,244		11.6%
1950	2,343,001		28.6%
1960	3,100,689		32.3%
1970	3,922,399		26.5%
1980	4,216,975		7.5%
1990	4,781,468		13.4%
2000	5,296,486		10.8%
2010	5,773,552		9.0%
2013 (est.)	5,928,814		2.7%
Source: 1910–2010

A map of Maryland's population distribution

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Maryland was 5,928,814 on July 1, 2013, a 2.7% increase since the 2010 United States Census.

As of 2006, Maryland has an estimated population of 5,615,727, which is an increase of 26,128, or 0.5 percent, from the prior year and an increase of 319,221, or 6.0 percent, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 189,158 people (that is 464,251 births minus 275,093 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 116,713 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 129,730 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 13,017 people.

In 2006, 645,744 were counted as foreign born, which represents mainly people from Latin America and Asia. About 4.0 percent are undocumented (illegal) immigrants. Maryland also has a large Korean American population. In fact, 1.7 percent are Korean, while as a whole, almost 6.0 percent are Asian.

Most of the population of Maryland lives in the central region of the state, in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area and Washington Metropolitan Area, both of which are part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The Eastern Shore is less populous and more rural, as are the counties of western and southern Maryland.

The two counties of Western Maryland, Allegany and Garrett, are mountainous and sparsely populated, resembling West Virginia more than they do the rest of Maryland.

The center of population of Maryland is located on the county line between Anne Arundel County and Howard County, in the unincorporated community of Jessup.

See also: List of counties in Maryland, List of incorporated places in Maryland, and List of census-designated places in Maryland

Maryland's counties

The majority of Maryland's population is concentrated in the cities and suburbs surrounding Washington, D.C., as well as in and around Maryland's most populous city, Baltimore. Historically, these and many other Maryland cities developed along the Fall Line, the line along which rivers, brooks, and streams are interrupted by rapids and/or waterfalls. Maryland's capital city, Annapolis, is one exception to this pattern, since it lies along the banks of the Severn River, close to where it empties into the Chesapeake Bay.

The other population centers of Maryland include suburban areas of Columbia and Ellicott City in Howard County; Silver Spring, Rockville, and Gaithersburg in Montgomery County; Laurel, College Park, Greenbelt, Hyattsville, Landover, Clinton, Bowie, and Upper Marlboro in Prince George's County; Frederick in Frederick County; Hagerstown in Washington County; Waldorf in Charles County; Pikesville, Essex, and Towson in Baltimore County; and Glen Burnie and Hanover in Anne Arundel.

The eastern, southern, and western portions of the state tend to be more rural, although they are dotted with cities of regional importance, such as Ocean City, Princess Anne, and Salisbury on the Eastern Shore; Lexington Park, Prince Frederick, and Waldorf in Southern Maryland; and Cumberland, Frostburg, and Hancock in Western Maryland.

Geographic regions of Maryland

Maryland's history as a border state has led it to exhibit characteristics of both the Northern and Southern regions of the United States. Generally, rural Western Maryland between the West Virginian Panhandle and Pennsylvania has an Appalachian culture; the Southern and Eastern Shore regions of Maryland embody a Southern culture, while densely populated Central Maryland—radiating outward from Baltimore and Washington, D.C.—has more in common with that of the Northeast. The U.S. Census Bureau designates Maryland as one of the South Atlantic States, but it is commonly associated with the Mid-Atlantic States and/or Northeastern United States by other federal agencies, the media, and some residents.

Racial and ethnic makeup

According to a 2012 estimate, the racial composition of the state was:

• 60.8% White American (53.9% non-Hispanic White, 6.9% White Hispanic)
• 30.0% Black or African American
• 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native
• 6.0% Asian American
• 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
• 2.5% Multiracial American

Hispanics and Latinos of any race make up 8.7% of the population.

Maryland Racial Breakdown of Population

Racial composition	1990	2000	2010
White	71.0%	64.0%	58.2%
Black	24.9%	27.9%	29.4%
Asian	2.9%	4.0%	5.5%
Native	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander	-	-	0.1%
Other race	0.9%	1.8%	3.6%
Two or more races	-	2.0%	2.9%

In 1970, the Census Bureau reported Maryland's population as 17.8 percent African-American and 80.4 percent non-Hispanic White.

As of 2011, 58.0 percent of Maryland's population younger than age 1 were minorities(note: children born to white Hispanics are counted as minority group).

African-Americans form a sizable portion of the state's population – nearly 30 percent in 2010 – including immigrants from Nigeria, particularly the Igbo tribe. Although populous in most of the state, large concentrations of African-American population can be found in Baltimore City, Prince George's County, Charles County, Randallstown, and the southern Eastern Shore.

Most of the Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland are populated by Marylanders of British ancestry, with the Eastern Shore traditionally Methodist and the southern counties Catholic. Western and northern Maryland have large German-American populations. Italians, Poles, Czechs, and Greeks are centered mostly in the large city of Baltimore. Hispanics are numerous in Hyattsville/Langley Park, Wheaton, Bladensburg, Riverdale Park, Gaithersburg, and Highlandtown in East Baltimore. Salvadorans are the largest Hispanic group in Maryland. Other Hispanic groups with significant populations in the state include Mexicans and Puerto Ricans. Though the Salvadoran population is more concentrated in the area around Washington, DC, and the Puerto Rican population is more concentrated in the Baltimore area, all other major Hispanic groups in the state are evenly dispersed between these two areas. Maryland has one of the most diverse Hispanic populations in the country, with significant populations from various Caribbean and Central American nations.

Jews are numerous throughout Montgomery County and in Pikesville and Owings Mills northwest of Baltimore. Asian Americans are concentrated in the suburban counties surrounding Washington, D.C., especially evident by a Korean American and Taiwanese American community in Rockville and a Filipino American community in Fort Washington. There are also numerous Indian Americans living across the state, especially in central Maryland. Amish/Mennonite communities are found in St. Mary's, Garrett, and Washington counties.

Maryland has the fifth largest proportions of racial minorities in the country.

According to The Williams Institute's analysis of the 2010 U.S. Census, 12,538 same-sex couples are living in Maryland, representing 5.8 same-sex couples per 1,000 households.

Religion

The Baltimore Basilica was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States. It is considered to be the masterpiece of architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe.

Maryland was founded for the purpose of providing religious toleration of England's Roman Catholic minority. Nevertheless, Parliament later reversed that policy and discouraged the practice of Catholicism in Maryland. Due to immigration patterns, Catholics have not continuously been a majority in Maryland since early Colonial times. Nonetheless, Catholicism is the largest single denomination in Maryland.

As of the year 2010, the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) reported that the largest religious groups in Maryland are: The Catholic Church, non-denominational Evangelical Protestant, and the United Methodist Church. The Catholic Church has the highest number of adherents in Maryland (at 837,338), followed by non-denominational Evangelical Protestants with 298,921 members reported. Judaism is the largest non-Christian religion with 241,000 adherents, or 4.3 percent of the total population. The present religious composition of the state is shown below:

Religions in Maryland
Christian				Other
Roman Catholic	14.5%			Jewish	1.4%
Baptist	5.2%			Muslim	0.6%
Other Religions	3.5%

Despite the Protestant majority, Maryland has been prominent in U.S. Catholic tradition, partially because it was intended by George Calvert as a haven for English Catholics. Baltimore was the seat of the first Catholic bishop in the U.S. (1789), and Emmitsburg was the home and burial place of the first American-born citizen to be canonized, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Georgetown University, the first Catholic University, was founded in 1789 in what was then part of Maryland. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Baltimore was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States, and the Archbishop of Baltimore is, albeit without formal primacy, the United States' quasi-primate, and often a Cardinal.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church's World Headquarters is located in Silver Spring, just outside the District of Columbia.

Economy

See also: Business in Maryland, List of federal installations in Maryland, List of shopping malls in Maryland, and Maryland locations by per capita income

The Port of Baltimore

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Maryland's gross state product in 2012 was US$317.7 billion. However, Maryland has been using Genuine Progress Indicator, an indicator of well-being, to guide the state's development, rather than relying only on growth indicators like GDP. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Maryland households are currently the wealthiest in the country, with a 2009 median household income of $69,272 which puts it ahead of New Jersey and Connecticut, which are second and third respectively. Two of Maryland's counties, Howard and Montgomery, are the third and tenth wealthiest counties in the nation respectively. Also, the state's poverty rate of 7.8 percent is the lowest in the country. Per capita personal income in 2006 was US$43,500, 5th in the nation.

As of March 2012, the state's unemployment rate was 6.6 percent.

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 on the Port of Baltimore and its related rail and trucking access. The port ranked 17th in the U.S. by tonnage in 2008. 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. The port also receives several different brands of imported motor vehicles and is the number two auto port in the U.S.

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, a number of educational and medical research institutions are located in the state. In fact, the various components of The 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 percent of Maryland's labor force, attributable in part to nearby Maryland being a part of the Washington Metro Area where the federal government office employment is relatively high.

Maryland has a large food-production sector. A large component of this is commercial fishing, centered in the 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 overwintering waterfowl in its wildlife refuges. The waterfowl support a tourism sector of sportsmen.

Agriculture is an important part of the state's economy

Maryland has large areas of fertile agricultural land in its coastal and Piedmont zones, though this land use is being encroached upon by urbanization. Agriculture is oriented to dairy farming (especially in foothill and piedmont areas) 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 are warm enough to support a tobacco cash crop zone, which has existed since early Colonial times but declined greatly after a state government buyout in the 1990s. There is also a large automated chicken-farming sector in the state's southeastern part; Salisbury is home to Perdue Farms. Maryland's food-processing plants 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 percent 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. During World War II the Glenn Martin Company (now part of Lockheed Martin) airplane factory employed some 40,000 people.

Mining other than construction materials is virtually limited to coal, which is located in the mountainous western part of the state. The brownstone quarries in the east, which gave Baltimore and Washington much of their characteristic architecture in the mid-19th century, were once a predominant natural resource. Historically, there used to be small gold-mining operations in Maryland, some surprisingly near Washington, but these no longer exist.

Baltimore City is the eighth largest port in the nation, and was at the center of the February 2006 controversy over the Dubai Ports World deal because it was considered to be of such strategic importance. The state as a whole is heavily industrialized, with a booming economy and influential technology centers. Its computer industries are some of the most sophisticated in the United States, and the federal government has invested heavily in the area. Maryland is home to several large military bases and scores of high level government jobs.

According to a study by Phoenix Marketing International, Maryland ranked No. 1 with the most millionaires per capita in 2013, with a ratio of 7.70 percent.

Taxation

Maryland imposes 5 income tax brackets, ranging from 2 to 6.25 percent of personal income. The city of Baltimore and Maryland's 23 counties levy local "piggyback" income taxes at rates between 1.25 and 3.2 percent of Maryland taxable income. Local officials set the rates and the revenue is returned to the local governments quarterly. The top income tax bracket of 9.45 percent is the fifth highest combined state and local income tax rates in the country, behind New York City's 11.35 percent, California’s 10.3 percent, Rhode Island’s 9.9 percent, and Vermont’s 9.5 percent.

Maryland's state sales tax is 6 percent. All real property in Maryland is subject to the property tax. Generally, properties that are owned and used by religious, charitable, or educational organizations or property owned by the federal, state or local governments are exempt. Property tax rates vary widely. No restrictions or limitations on property taxes are imposed by the state, meaning cities and counties can set tax rates at the level they deem necessary to fund governmental services. These rates can increase, decrease or remain the same from year to year. If the proposed tax rate increases the total property tax revenues, the governing body must advertise that fact and hold a public hearing on the new tax rate. This is called the Constant Yield Tax Rate process.

Biotechnology

Maryland is a major center for life sciences research and development. With more than 400 biotechnology companies located there, Maryland is the fourth-largest nexus in this field in the United States.

Institutions and government agencies with an interest in research and development located in Maryland include the Johns Hopkins University, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, more than one campus of the University System of Maryland, Goddard Space Flight Center, the United States Census Bureau, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Military Medical Center, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Celera Genomics company, Human Genome Sciences (HGS),the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), and MedImmune - recently purchased by AstraZeneca.

Transportation

The Maryland Department of Transportation, headquartered in the Hanover area of unincorporated Anne Arundel County, oversees most transportation in the state through its various administration-level agencies. The independent Maryland Transportation Authority, headquartered in Baltimore, maintains and operates the state's eight toll facilities.

Roads

See also: List of Interstate Highways in Maryland, List of Maryland state highways, List of minor Maryland state highways, and List of former Maryland state highways

Maryland's major cities and roads.

Maryland's Interstate highways include 110 miles (180 km) of I-95, which enters the northeast portion of the state, goes through Baltimore, and becomes part of the eastern section of the Capital Beltway to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. I-68 runs 81 miles (130 km) connecting the western portions of the state to I-70 at the small town of Hancock. I-70 enters from Pennsylvania north of Hancock and continues east for 93 miles (150 km) to Baltimore, connecting Hagerstown and Frederick along the way.

I-83 has 34 miles (55 km) in Maryland and connects Baltimore to southern central Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and York, Pennsylvania). Maryland also has an 11-mile (18 km) portion of I-81 that runs through the state near Hagerstown. I-97, fully contained within Anne Arundel County and the second shortest (17.6 miles) one- or two-digit Interstate highway which connects the Baltimore area to the Annapolis area. Hawaii has one that is shorter.

There are also several auxiliary Interstate highways in Maryland. Among them are two beltways encircling the major cities of the region: I-695, the McKeldin (Baltimore) Beltway, which encircles Baltimore; and a portion of I-495, the Capital Beltway, which encircles Washington, D.C. I-270, which connects the Frederick area with Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia through major suburbs to the northwest of Washington, is a major commuter route and is as wide as fourteen lanes at points.

Both I-270 and the Capital Beltway are currently extremely congested; however, the ICC or Intercounty Connector (MD 200) is hoped to alleviate some of the congestion over time. Construction of the ICC was a major part of the campaign platform of former Governor Robert Ehrlich, who was in office from 2003 until 2007, and of Governor Martin O'Malley, who succeeded him. I-595, which is concurrent with US 50 and US 301, is the longest unsigned interstate in the country and connects Prince George's County and Washington D.C. with Annapolis and the Eastern Shore via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which connects Maryland's Eastern and Western Shores, is the most popular route for tourists to reach the resort town of Ocean City.

Maryland also has a state highway system that contains routes numbered from 2 through 999, however most of the higher-numbered routes are either not signed or are relatively short. Major state highways include Routes 2 (Governor Ritchie Highway/Solomons Island Road/Southern Maryland Blvd.), 4 (Pennsylvania Avenue/Southern Maryland Blvd./Patuxent Beach Road/St. Andrew's Church Road), 5 (Branch Avenue/Leonardtown Road/Point Lookout Road), 32, 45 (York Road), 97 (Georgia Avenue), 100 (Paul T. Pitcher Memorial Highway), 210 (Indian Head Highway), 235 (Three Notch Road), 295 (Baltimore-Washington Parkway), 355 (Wisconsin Avenue/Rockville Pike/Frederick Road), 404 (Queen Anne Highway/ Shore Highway), and 650 (New Hampshire Avenue).

Airports

See also: Aviation in Maryland and List of airports in Maryland

Maryland's largest airport is Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (known as Friendship Airport from its construction in 1950 and renamed in 2005 for Baltimore-born former and first African-American Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall). The only other airports with commercial service are at Hagerstown and Salisbury. 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. The College Park Airport is the nation's oldest, founded in 1909, and is still utilized. Wilbur Wright trained military aviators at this location.

Rail

See also: List of Maryland railroads

Amtrak trains, including the high speed Acela Express serve Baltimore's Penn Station, BWI Airport, New Carrollton, and Aberdeen along the Washington D.C. to Boston Northeast Corridor. In addition, train service is provided to Rockville and Cumberland by Amtrak's Washington, D.C., to Chicago Capitol Limited.

Ellicott City Station, on the original B&O Railroad line, is the oldest remaining passenger station in the United States. The rail line is still used by CSX Transportation for freight trains, and the station is now a museum.

The WMATA's Metrorail rapid transit and Metrobus local bus systems (the 2nd and 6th busiest in the nation of their respective modes) provide service in Montgomery and Prince George's counties and connect them to Washington D.C., with the express Metrobus Route B30 serving BWI Airport. The Maryland Transit Administration (often abbreviated as "MTA Maryland"), a state agency part of the Maryland Department of Transportation also provides transit services within the state. Headquartered in Baltimore, MTA's transit services are largely focused on central Maryland, as well as some portions of the Eastern Shore and Southern MD. Baltimore's Light Rail and Metro Subway systems serve its densely populated inner-city and the surrounding suburbs. The MTA also serves the city and its suburbs with its local bus service (the 9th largest system in the nation). The MTA's Commuter Bus system provides express coach service on longer routes connecting Washington D.C. and Baltimore to parts of Central and Southern MD as well as the Eastern Shore. The commuter rail service, known as MARC, operates three lines which all terminate at Washington Union Station and provide service to Baltimore's Penn and Camden stations, Perryville, Frederick, and Martinsburg, WV. In addition, many suburban counties operate their own local bus systems which connect to and complement the larger MTA and WMATA/Metro services.

Freight rail transport is handled principally by two Class I railroads, as well as several smaller regional and local carriers. CSX Transportation has more extensive trackage throughout the state, with 560 miles (900 km), followed by Norfolk Southern Railway. Major rail yards are located in Baltimore and Cumberland, with an intermodal terminal (rail, truck and marine) in Baltimore.

Shipping canals

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is a 14 miles (23 km) canal on the Eastern Shore that connects the waters of the Delaware River with those of the Chesapeake Bay, and in particular with the Port of Baltimore, carrying 40 percent of the port's ship traffic.

Law and government

The reverse side of the Maryland quarter shows the dome of the State House in Annapolis.

Main article: Government of Maryland

See also: List of Governors of Maryland, Maryland Army National Guard, and Maryland Air National Guard

The government of Maryland is conducted according to the state constitution. 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.

Power in Maryland is divided among three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The Maryland General Assembly is composed of the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate. Maryland's governor is unique in the United States as the office is vested with significant authority in budgeting. The legislature may not increase the governor's proposed budget expenditures. Unlike most other states, significant autonomy is granted to many of Maryland's counties.

Most of the business of government is conducted 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.

The judicial branch of state government consists of one united District Court of Maryland that sits in every county and Baltimore City, as well as 24 Circuit Courts sitting in each County and Baltimore City, the latter being courts of general jurisdiction for all civil disputes over $30,000.00, all equitable jurisdiction and major criminal proceedings. The intermediate appellate court is known as the "Court of Special Appeals" and the state supreme court is the "Court of Appeals". The appearance of the judges of the Maryland Court of Appeals is unique; Maryland is the only state whose judges wear red robes.

Elections

Further information: Political party strength in Maryland

Since before the Civil War, Maryland's elections have been largely controlled by the Democrats, even as the party's platform has changed considerably in that time. State elections are dominated by Baltimore and the populous suburban counties bordering Washington, D.C.: Montgomery and Prince George's. Forty-three percent of the state's population resides in these three jurisdictions, each of which contain large, traditionally Democratic voting bloc(s): African Americans in Baltimore and Prince George's, federal employees in Prince George's and Montgomery, and postgraduates in Montgomery. The remainder of the state, particularly Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore, is more supportive of Republicans.

Spiro Agnew, former Vice President of the United States and the highest-ranking political leader from Maryland since the founding of the United States.

Maryland has supported the Democratic nominee in each of the last five presidential elections, by an average margin of 15.4 percent. In 1980, it was one of six states to vote for Jimmy Carter. In recent years, Maryland has been among the most reliable states for Democratic nominees. In 1992, Bill Clinton fared better in Maryland than any other state except his home state of Arkansas. In 1996, Maryland was Clinton's sixth best, in 2000 Maryland ranked fourth for Gore and in 2004 John Kerry showed his fifth best performance in Maryland. In 2008, Barack Obama won the state's 10 electoral votes with 61.9 percent of the vote to John McCain's 36.5 percent.

While Republicans usually win more counties by piling up large margins in the west and east, they are usually swamped by the more densely populated and heavily Democratic Baltimore-Washington axis. In 2008, for instance, McCain won 17 counties to Obama's six; Obama also carried Baltimore City. While McCain won most of the western and eastern counties by margins of 2-to-1 or more, he was almost completely shut out in the larger counties surrounding Baltimore and Washington; every large county except Anne Arundel went for Obama.

Both of Maryland's U.S. Senators and seven of its eight Representatives in Congress are Democrats, and Democrats hold a supermajority in the state Senate. The previous Governor, Robert Ehrlich, was the first Republican to be elected to that office in four decades, and after one term lost his seat to Baltimore Mayor Martin J. O'Malley, a Democrat. Ehrlich ran again for Governor in 2010, losing again to O'Malley.

U.S. Congressman Steny Hoyer (MD-5), a Democrat, was elected as Majority Leader for the 110th Congress of the House of Representatives, and 111th Congress, serving in that post from 2007 to 2011. His district covers parts of Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties, in addition to all of Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's counties in southern Maryland.

The 2006 election brought no significant change in this pattern of Democratic dominance. After Democratic Senator Paul Sarbanes announced that he was retiring, Democratic Congressman Benjamin Cardin defeated Republican Lieutenant Governor Michael S. Steele, with 55 percent of the vote, against Steele's 44 percent.

While Maryland is a Democratic Party stronghold, perhaps its best known political figure is a Republican – former Governor Spiro Agnew, who served as United States Vice President under Richard Nixon. He was Vice President from 1969 to 1973, when he resigned in the aftermath of revelations that he had taken bribes while he was Governor of Maryland. In late 1973, a court found Agnew guilty of violating tax laws.

In 2010 Republicans won control of most counties. The Democratic Party remained in control of eight county governments including Baltimore City.

Education

Primary and secondary education

See also: List of school districts in Maryland and List of high schools in Maryland

Memorial Chapel at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland's largest university.

Education Week ranked Maryland #1 in its nationwide 2009-2013 Quality Counts reports. The College Board's 9th Annual AP Report to the Nation also ranked Maryland first. Primary and secondary education in Maryland is overseen by the Maryland State Department of Education, which is headquartered in Baltimore. The highest educational official in the state is the State Superintendent of Schools, who is appointed by the State Board of Education to a four-year term of office. The Maryland General Assembly has given the Superintendent and State Board autonomy to make educationally related decisions, limiting its own influence on the day to day functions of public education. Each county and county-equivalent in Maryland has a local Board of Education charged with running the public schools in that particular jurisdiction.

The budget for education was $5.5 billion in 2009, representing about 40 percent of the state's general fund.

Maryland has a broad range of private primary and secondary schools. Many of these are affiliated with various religious sects, including parochial schools of the Catholic Church, Quaker schools, Seventh-day Adventist schools, and Jewish schools. In 2003, Maryland law was changed to allow for the creation of publicly funded charter schools, although the charter schools must be approved by their local Board of Education and are not exempt from state laws on education, including collective bargaining laws.

In 2008, the state led the entire country in the percentage of students passing Advanced Placement examinations. 23.4 percent of students earned passing grades on the AP tests given in May 2008. This marks the first year that Maryland earned this honor. Three Maryland high schools (in Montgomery County) were ranked among the top 100 in the country by US News in 2009, based in large part on AP test scores.

Colleges and universities

See also: List of colleges and universities in Maryland

Maryland has several historic and renowned private colleges and universities, the most prominent of which is Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876 with a grant from Baltimore entrepreneur Johns Hopkins.

The first public university in the state is the University of Maryland, Baltimore, which was founded in 1807 and contains the University of Maryland's only public academic health, human services, and one of two law centers (the other being the University of Baltimore School of Law). Seven professional and graduate schools train the majority of the state's physicians, nurses, dentists, lawyers, social workers, and pharmacists. The largest undergraduate institution in Maryland is the University of Maryland, College Park which was founded as the Maryland Agricultural College in 1856 and became a public land grant college in 1864. Towson University, founded in 1866, is the state's second largest university. Baltimore is home to the Maryland Institute College of Art. The majority of public universities in the state are affiliated with the University System of Maryland. Two state-funded institutions, Morgan State University and St. Mary's College of Maryland, as well as two federally funded institutions, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the United States Naval Academy, are not affiliated with the University System of Maryland.

St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland and Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, both private institutions, are the two oldest colleges in the state, and are among the oldest in the country. Other private institutions include Mount St. Mary's University, McDaniel College (formerly known as Western Maryland College), Hood College, Stevenson University (formerly known as Villa Julie College), Loyola University Maryland, Goucher College, and Salisbury University among others.

Sports

Oriole Park at Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles

M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens.

See also: Sports in Maryland and List of athletes from Maryland

With two major metropolitan areas, Maryland has a number of major and minor professional sports franchises. Two National Football League teams play in Maryland, the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore City and the Washington Redskins in Landover. The Baltimore Colts represented the NFL in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983 before moving to Indianapolis.

The Baltimore Orioles are the state's Major League Baseball franchise. The National Hockey League's Washington Capitals and the National Basketball Association's Washington Wizards formerly played in Maryland, until the construction of an arena in Downtown D.C. in 1997 (originally known as MCI Center, renamed Verizon Center in 2006).

Maryland enjoys considerable historical repute for the talented sports players of its past, including Cal Ripken Jr. and Babe Ruth. In 2012, The Baltimore Sun published a list of Maryland's top ten athletes in the state's history. The list includes Ruth, Ripken, Johnny Unitas, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Ray Lewis, Michael Phelps, Jimmie Foxx, Jim Parker, and Wes Unseld.

Other professional sports franchises in the state include five affiliated minor league baseball teams, one independent league baseball team, the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team, two indoor football teams, and three low-level outdoor soccer teams. Maryland is also home to one of the three races in horse racing's annual Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, which is run every spring at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

The official state sport of Maryland, since 1962, is jousting; the official team sport since 2004 is lacrosse. The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame is located on the Johns Hopkins University campus in Baltimore. In 2008, intending to promote physical fitness for all ages, walking became the official state exercise. Maryland is the first state with an official state exercise.

See also

• Index of Maryland-related articles
• Outline of Maryland – organized list of topics about Maryland

Further reading

• Brugger, Robert J. (1988). Maryland, A Middle Temperament: 1634-1980. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-5465-2.
• Chappelle, Susan Ellery Green; et al. (1986). Maryland: A History of its People. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-3005-2. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |first= (help)
• Davis, William Wilkins. Religion and Politics in Maryland on the Eve of the Civil War: The Letters of W. Wilkins Davis. Foreword by Charles W. Mitchell. 1988; rev. ed., Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock, 2009.
• Denton, Lawrence M. (1995). A Southern Star for Maryland. Baltimore: Publishing Concepts. ISBN 0-9635159-3-4.

External links

• Official website of the State of Maryland
• Maryland Office of Tourism
• Energy Data & Statistics for Maryland
• USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Maryland
• U.S. Census Bureau
• Catholic Encyclopedia article
• Maryland State Facts
• Template:Dmoz
• Geographic data related to Maryland at OpenStreetMap