1.
United States House of Representatives
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The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the Senate, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the House are established by Article One of the United States Constitution, since its inception in 1789, all representatives are elected popularly. The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435, the House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills, which, after concurrence by the Senate, are sent to the President for consideration. The presiding officer is the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the members thereof and is traditionally the leader of the controlling party. He or she and other leaders are chosen by the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conferences. The House meets in the wing of the United States Capitol. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation was a body in which each state was equally represented. All states except Rhode Island agreed to send delegates, the issue of how to structure Congress was one of the most divisive among the founders during the Convention. The House is referred to as the house, with the Senate being the upper house. Both houses approval is necessary for the passage of legislation, the Virginia Plan drew the support of delegates from large states such as Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, as it called for representation based on population. The smaller states, however, favored the New Jersey Plan, the Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states in 1788, but its implementation was set for March 4,1789. The House began work on April 1,1789, when it achieved a quorum for the first time, during the first half of the 19th century, the House was frequently in conflict with the Senate over regionally divisive issues, including slavery. The North was much more populous than the South, and therefore dominated the House of Representatives, However, the North held no such advantage in the Senate, where the equal representation of states prevailed. Regional conflict was most pronounced over the issue of slavery, One example of a provision repeatedly supported by the House but blocked by the Senate was the Wilmot Proviso, which sought to ban slavery in the land gained during the Mexican–American War. Conflict over slavery and other issues persisted until the Civil War, the war culminated in the Souths defeat and in the abolition of slavery. Because all southern senators except Andrew Johnson resigned their seats at the beginning of the war, the years of Reconstruction that followed witnessed large majorities for the Republican Party, which many Americans associated with the Unions victory in the Civil War and the ending of slavery. The Reconstruction period ended in about 1877, the ensuing era, the Democratic and the Republican Party held majorities in the House at various times. The late 19th and early 20th centuries also saw an increase in the power of the Speaker of the House
2.
Maryland
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The states largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, the state is named after Henrietta Maria of France, the wife of Charles I of England. George Calvert was the first Lord of Baltimore and the first English proprietor of the colonial grant. Maryland was the state to ratify the United States Constitution. Maryland is one of the smallest U. S. states in terms of area, as well as one of the most densely populated, Maryland has an area of 12,406.68 square miles and is comparable in overall area with Belgium. It is the 42nd largest and 9th smallest state and is closest in size to the state of Hawaii, the next largest state, its neighbor West Virginia, is almost twice the size of Maryland. Maryland possesses a variety of topography within its borders, contributing to its nickname America in Miniature. The mid-portion of this border is interrupted by Washington, D. C. which sits on land that was part of Montgomery and Prince Georges counties and including the town of Georgetown. This land was ceded to the United States Federal Government in 1790 to form the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state and the counties east of the bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore. Close to the town of Hancock, in western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state. This geographical curiosity makes Maryland the narrowest state, bordered by the Mason–Dixon line to the north, portions of Maryland are included in various official and unofficial geographic regions. Much of the Baltimore–Washington corridor lies just south of the Piedmont in the Coastal Plain, earthquakes in Maryland are infrequent and small due to the states distance from seismic/earthquake zones. 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. The lack of any glacial history accounts for the scarcity of Marylands natural lakes, laurel Oxbow Lake is an over one-hundred-year-old 55-acre natural lake two miles north of Maryland City and adjacent to Russett. Chews Lake is a natural lake two miles south-southeast of Upper Marlboro. There are numerous lakes, the largest of them being the Deep Creek Lake. Maryland has shale formations containing natural gas, where fracking is theoretically possible, as is typical of states on the East Coast, Marylands plant life is abundant and healthy. Middle Atlantic coastal forests, typical of the southeastern Atlantic coastal plain, grow around Chesapeake Bay, moving west, a mixture of Northeastern coastal forests and Southeastern mixed forests cover the central part of the state
3.
Maryland's 6th congressional district
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Marylands 6th congressional district elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives from the northwest part of the state. Today the district all of Garrett, Allegany, and Washington counties as well as portions of Montgomery. The seat is represented by John Delaney. The Maryland 6th District was one of the districts that had a congressman starting in 1789. However after the 1790 census Marylands representation increased to 8 congresspersons, the new sixth district was in the north-east corner of the state east of Baltimore, covering essentially the modern counties of Harford, Cecil and Kent. In 2012 the district was found to be the ninth least compact congressional district in the United States, after redistricting, Delaney decided to run for the newly redrawn 6th District against 10-term Republican incumbent Roscoe Bartlett. The district had long been a Republican stronghold, but it had been significantly reconfigured, the Maryland General Assembly shifted heavily Republican Carroll County and a mostly Republican section of Frederick County to the heavily Democratic 8th district. It shifted Republican-tilting sections of Harford and Baltimore counties into the already heavily Republican 1st district, taking their place was a heavily Democratic section of Montgomery County. During the primary, Delaney was endorsed by former President Bill Clinton, U. S. Congresswoman Donna Edwards, Comptroller Peter Franchot, the Washington Post, on April 3,2012, Delaney won the five-candidate Democratic primary field with 54% of the vote. The next closest opponent, State Senator Robert J. Garagiola, in the November 6,2012 general election, Delaney defeated Bartlett by 59%-38%, a 21-point margin. He won mostly on the strength of a nearly 56, 000-vote margin in Montgomery County, Marylands congressional districts List of United States congressional districts Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, the Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
4.
George Wurtz Hughes
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George Wurtz Hughes was a U. S. Representative from the 6th Congressional district of Maryland, born in Elmira, New York, Hughes received a liberal schooling. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1823 to 1827 and he was appointed to the United States Army on July 7,1838, as captain of Topographical Engineers, and served in the Mexican-American War. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel of Maryland and District of Columbia Volunteers on August 4,1847 and he was honorably mustered out of the volunteer service on July 24,1848, and commissioned lieutenant colonel on May 30,1848, resigning on August 4,1851. He worked as a engineer and planter at West River. The son in law of Virgil Maxcy, he is interred in the burying ground of the Galloway and Maxcy families, Tulip Hill. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
5.
Maryland House of Delegates
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The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts, the House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, the state capital. The State House also houses the Maryland State Senate Chamber and the offices of the Governor, each delegate has offices in Annapolis, in the nearby Casper R. Taylor Jr. The Lower House often fought with the Upper House for political influence in the colony, the Upper House consisted of the Governor and his Council, all personally appointed by Lord Baltimore and Proprietor of the Province, and thus tended to protect his interests in Maryland. Conversely, the Lower House tended to push for change in the colony. In this context, the Lower House continually fought for power by asserting exclusive rights in certain legislative areas, such as levying taxes. The Governor also had some measure of control over the Lower House in the seventeenth century. Despite the fact that each county was entitled to elect four delegates and this enabled the Governor to control the Lower Houses membership. In 1689, the transfer of Maryland from a colony to a royal colony temporarily quieted the disputes between the Lower House and the Governor and Council. Appointed by the crown, the governors allowed the Lower House substantial latitude with its legislative agenda. The first General Assembly under Royal Authority, in 1692, passed 85 acts in a single session, the Lower House immediately acted to remove the Governors influence over the election of delegates. Now, elected delegates could attend the session without the need for a writ from the Governor. At the same time, standing or continuing committees were established and these eliminated the Lower Houses reliance on ad hoc committees and created the first modern legislature in Maryland. During this period, the Lower House became known as the House of Delegates, the Maryland Constitution of 1776 formally established the modern House of Delegates. Initially, representation was based on geography as the voters of each county elected four delegates, beginning with the 1838 elections, each county elected at least three and up to six delegates depending on its population. Baltimore City elected the number of delegates as did the most populous county, but after 1840. Reapportionment was required after every federal census in an attempt to equal representation. The current pattern for distribution of seats in the House of Delegates began with the legislative apportionment plan of 1972 and has been revised every ten years thereafter, the plan created 47 legislative districts, many of which cross county boundaries to delineate districts relatively equal in population
6.
Riversdale (Riverdale Park, Maryland)
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Riversdale, is a five-part, large-scale late Georgian mansion with superior Federal interior, built between 1801 and 1807. Also known as Baltimore House, Calvert Mansion or Riversdale Mansion, it is located at 4811 Riverdale Road in Riverdale Park, Maryland, Stier planned the house in 1801 to resemble his Belgian residence, the Chateau du Mick. Rosalie and George Calverts son, Charles Benedict Calvert, established the Maryland Agricultural College, now the University of Maryland, College Park, while its design has been attributed to William Thornton, this is not supported by available evidence on Thorntons career. The house is significant as a well-preserved five-part Federal mansion, and historically important for its association with the Calverts. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1997, the house was begun in 1801 by Henri Josef Stier and his wife Marie Louise Peeters on almost 800 acres of land north of Bladensburg. Stier first commissioned Benjamin Henry Latrobe to do work. The local builder-architect William Lovering carried out the work to Stiers direction, while Latrobes rejected design was eventually used at Clifton, in Richmond. The east wing was completed first, and the Stiers occupied it in August 1802, however, the elder Stiers returned to Belgium in June 1803, and Rosalie and George Calvert took up residence at Riversdale. Plans for the grounds were developed by landscape architect William Russell Birch in 1805, the west wing was completed in 1806, completing the full five-part ensemble, one of the last of its kind. For thirteen years Riversdale housed the Peeters/Stier collection of European paintings and it included more than 63 paintings by such artists as Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Jan Breughel and Titian. However, most of the pieces were kept in storage. However, before they were packed, Rembrandt Peale persuaded Rosalie Calvert to display them for two weeks at Riversdale in April 1816, Rosalie became the owner of Riversdale in the same year, but died in 1821. George Calvert continued to live there until his death in 1838, the estate was divided between his sons George Henry and Charles Benedict Calvert. Charles Benedict lived his life at Riversdale, pursuing agricultural studies. His unique octagonal cow-house was particularly notable, but it burned in 1910, the property was then divided between his widow Charlotte and five children, with Charlotte in the mansion. The 300-acre core of the property was sold to John Fox. Fox and Lutz acquired an adjacent 174-acre property that belonged to George Henry Calvert, the new town offered convenient transportation into Washington on the B&O railroad line that ran through the property. The mansion was preserved in a park, but was used as a boarding house
7.
Riverdale Park, Maryland
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Riverdale Park, formerly known and often referred to as Riverdale, Maryland is a semi-urban town in Prince Georges County, Maryland, United States, a suburb in the Washington D. C. metropolitan area. The population was 6,956 as of 2010, Riverdale Park and the neighboring community of West Riverdale developed in the late 19th century as streetcar suburbs in central Prince George’s County. The town is located seven miles northeast of downtown Washington. The area is bisected by the heavily traveled U. S. Route 1. The city of College Park is located to the north, and Hyattsville is located to the south, Stier and his family moved to the United States several years earlier to escape the French Revolution. Upon purchase, he named his holdings Riversdale, and began constructing his residence that same year. Just two years after purchasing the property, in 1803, the tension that had caused Stier to flee his native country subsided. Riversdale was given to their daughter, Rosalie, who had married George Calvert, after Rosalie Stier Calvert died in 1821 and George Calvert in 1838, their son, Charles Benedict Calvert, took over the plantation. Charles Calvert was a renowned agriculturist and helped establish the Maryland Agricultural College, in May 1853, Calvert announced he would donate land for an agricultural college. In 1861, Calvert was elected to the United States Congress, during his life, Charles Calvert conducted a variety of agricultural experiments at Riversdale, and expanded his familys original holdings to 2,200 acres. Calvert died in 1864, however, the property remained in the ownership of the Calvert family for twenty years. The 1861 Martenet map depicts the setting of Riversdale and identifies Charles B. The old Baltimore Turnpike, now known as US Route 1, is located to the west of the mansion house, to the east of the house is the Washington Branch of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which opened in 1833. The railway is located inside the boundaries of Riverdale Park, just west of the Paint Branch tributary, the 1878 Hopkins map depicts little development having had happened since 1861. In 1887, the heirs of Charles Benedict Calvert sold 474 acres of land to New York City businessmen John Fox, the first deed involved the sale of 300 acres, which included the Riversdale mansion. The remaining 174 acres were transferred to Fox and Lutz shortly thereafter, the cost of the sales to Fox and Lutz totaled $47,000. On March 23,1889, Fox and Lutz formed the Riverdale Park Company, the company planned on creating an upper-middle-class residential suburb for people working in Washington, D. C. and Baltimore. The land was platted in 1889 by surveyor D. J, howell and the new development was named Riverdale Park
8.
Democratic Party (United States)
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The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The Democrats dominant worldview was once socially conservative and fiscally classical liberalism, while, especially in the rural South, since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has also promoted a social-liberal platform, supporting social justice. Today, the House Democratic caucus is composed mostly of progressives and centrists, the partys philosophy of modern liberalism advocates social and economic equality, along with the welfare state. It seeks to provide government intervention and regulation in the economy, the party has united with smaller left-wing regional parties throughout the country, such as the Farmer–Labor Party in Minnesota and the Nonpartisan League in North Dakota. Well into the 20th century, the party had conservative pro-business, the New Deal Coalition of 1932–1964 attracted strong support from voters of recent European extraction—many of whom were Catholics based in the cities. After Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal of the 1930s, the pro-business wing withered outside the South, after the racial turmoil of the 1960s, most southern whites and many northern Catholics moved into the Republican Party at the presidential level. The once-powerful labor union element became smaller and less supportive after the 1970s, white Evangelicals and Southerners became heavily Republican at the state and local level in the 1990s. However, African Americans became a major Democratic element after 1964, after 2000, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Asian Americans, the LGBT community, single women and professional women moved towards the party as well. The Northeast and the West Coast became Democratic strongholds by 1990 after the Republicans stopped appealing to socially liberal voters there, overall, the Democratic Party has retained a membership lead over its major rival the Republican Party. The most recent was the 44th president Barack Obama, who held the office from 2009 to 2017, in the 115th Congress, following the 2016 elections, Democrats are the opposition party, holding a minority of seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The party also holds a minority of governorships, and state legislatures, though they do control the mayoralty of cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Washington, D. C. The Democratic Party traces its origins to the inspiration of the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and that party also inspired the Whigs and modern Republicans. Organizationally, the modern Democratic Party truly arose in the 1830s, since the nomination of William Jennings Bryan in 1896, the party has generally positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party on economic issues. They have been liberal on civil rights issues since 1948. On foreign policy both parties changed position several times and that party, the Democratic-Republican Party, came to power in the election of 1800. After the War of 1812 the Federalists virtually disappeared and the national political party left was the Democratic-Republicans. The Democratic-Republican party still had its own factions, however. As Norton explains the transformation in 1828, Jacksonians believed the peoples will had finally prevailed, through a lavishly financed coalition of state parties, political leaders, and newspaper editors, a popular movement had elected the president
