1.
Governor of Maryland
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The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of the State of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the states National Guard units. The Governor is the official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments, as specified by the Maryland Constitution. Because of the extent of constitutional powers, the Governor of Maryland has been ranked as being among the most powerful Governors in the United States. The current Governor is Larry Hogan, a Republican who defeated Lt, Governor Anthony Brown on November 4,2014. Like most state chief executives in the United States, the Governor is elected by the citizens of Maryland to serve a four-year term, under the Constitution of Maryland, the Governor can run any number of times, but not more than twice in a row. This makes it possible for a governor to run for the office again after remaining out of office for at least one term. An eligible candidate for Governor must be at least 30 years old, and also a resident of, the Governor, like all statewide officials in Maryland, is elected in the even-numbered years in which the election for President of the United States does not occur. The main constitutional responsibility of the Governor of Maryland, and any other States chief executive, is to out the business of the state. The Governor also has some say in these laws, since the Governor has the ability to any bill sent to his or her desk by the Maryland General Assembly. Every year, the Governor must present a budget to the Maryland General Assembly. The Assembly may, however, increase funds for the Legislative, the Governor has the power to veto any law that is passed by the General Assembly, including a line item veto, which can be used to strike certain portions of appropriations bills. The Legislature then has the power to override a Governors veto by vote of three-fifths of the number of members in each house, the Governor also sits on the Board of Public Works, whose other two members are the Comptroller and the Treasurer. This Board has broad powers in overseeing and approving the spending of state funds and they must approve state expenditures of all general funds and capital improvement funds, excluding expenditures for the construction of state roads, bridges, and highways. The Governor appoints almost all military and civil officers of the State government, subject to advice, any officer appointed by the Governor, except a member of the General Assembly, is removable by him or her, if there is a legitimate cause for removal. Among the most prominent of the Governors appointees are the 24 secretaries and heads of departments that make up the Governors Cabinet. The Governor of Maryland is the Chairman of the Governors Executive Council which coordinates all state government functions, hunter-Cevera Adjutant General - Gen. Linda Singh Other members of the Governors Staff may be invited to Cabinet meetings as attendees. The Governor also oversees several sub-cabinets that coordinate the activities of a function of state government that involves several state departments or agencies. In times of emergency, the Governor may exercise emergency powers
2.
Enoch Louis Lowe
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Enoch Louis Lowe served as the 29th Governor of the state of Maryland in the United States from 1851 to 1854. He was the child of Bradley Samuel Adams Lowe and Adelaide Bellumeau de la Vincendiere. He was born, August 10,1820, in the manor-house of The Hermitage, on the Monocacy River, Frederick County, at thirteen he entered Clongowes Wood College, Ireland, where he was schoolmates with Thomas Francis Meagher. Three years later he matriculated at Stonyhurst College, England, where he was friends with Francis Mahony, and Miles Gerard Keon and he graduated first in his class in 1839. Studying with Judge John A. Lynch, of Frederick, he was admitted to the bar in 1842, in 1844 Lowe married Esther Winder Polk, of Somerset County, Maryland, who was a relative of James Knox Polk. Lowe served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates in 1845, as a member of the Democratic National Convention in 1856, Lowe took the oath of office as Governor of Maryland on January 6,1851. He supported the Confederacy during the Civil War, during the war, he lived at Richmond, Virginia, and Milledgeville, Georgia. After the war, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, joining the law firm of Richard F. Clarke and he is mentioned in the song Maryland, My Maryland, which would later become the state anthem. He died at St. Marys Hospital, Brooklyn, on August 23,1892 and he is buried at Saint Johns Cemetery, Frederick, Maryland. He was, perhaps, the greatest stump speaker of his day, few young men ever had a more brilliant career in this state than Enoch Louis Lowe. He had the advantage of collegiate training abroad, with which was combined a pleasing address, winning speech and clear-cut, States rights, works by or about Enoch Louis Lowe at Internet Archive Esther Winder Polk Lowe, Smithsonian Art database LOWE FAMILY PAPERS, MS. 1949, Maryland Historical Society, Library of Maryland History
3.
Thomas Holliday Hicks
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Thomas Holliday Hicks was a politician in the divided border-state of Maryland during the American Civil War. As governor, opposing the Democrats, his views reflected the conflicting local loyalties. Under pressure to call the General Assembly into special session, he held it in the town of Frederick. In December 1862, Hicks was appointed to the U. S. Senate, where he endorsed Lincolns re-election in 1864, but died soon afterwards. Born in 1798 near East New Market, Maryland, Hicks began his career as a Democrat when he was elected town constable and then, in 1824. Later, he switched to the Whig Party and was elected to the House of Delegates in 1830, in 1837, the legislature elected him a member of the Governors Council, the last to be chosen before that body was abolished. In 1838, he was appointed Register of Wills for Dorchester County and he stayed in that job until his election as governor. In 1857, as the Whig Party disintegrated, Hicks joined the Native American Party, as such, in 1858, he ran for governor and defeated Democrat John Charles Groome by 8,700 votes. The election, however, was notable for fraud, open intimidation of voters, Hicks was one of the oldest men to become governor. In his gubernatorial inaugural address, Hicks criticized the numbers of immigrants coming to America. Hicks opposed abolitionists and supported slave owners and he denounced “he attacks of fanatical and misguided persons against property in slaves and added that slave owners had a right under the Constitution to recover their property. Hicks belatedly supported the Union of the states and sought to prevent Maryland from seceding and joining the Confederacy and this would have isolated Washington, D. C. in confederate territory. Hicks reflected the divisions in his state, in Hicks writings about the South and its secession, he referred to it as we. He wrote that they, the North, were wrong in refus to observe the requirements of the Constitution to permit new states to join the Union as slave states. Kane, and former Governor Enoch Louis Lowe requested that Hicks burn the bridges leading to Baltimore. These actions were addressed in Ex parte Merryman, the case of Maryland militia Captain John Merryman who was arrested by Union forces. After initially denying that he had authorized such actions, Hicks backtracked and voiced his support for the Union, Hicks worried about Marylands position as a border state. In an address to the Maryland General Assembly on April 25,1861, the Assembly normally met in Annapolis, but that city was occupied by Union troops, so Hicks changed the location to Frederick, a generally pro-Union town
4.
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
5.
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
6.
Maryland's 3rd congressional district
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Marylands 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the state of Maryland. It comprises portions of Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery and Anne Arundel counties, the seat is currently represented by John Sarbanes, a Democrat. Landmarks in the district include Fort McHenry, the Maryland Science Center, three people who represented Maryland in the United States Senate were also former representatives of the 3rd district, including Ben Cardin, Barbara Mikulski, and Paul Sarbanes. The districts odd shape is attributed to gerrymandering in order to favor Democratic candidates following the 2000 and 2010 censuses. In 2012 the district was found to be the third least compact congressional district in the United States, Marylands 3rd district was one of the 61 districts that elected a representative to the 1st United States Congress. It also has the distinction of being one of the few districts that once included areas not currently in the state they are in. The 3rd congressional district originally was composed of Prince Georges County, Maryland and Anne Arundel County, at that point what is now Howard County, Maryland was in Anne Arundel County, and Prince Georges County included the eastern half of the District of Columbia. In 1792 the Maryland 3rd Congressional District was moved to include Montgomery County, Maryland, however, the western portion of what is today Carroll County, Maryland was at this point in Frederick County, and the western half of the District of Columbia was in Montgomery County. This latter fact explains why the district lost population even though it in theory did not experience redistricting after the 1800 census, with the population of Georgetown, D. C. no longer in the district, its 1800 population was about 31,000. At this point the 3rd was Marylands least populous district, barely having half the population of the Baltimore City and County 5th district, the boundaries remained the same after the 1810,1820 and 1830 censuses. While in 1820 the district had about 36,000 inhabitants its population had risen to 53,622 in 1830. With the formation of Carroll County in the 1830s as well as Maryland falling from 8 to 6 congressional seats, the only area that remained in the 3rd Congressional District was the part of Carroll County that had been in Frederick County. The 3rd also included Baltimore County and the half of the city of Baltimore. Its new population was 69,923,24. 5% of whom were black, in 1853 the 3rd district was redrawn again. The new district consisted of Baltimore County except for the northern and western parts of the county, the district now had a population of 95,729. In the redistricting following the 1860 census, Maryland was reduced to five congressional districts, the 3rd was moved so that it contained the part of Baltimore that had not been in the 3rd before 1863. It now a population of 130,040, in 1873 the 3rd district was moved again, to be the east side of Baltimore. It now had a population of 120,978, Marylands congressional districts List of United States congressional districts
7.
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
8.
Farmville, Virginia
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Farmville is a town in Prince Edward and Cumberland counties in the U. S. state of Virginia. The population was 8,216 at the 2010 census and it is the county seat of Prince Edward County. The Appomattox River traverses Farmville, along with the High Bridge Trail State Park, at the intersection of US15, VA45 and US460, Farmville is the home of Longwood University and is the town nearest to Hampden–Sydney College. Near the headwaters of the Appomattox River, the town of Farmville was formed in 1798, Farmville was the end of the line for the Upper Appomattox Canal Navigation System between 1795 until 1890. African Americans built the canal system, tobacco and farm produce could be loaded into a James River bateau in Farmville and sent to Petersburg, Virginia. The canals were used until railroads became common, many of the boatmen who worked in the Upper Appomattox Navigation, near Farmville were free people of color, who lived in the Israel Hill community. Israel Hill was home to free African American laborers, craftsmen and farmers freed around 1810, people of African and European descent worked for the same wages, built a church together and could be defended in court within the 350 acre town. John Flournoy was the first to mine coal near Farmville and he started in 1833 working on a seam, which was two feet thick. In 1837 the General Assembly granted a charter to “The Prince Edward Coal Mining Company” to mine and this company was still in operation into the 1880s. Another coal pit in the 1880s was worked on the W. W, the coal from this small pit was used to fuel his blacksmith shop on the same property. Farmville has coal deposits because it sits on the Farmville Basin, one of the Eastern North America Rift Basins west of modern day, in the 1850s, the Southside Railroad from Petersburg to Lynchburg was built through Farmville between Burkeville and Pamplin City. The route, which was subsidized by a contribution from Farmville, required a crossing of the Appomattox River slightly downstream. The Virginia General Assembly chartered the Piedmont Coal Company for John Dalby in 1860, the mine was near Buckingham Plank Road, Virginia State Route 600 in Cumberland, a mile and a half west of Raines Tavern, Virginia. Without rail transportation close to Raines Tavern, the transportation cost of getting the coal to Farmville, the coal was sold locally to people in the area for heating their homes. During the American Civil War, the continued to operate. Coal was still there, though, Daddow and Bannon documented seven or eight coal seams, Robert E. Lee retreated through Farmville as he escaped the Union Army in the Civil War. Farmville was the object of the Confederate Armys desperate push to get rations to feed its soldiers near the end of the American Civil War, the rations had originally been destined for Danville, but an alert quartermaster ordered the train back to Farmville. Despite an advance of the commanded by Fitzhugh Lee, the Confederate Army was checked by the arrival of Union cavalry commanded by Gen. Philip Sheridan
