Trial of Zenger.

Triumph of Democratic principles.

Events in Maryland.

ment of thirty-five weeks, Zenger was tried by a jury, and acquitted [July, 1735]. He was defended by Andrew Hamilton, of Philadelphia, who was presented by the magistrates of the city of New York with a gold box, as a token of their esteem for his noble advocacy of popular rights. Then was distinctly drawn the line of demarcation between republicans and royalists. 24. The history of New York from the arrival of Cosby until the commencement of the French and Indian War,' is composed chiefly of the records of party strife, and presents very little matter of interest to the general reader. Only one event demands special attention, namely, the supposed conspiracy of negroes in 1741 to burn and plunder the city, murder the inhabitants, and set up a government under a man of their own color. Several incendiary fires had occurred in rapid succession, and a house had been robbed by some slaves. The idea of a regular and horrid conspiracy at once prevailed, and, as in the case of the Salem Witchcraft, an intense panic pervaded all classes, and many innocent persons suffered. This is known in history as The Negro Plot.3

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1. Maryland had its colonial birth when the first popular Assembly convened at St. Mary for legislative purposes, on the 8th of March, 1635. Its sturdy growth began when, in 1639, the more convenient form of representative government was established. It was crude, but it possessed the elements of republicanism. The freemen chose as many representatives as they pleased, and others were appointed by the proprietor. These, with the governor and secretary, composed the legislature. At this first session a Declaration of Rights was adopted; the powers of the governor were defined; and all the privileges enjoyed by English subjects were guarantied to the colonists."

2. The Indians in the vicinity, becoming jealous of the increasing strength of the white people, began to evince hostility. Frequent collisions occurred; and in 1642, a general Indian War commenced in the region between the Potomac and the Chesapeake. It was terminated in 1645, but the quiet of the province was soon disturbed again. Clayborne had returned from England [1645], and speedily fanned embers of discontent into a flame of open rebellion. He became too powerful for the local authorities, and Governor Calvert was obliged to flee to Virginia. During a year and a half, the insurgents held the reins of government, and the horrors of civil war brooded

1. Page 147.

2. Verse 40, page 106. 3. Before the panic was allayed, four white people were hanged; and eleven negroes were burned, eighteen were hanged and fifty were sent to the West Indies and sold. 4. Verse 6, page 66. 5. Verse 6, page 65. 7. Verse 5, page 65.

6. Note 1, page 66.

QUESTIONS.-24. What characteristics does the history of New York present from Cosby to the French and Indian War? Can you relate the particulars of the Negro Plot? 1. When was the birth, and where began the real growth of the Maryland colony? What was the form and character of its government? 2. What events disturbed the tranquillity of the colonists?

Toleration Act.

Troubles in Maryland.

Re-organization of Government.

over the colony. The rebellion was suppressed in the Summer of 1646, and Calvert resumed his office, in August.

3. An important law was enacted by the Assembly in 1649, known as The Toleration Act. Religious freedom was guarantied by the Charter,' yet as much animosity existed between the Protestants' and Roman Catholics, the Assembly thought proper to give the principle the solemn sanction of law. By that act every professed believer in Jesus Christ was allowed free exercise of his religious opinions. Thither persecuted Churchmen of New England, and oppressed Puritans of Virginia, fled and found an asylum. This act is the pride and glory of the early legislature of Maryland; yet it was not the first instance in America, as is often alleged, when religious toleration received the sanction of law.*

4. Favored by events in the mother country, republicanism grew steadily in the new State. Royalty was abolished in England [1649], and for more than ten years the democratic idea was prevalent throughout the realm. Lord Baltimore, the proprietor of Maryland, professed republicanism on the death of the king, but he had been too recently a royalist to secure the confidence of Parliament. Stone, his lieutenant, was removed from office [April 16, 1651] by commissioners (of whom Clayborne was one), who were sent to administer the government of the Colony. He was soon afterward [July 8] restored. On the dissolution of the Long Parliament, [1653] Cromwell restored full power to the proprietor, but the commissioners, who withdrew to Virginia, returned soon afterward, and compelled Stone to surrender the government into their hands.

5. The colonial government had been re-organized in the meantime. The legislative body was divided into an Upper and Lower House [1650]; the former consisting of the governor and his council, appointed by the proprietor, and the latter of representatives chosen by the people. At the same session, a law was passed prohibiting all taxes unless levied with the consent of the freemen. So great had been the influx of Protestants, that they now [1654] out-numbered the Roman Catholics as voters and in the Assembly. They acknowledged the authority of Cromwell, and boldly questioned the rights and privileges of an hereditary proprietor." The Roman Catholics adhered to Lord Baltimore, and bitter religious hatred was fostered. The Protestants finally disfranchised their opponents, excluded them from the Assembly, and

1. Verse 4, page 65.

2. Note 14, page 48.

3. Bozman, in his History of Maryland, (II. 350-356) maintains that the majority of the members of the Assembly of 1649, were Protestants.

4. In May, 1647, the General Assembly of Rhode Island, convened at Portsmouth, adopted a code of laws which closed with the declaration that "all men might walk as their conscience persuaded them, without molestation, every one in the name of his God." This was broader toleration than the Maryland act contemplated, for it did not restrict men to belief in Jesus Christ.

5. When Charles the First was beheaded [Note 10, page 81], the Parliament assumed supreme authority, and remained in permanent session. Cromwell, with an army at his back, entered that assembly in the Autumn of 1653, ordered them to disperse, and assumed supreme power himself, under the title of Lord Protector. That British legislature is known in history as the Long Parliament.

6. According to the original charter, the successors of Lord Baltimore were to be proprietors forever. QUESTIONS.-3. What important law was made in 1649? What were its principal features? How should it be regarded? 4. What political changes took place? What course did Lord Baltimore pursue? What did Cromwell effect? 5. What change in government had been effected? What were the religious aspects and general sentiments of the colonists?

Civil war in Maryland.

Anarchy.

Duplicity of Lord Baltimore. toward the close of 1654 [Nov.], passed an act declaring Roman Catholics not entitled to the protection of the laws of Maryland.

6. Civil war ensued. Stone returned to St. Mary,' organized an armed force composed chiefly of Roman Catholics, seized the colonial records, and assumed the office of governor. Skirmishes ensued, and finally a severe battle was fought [April 4, 1655] not far from the site of Annapolis, in which Stone's party was defeated with a loss of about fifty men, killed and wounded. Stone was made prisoner, but his life was spared. Four other leading supporters of the proprietor were tried for treason and executed.

7. Anarchy prevailed in the province for many months, when the discordant elements were brought into comparative order by the appointment of Josiah Fendall [July 20, 1656], as govornor. He was suspected of favoring the Roman Catholics, and was soon arrested by order of the Protestant Assembly. For two years bitter strife continued between the people and the agents of the proprietor, when, after concessions by the latter, Fendall was acknowledged governor [April 3, 1658]. His prudence secured the confidence of the people, but the death of Cromwell [Sept. 1658], presaging a change in the English government, gave them uneasiness. After long deliberation, the Assembly determined to avoid all further trouble with the proprietor, by asserting the supreme authority of the people. They accordingly dissolved the Upper House [March 24, 1660], and assumed the whole legislative power of the State. They then gave Fendall a commission as governor for the people.

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8. Monarchy was restored in England in June, 1660, and the original order of things was re-established in Maryland. Lord Baltimore having assured the new king that his republican professions were only temporary expedients, was restored to all his proprietary rights by Charles. Fendall was tried and found guilty of treason, because he accepted a commission from the rebellious Assembly. Baltimore, however, wisely proclaimed a general pardon for all political offenders in Maryland; and for almost thirty years afterward, the province enjoyed repose.

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9. Maryland was governed mildly and prudently under the new proprietor, Charles Calvert, and the people were prospering in their political quietude, when the Revolution in England shook the colonies. The deputy governor of Maryland hesitated to proclaim William and Mary, and this was made a pretense, by a restless spirit named Coode,' for exciting the people. He gave currency to the absurd report that the local magistrates and the Roman Catholics, had leagued with the Indians for the destruction of all the Prot

1. Verse 5, p. 65. 5. Note 9, page 89.

2. Verse 5, p. 121.

3. Note 1, p. 86.

4. Verse 4, p. 121. 6. Verse 29, p. 89.

7. Coode had been a confederate in a former insurrection, but escaped conviction. 8. A treaty with the Indians had just been renewed, and the customary presents distributed among them. This, Coode falsely adduced as evidence of a coalition with the savages.

QUESTIONS.-6. What were the chief events of a civil war in 1655? 7. What state of things existed for three years after the civil war? What did the Assembly do? 8. What political changes row took place? How did they affect the colony? 9. What was the effect of the Revolution in England on Maryland? What rumors were circulated? What commotions ensued?

Coode's insurrection.

Quiet.

Constitutions of settlers in Connecticut.

estants in the colony. A similar actual coalition of Jesuits' and savages on the New England frontiers,2 gave a coloring of truth to the story, and the old religious feud instantly burned again intensely. The Protestants formed an armed association [Sept., 1689] and, led on by Coode, they took possession of the government, called a Convention, and invested it with legislative powers. Its first acts were to depose the third Lord Baltimore, and to re-assert the sovereign majesty of the people.

10. The Convention managed public affairs until 1691, when the king unjustly deprived Baltimore of all his political privileges as proprietor [June 11], and made Maryland a royal province.3 Lionel Copley was appointed the first royal governor in 1692. New laws were instituted-religious toleration was abolished—the Church of England was made the established religion, to be supported by a tax on the people; and in the State founded by Roman Catholics, the members of that denomination were cruelly disfranchised, with the consent of their sovereign.

11. In 1716, the proprietary rights of Lord Baltimore (now deceased) were restored to his infant heir, and the original form of government was re-established. Such continued to be the political complexion of Maryland until the storm of the Revolution [1776] swept away every remnant of royalty and feudalism.

1. The example of the CONNECTICUT COLONY' in forming a political constitution [January 24, 1639], was speedily followed [June 4] by the settlers of NEW HAVEN.5 The religious element was supreme in the new organization, and the Bible was made the Statute Book of the colony; and, in imitation of the constitution of the Plymouth settlers, none but church members were allowed the privileges of freemen. A committee of twelve men was appointed, who selected seven of their members to be "pillars" in the New State. These had power to admit as many others as they pleased to take part with them in legislation. Theophilus Eaton was chosen governor.'

2. Many of the New Haven settlers being merchants, they sought to found a commercial colony, but heavy losses by the wreck of vessels discouraged

1. Note 1. page 104.

2. Verse 35, page 104.

3. King William had an exalted idea of royal prerogatives, and was as much disposed as the Stuarts (the kings of England from James the First to James the Second) to suppress democracy in the colonies. He repeatedly vetoed (refused his assent (0) Bills of Rights enacted by the colonial Assemblies; refused his assent to local laws of the deepest interest to the colonists; and instructed his governors to prohibit printing in the colories. Note 2, rage 89. 4. Verse 14, page 70.

5. Verse 13, page 70. The people assembled in a barn to form the new constitution. 6. Note 6, page 9".

7. He was annually chosen to fill the office, until his death, which occurred in 1657.

8. In 1647, a new ship belonging to the colony foundered at sea. It was laden with a valuable cargo, and the passengers belonged to some of the leading families in the colony. Several smaller vessels were lost during five or six years.

QUESTIONS.-10. How came Maryland to be made a royal province? What changes then took place? What wrong was perpetrated? 11. What was the political condition of Maryland from 1716 until the War for Independence? 1. What was the character of the New Haven Constitution?

Difficulties with the Dutch.

2

Liberal charter for Connecticut.

them, and they turned their special attention to agriculture. Prudence marked the course of the magistrates of the several colonies in the Connecticut valley,' and they were blessed with prosperity. But difficulties with the Dutch respecting territorial boundaries, and menaces of the neighboring Indians, gave them uneasiness, and made them readily join the New England confederation in 1643. The following year the little independent colony at Saybrook' purchased the land of one of the proprietors of Connecticut, and became permanently annexed to that at Hartford."

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3. The treaty made with Governor Stuyvesant at Hartford in 1650,7 gave token of future tranquillity. But the repose was soon broken by international war. England and Holland drew the sword against each other in 1652; and because it was reported that Ninigret, the wily sachem of the Narragansets® had spent several weeks at New Amsterdam in the winter of 1652–'3,' the belief prevailed in New England, that Stuyvesant had leagued with the Indians for the destruction of the English.10 Great excitement ensued, and a majority of the commissioners" decided [1653] upon war with the Dutch. Immediate hostilities were prevented by the refusal of Massachusetts to furnish its quota of supplies. The Connecticut colonies (who were nearest the Dutch) applied to Cromwell for aid, and he sent four ships of war for the purpose. Before their arrival," a treaty of peace had been concluded between the two nations, and blood and treasure were saved. The Assembly at Hartford took possession of all property then claimed by the Dutch; and after that the latter abandoned all claims to possessions in the Connecticut valley.

4. On the restoration of Charles the Second [1660], the Connecticut colony expressed its loyalty, and obtained a charter. At first, Charles was disposed to refuse the application of Winthrop," the agent of the colony, for he had heard of the sturdy republicanism of the petitioners. But when Winthrop presented his majesty with a ring which Charles the First had given to his father, the heart of the king was touched, and he granted a charter [May 30, 1662] which not only confirmed the popular constitution of the colony, but contained more liberal provisions than any yet issued from the royal hand.1 Its boundary as defined included a portion of Rhode Island, and the whole New Haven Colony.' 15 The latter gave a reluctant consent to the union in

1. Verse 7, p. 68. 5. Verse 3, p. 67.

2. Page 67, and note 3, p. 114.
6. Verse 14, p. 70.

3. Verse 15, p. 96.
7. Note 3, p. 114.

4. Verse 6, p. 68. 8. Note 1. p. 114.

9. This report was set afloat by Uncas, the mischievous Mohegan sachem [verse 10, p. 69], who hated the Narragansets. It had no foundation in truth. See also verse 14, page 16.

1. Verse 8, page 114.

11. Verse 15, page 96.

12. Roger Williams, then in England, managed to delay the sailing of the fleet, and thus, again, that eminent peace-maker prevented bloodshed. Verse 9, page (8.

13. John Winthrop, son of Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts. He was chosen Governor of Connecticut in 1657, and held the office several years. Such was his station when he appeared in England to ask a charter of the king. Hopkins (who was one of the founders of the New Haven colony) was chosen the first Governor of the Connecticut colony, and for several years he and Haynes were alternately chosen chief magistrate.

14. This original charter is now [1857], in the office of the Secretary of State of Connecticut. It contains a portrait of Charles the Second, handsomely drawn in India ink, and forming part of an initial letter. This was the instrument afterward hidden in the great oak. See Verse 7, page 125.

15. Verse 13, page 70. Thus the several settlements were united under the general name of Connecticut. QUESTIONS.-2. Why did the New Haven settlers wish to found a commercial colony? What was the condition of the Connecticut settlements? What annexation took place? 3. What disturbed the tranquillity of the New England colonies? What was the effect and the termination of the disturbance? 4. How did Connecticut obtain a charter from the king? What boundaries did it define? What difficulties ensued?