MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE SECESSION

MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE

SECESSION

That Maryland is divided by the Chesapeake Bay, into the Eastern Shore and

the Western Shore is a fact that tends to sharpen political rivalries between the two regions.

During Maryland history the two shores have developed a different sort of interest. The

West have seen the East have conservative isolated provincial cultures. The East see the

West as a cosmopolitan society.

This accounts for the so called “separatist movements” which have sprung up

on occasion in Maryland history.

Even before Lord Baltimore sat his settlement on the Western Shore at St. Mary's,

William Claiborne and followers made attempts to separate sections of the Eastern Shore

from the province. For 40 year to his deathbed Claiborne carried this thought , but, it was

more of a conflict between Clairborne and Lord Baltimore than between the two shores of

Maryland..

Major attempts for secession , of which one could say were five, were strongest between 1776 and 1851. At the November 3 1776 State Convention , Queen Anne's

delegate, Turbutt Wright, proposed to make it possible to separate one from the other,

failed by 30 to 17 votes.

In 1833 Delaware urged the Eastern Shore t o join Delaware, and Dorchester's

Martin Wright took it to the House of Delegates which received a 40 for, 24 against vote,

however, a vote of 60 - 5 called for a postponement and the proposal suffered a major

defeat.

The next move, in March 1842, by Worcester's Levi Cathell, to allow Eastern

Shore counties to join Delaware, but it too was defeated.

The final attempt made during the 1850-1851 Convention of Maryland, and was

turned down by a 46 to 27 vote.

Abstract:; Salisbury Daily Times, April 8, 1959, Delmarva Heritage, by

William H. Wroten, Jr., history Professor, Salisbury State Teacher College. By Harrison H.

May 19, 2018. for www.delmarhistory.blogspot.com.