Page "Maryland Toleration Act" Paragraph 4

From Maryland's earliest days, Cecilius Calvert had enjoined its colonists to leave religious rivalries behind.

Along with giving instructions on the establishment and defense of the colony, he asked the men he appointed to lead it to ensure peace between Protestants and Catholics.

He also asked the Catholics to practice their faith as privately as possible, so as not to disturb that peace.

The Ordinance of 1639, Maryland's earliest comprehensive law, expressed a general commitment to the rights of man, but did not specifically detail protections for religious minorities of any kind.

Peace prevailed until the English Civil War, which opened religious rifts and threatened Calvert's control of Maryland.

In 1647, after the death of Governor Leonard Calvert, Protestants seized control of the colony.

Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, quickly regained power, but recognized that religious tolerance not specifically enshrined in law was vulnerable.

This recognition was combined with the arrival of a group of Puritans whom Calvert had induced to establish Providence, now Annapolis, by guaranteeing their freedom of worship.

Partially to confirm the promises he made to them, Calvert wrote the Maryland Toleration Act and encouraged the colonial assembly to pass it.

They did so on April 21, 1649.