however, there were few laws directed specifically at racial distinctions. There were few free
blacks, and their existence on the fringes of society posed few problems for the legislature. Thus
the statutes focused on the status of slavery rather than race. The abolition movement after the
Revolution changed the demographic situation as increasing numbers of slaves obtained their
freedom.

The opposition to slavery that was manifested in the laws banning the importation of
slaves from any other state or nation, in the relaxation of restrictions on manumission, and in the
early attempts to obtain the gradual abolition of slavery was based in part on the recognition that
slaves were human beings and that no human being should be made the property of another. This
open acknowledgment of the humanity of slaves and their entitlement to natural rights did not
mean that they were regarded as equal to whites. The new century opened with the election of
Thomas Jefferson to the presidency of the United States, and his views on race relations were
held by many in Maryland. Although willing to entertain the possibility that racial differences
were a product of environment, he believed it more likely that nature had established a hierarchy
among the various races.82

The hierarchy of the races was reinforced in Maryland law in 1801 when the state
legislature adopted a bill to amend the constitution to eliminate property requirements and
provide for written ballots at elections instead of a voice vote. The new act described those
eligible for suffrage as "every free white male citizen of this state, and no other, above
twenty-one years of age."83 The effect of this amendment was to disenfranchise property owning
blacks who had been freed prior to 1783 or were descended from persons who were free prior to
that date. The practical effect of this law on the voting rights of blacks was small - only a few
free blacks had theoretically been eligible to vote prior to the elimination of property
requirements - but its symbolic effect was to widen the gulf between the races. The property
qualification had served in some measure to exclude lower classes from political participation,
and its elimination was accompanied by the exclusion of blacks from the franchise.

Another example of the evolution from class or status based statutes to specific racial
distinctions is found in the laws on vagrants. In 1796, "An Act relating to negroes" contained a
provision "that any free negro, mulatto or other person," who is found living idle, without any
visible means of maintenance, or going at large through the county, without any visible means of
subsistence, shall be required to give security. If the individual could not post the bond, he
would be ordered to depart. If found within the state again, the vagrant would be imprisoned and
his services sold for a short term if he was unable to pay prison charges.84 The Act was amended
in several minor respects in 1825, and, significantly, the amendment dropped all reference to any
"other person."85

Several statutes at the opening of the nineteenth century revealed the legislature's fear that
free blacks had linked their interests with slaves. The lawmakers feared that free blacks would
provide outlets for goods stolen by slaves, would encourage slave rebellions and would otherwise
trouble the state. This suspicion of free blacks was reflected in special racial legislation. In 1805

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