the new heads of State of England,
Maryland remained silent while the
other colonies were pledging their alle-
giance to William and Mary.61 This,
combined with the absence of the Pro-
prietor from his province and the false
rumor of an impending joint uprising
of Catholics and Indians, lent an air of
disquiet which facilitated the rebellion.
John Coode, who was once Catholic,
once Protestant, once a clergyman and
now an atheist, authored the rumor of
conspiracy and became leader of the
Protestant malcontents, forming an
"Association in Arms for the Defense of
the Protestant Religion and assisting the
rights of King William and Queen
Mary."
Catholics and any others refusing to
support Coode were jailed. An assem-
bly was called from which Catholics
were excluded. Coode and his follow-
ers summarily seized power, and held it
until King William appointed Sir Lionel
Copley as governor in 1691. The next
year the assembly thanked the King and
Queen "for redeeming us from the arbi-
trary will and pleasure of a tyrrannical
popish government under which we
have so long groaned."62 (The "groan-
ers" but eight years earlier had passed
an "Act of Appreciation" to Lord Bal-
timore as an "acknowledgment of his
great love and affection for them.")63
In 1693 the King instructed Governor
Nicholson "to permit liberty of con-
science to all,"64 but apparently this did
not mean the freedom to worship as one
pleased.
Establishment had taken a firm hold.65
61 J. ives,, the ark and the dove 253
(1936).
62 8 archives 315 (1890).
63 7 archives 385ff. (1889).
64 23 archives 542 (1903).
65 See generally ives, supra note 61 at 248-
58, and 1 scharf, supra note 23; at 302-41.
24
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THE STRUGGLE TO REGAIN
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
1701-1775
From the moment of Establishment
until the Declaration of Independence
Marylanders suffered as much if not
more religious persecution and intoler-
ance than any of the American colon-
ists. Discrimination was not selective,
but was levied against any faith other
than the Church of England. However,
because of the colony's early and con-
tinuing relationships with Catholics and
because Catholics were probably the
largest minority group in Maryland,
they seemed to bear the brunt of harsh
legislation. In 1699 a test oath require-
ment had excluded Catholics from all
official government positions.66 In 1701
and 1702 other laws of discrimination
were passed in the assembly,67 but failed
to win royal approval and therefore be-
came ineffective. The Act of 170268
finally made official the establishment
of the Church of England as the Church
of Maryland, a status that was to con-
tinue until the Revolution.
The period 1704 to 1709, under the
administration of Governor Seymour,
was especially notable for its spirit of
intolerance. Catholics were no longer
permitted to practice their religion, and
an open bid for children to rebel against
Catholic parents was made in the Act
of 1704,69 yet another statute "to pre-
vent the growth of popery within the
province." In that same year a deter-
mined legislative effort was made to dis-
courage Catholic immigrants to Mary-
land by use of a system of heavy
66 25 archives 68 (1905).
67 24 archives 91ff. (1904).
68 24 archives 255 (1964). See generally
gambrall, supra note 46 at 23ff. and Inven-
tory of the Church Archives of Maryland,
supra note 20 at 16ff.
69 26 archives 340-41 (1906).
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