elected and self-contained conventions from those
sessions that were merely a continuation of an ad-
journed meeting. This confusion partly results
from the ambiguity of the surviving journals. On
July 3, 1776, the penultimate Convention decreed
that its own dissolution date would be August 1,
1776. The last entry on July 6, however, recorded
that "the convention adjourns till Thursday the
first day of August next. . . ." For convenience
each session is listed below as a distinct conven-
tion, although there were elections only to the sec-
ond, fourth, fifth, sixth, and ninth conventions.

It was inconvenient for so large a group (at one
meeting there were 141 delegates) to remain in
continuous session; therefore, Councils of Safety
were elected by the Conventions to exercise execu-
tive power during the intervals between Conven-
tion meetings. With some exceptions, the Councils
of Safety were composed of nine members, five
from the Western Shore and four from the East-
ern Shore. The Convention, which met from Au-
gust 14, 1776, about six weeks after the Declara-
tion of Independence, through November 11,
1776, framed the Constitution that governed
Maryland until 1851. The General Assembly es-
tablished by the Constitution began meeting on
February 5, 1777, but the Council of Safety con-
tinued to function as the executive body of the
State until March 20 of the same year. On March
22, 1777, the Assembly adopted a resolution "for
dissolving the Council of Safety and Vesting the
Governor and Council with their Powers." The
Governor and Council had qualified two days ear-
lier on March 20, and they immediately began to
perform the duties assigned to them.

GOVERNORS OF THE STATE OF
MARYLAND

By the Constitution of 1776, sec. 25, the Gover-
nor was chosen annually by joint ballot of both
houses of the legislature. He had to be over twen-
ty-five years of age, and a State resident for five
years preceding the election. He also was required
to hold real and personal property in the State
valued at over five thousand pounds current mon-
ey, one thousand of which was to be of freehold
estate (Const. 1776, sec. 30). The Governor was
limited to three successive one-year terms. In the
four years thereafter, he could not again serve
(Const. 1776, sec. 31).

By an 1837 constitutional amendment, the State
was divided into three gubernatorial districts
(Chapter 197, Acts of 1836). The Governor was
to be elected by popular vote from each district on
a rotating basis, beginning with the Eastern Shore
district. The first popular election for Governor
was held October 3, 1838. The Governor's term
was extended at this time to three years.

The Constitution of 1851 continued the system
of gubernatorial election districts. It raised the
minimum age for gubernatorial candidates to thir-
ty. The Governor was required to have been a
U.S. citizen and State resident for five years and a
resident of the district from which he was elected
for three years. His term was extended to four
years (Const. 1851, Art. 2, sees. 1, 6).

In the 1864 Constitution, gubernatorial election
districts were eliminated. Thereafter, the Gover-
nor was elected by vote of the entire State's elec-
torate. The 1864 Constitution also eliminated the
district residency requirements for gubernatorial
candidates (Const. 1864, Art. 2, sec. 5).

The 1867 Constitution required the Governor to
have been a citizen of the State of Maryland for
ten years, a Maryland resident for five years, and
a qualified voter at the time of his election (Const.
1867, Art. 2, sec. 5).

The Governor was limited to two consecutive
terms by constitutional amendment ratified in
1948 (Chapter 109, Acts of 1947).

By a 1970 constitutional amendment, the Gov-
ernor was required to be a resident and registered
voter of the State for only the five years preceding
his election (Chapter 532, Acts of 1970).

Elected Under the Constitution of 1776 by
the Legislature for One Year.¹"

1777-1779. Thomas Johnson. No Party. Bom in
Calvert County, November 4, 1732, the son of
Thomas Johnson and wife Dorcas Sedgewick.
Resident of Anne Arundel County when
elected. Episcopalian. Married Ann Jennings.
Died at Rose Hill, Frederick County, October
26, 1819. Buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery,
Frederick.

1779-1782. Thomas Sim Lee. No Party. Born in
Prince George's County, October 29, 1745, the