728 State Papers and Addresses

In the years immediately preceding the Declaration of Independence, self-
government had become so fully ingrained in the residents that on occasion
they offered resistance not only to the proprietary, the Royal Governor and
the King, but also to what they considered the "unwarrantable encroachments"
of the Continental Congress). Maryland's delegates refused to sign the Arti-
cles of Confederation until certain states claiming territory between the
Alleghenies and the Mississippi should surrender their claims. Their opposi-
tion caused those other States to yield and measurably strengthened the
Union because it brought into the possession of the United States the first
territory in which all of the States had an interest and out of which new
States could be created.

The settlement here, then, was a pioneer expedition toward the frontier
of human liberty. Here was laid down the guaranteed right to every man
to think and believe as* he pleased. This spirit of Maryland has come down to
us by the oldest law of possession - the law of inheritance. It is our legacy
and our birthright. It is a spirit which has permeated the Maryland way of
life.

Throughout three centuries the descendants of Kent's settlers have guard-
ed that which was brought to this continent - the Anglo-Saxon sense of justice.
This justice is the very pillar of Democracy. It is a mighty fortress for the
defense of what we know as ordered liberty. Where there is justice, there is
freedom. Where saboteurs and outlaws fear to tread, there the honest man
can prosper; there he can raise his children in the fear only of God and in
the light of truth.

Admittedly, changing conditions through the centuries brought about new
and diverse problems, but the same basic spirit has prevailed. The Anglo-
Saxon sense of government, which has come to America, in sailing vessels,
proceeded to extend itself over America by covered wagon and oxcart. The
progress made in the development of this experiment in government has been
attributable in no small part to the ideals fostered here in Maryland and
which, through the decades, were fortified by the people of the Eastern Shore.

But, just as your forebears were jealous to protect the principles and
ideals implanted in this soil, so must the present generation be just as eager
and as active to preserve them for future generations. The present threat
to the American structure is the greatest our Nation has ever faced in all
the years of its existence. In a world where brute force and treachery have
become the chief weapons of the war-mad dictators, no greater duty could be
assumed than that of giving all-out assistance in the war to defend the rights
of the individual and the principles of liberty.

We must admit that serious defeats have been suffered by the nations
united against the onslaughts of the aggressors. Military preparations and
almost limitless supplies of material and manpower, amassed by the Axis
power while civilized nations were pursuing the paths of peace, have enabled
them to gain distinct headway in their mad seizure of the possessions of
other nations. Nor will this effort be resisted successfully unless there is