Newsletter of
The Maryland State Archives
June 14, 1999
Vol., 13 No. 11
www.mdsa.net
Liberty Tree:  A Maryland Treasure

The Archivists' Bulldog
Page 2
The Stamp Act was repealed, but in its place came ever more repugnant and repressive laws passed by a Parliament in which Americans had no vote.  By September 1775 the citizens of Annapolis, like their counterparts in the other twelve colonies, returned to their liberty trees to condemn the oppression and launch a resistance that would end in independence.  This time a
new song was composed by Thomas Paine, the author of "Common Sense,"  which again was instantly popular.  Called The Liberty Tree, one verse in particular resonates the meaning of liberty as succeeding generations of Americans have come to define it: 

The celestial exotic struck deep in the ground, 
Like a native it flourish'd and bore; 
The fame of its fruit, drew the nations around, 
To seek out its peaceable shore. 
Unmindful of names or distinction they came, 
For freemen like brothers agree: 
With one spirit endowe'd they one friendship pursued, 
And their temple was Liberty Tree. 

The British so hated Liberty Trees that when they occupied the seaports of Boston and Charleston they cut their Liberty trees down. The Boston Liberty Elm became 14 cords of wood to fuel the British campfires, while the stump of the Charleston Liberty Oak was burned to remove any trace of its existence only to have its roots made into heads of canes, one of which was presented to Thomas Jefferson.

Annapolis was never occupied and its Liberty Tree would become the town's oldest living survivor of the Revolutionary era, ultimately playing a role in our nation's history, not unlike that of Annapolitan Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who became the revered last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence.  As a symbol and shelter to Liberty, the history of this Liberty Tree did not end with Washington's resignation as Commander in Chief, or with the ratification of the Treaty of Peach, both of which occurred but

a short distance away in the historic Old Senate Chamber of the State House.  Over time it was visited by a number of distinguished citizens and became the site of celebrations, including the 4th of July. 

In December 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette returned from his home in France to speak in its shadow, having witnessed a revolution in his own country in which over 60,000 Liberty Trees were planted, and in which the Liberty Tree became a general symbol of adherence to its principles.  Lafayette came to Annapolis to thank Maryland for the citizenship bestowed upon him some forty years before, and to receive, once again, the accolades of a grateful people for the part he had played at Washington's side during the Revolution.  A hundred and four years later, in 1928, even President Calvin Coolidge would speak here in tribute to the principles for which this tree stands. 

Beginning its life as a sapling 400 or so years ago, and now  nearly 100 feet tall with branches spreading  60 feet wide, this magnificent tree proudly symbolizes the constant struggle to define and defend what is meant by 'Liberty.'   It has weathered debilitating storms that cast its limbs on the sleeping Civil War soldiers encamped beneath it.  A fire in its trunk renewed its life but required tons of concrete and reinforcement bars to keep it standing.  To keep it alive requires careful and constant care. An offspring today flourishes on English soil at Kew Gardens.  Soon each of the original 13 states will have a genetic duplicate, fulfilling in fact the historic motto of the Maryland General Assembly which dates back to the time of the Revolution:  Crescite et Multiplicamini, Grow and Multiply

In its most recent history, however, lies the most meaningful testimony to this tree's distinguished past.  Under its branches successive generations of St. John's students have debated and discussed the great books of the world, held 


The Archivists' Bulldog 
Page 3
DISTRICT COURT 4, SM 
    (Civil Docket) 1983-1984 [MSA T1096] 
    (Criminal Docket) 1993 [MSA T1093] 
    (Natural Resources Docket) 1992 
        [MSA T2971] 

DISTRICT COURT 5, PG 
    (Civil Docket) 1992-1993 [MSA T240] 

DISTRICT COURT 6, MO 
    (Civil Docket) 1983-1991 [MSA T1335] 

DISTRICT COURT 7, AA 
    (Civil Docket) 1984-1994 [MSA T1171] 
    (Special Proceedings Docket) 1993 
        [MSA T2840] 

DISTRICT COURT 8, BA 
    (Civil Docket) 1989 [MSA T1442] 

DISTRICT COURT 9, HA 
    (Civil Docket) 1984 [MSA T1466] 
    (Ledger) 1989-1994 [MSA T3000] 
 


(continued on last page)


RECORD TRANSFERS (continued from Page 3)

DISTRICT COURT 10, CR 
    (Civil Docket) 1992 [MSA T1744] 
    (Natural Resources Docket) 1991-199
        [MSA T2969] 

DISTRICT COURT 10, HO 
    (Civil Docket) 1983 [MSA T1024] 

DISTRICT COURT 11, FR 
    (Domestic Violence Docket) 1980-1984
        [MSA T2975] 

DISTRICT COURT 11, WA 
    (Civil Docket) 1994 [MSA T1088] 
    (Criminal Docket) 1992-1994 [MSA T1087] 

GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HOUSE OF DELEGATES 
    (Bill Books) 1994-1995 [MSA T2979] 
    (Bill and Resolution File) 1998 [MSA T290] 
    (Journal and Roll Calls) 1998 [MSA T291] 

GENERAL ASSEMBLY, SENATE 
    (Bill and Resolution File) 1998 [MSA T293] 
    (Committee Calendars, Reports, and 
        Receipts) 1997-1998 [MSA T2481] 
    (Journal and Roll Calls) 1998 [MSA T294] 
    (Vetoed Bills) 1997 [MSA T1763] 

SECRETARY OF STATE 
    (Condominium File) var. dates 
        [MSA T1443] 
    (Extraditions) 1994-1996 [MSA T864] 
    (Notary Public Applications) 1998
        [MSA T861] 
    (Requisitions) 1995 [MSA T863] 
    (Trademark File) 1987-1988 [MSA T 65] 

ST. MARY'S COLLEGE 
    (Student Record) 1983-1992 [MSA TM115] 

STATE PROSECUTOR SELECTION AND DISABILITIES COMMISSION 
    (General File) 1980-1994 [MSA T2981]