Maryland: Polity Style: 1632-2025

20/30 Jun 1632	Cecil Calvert, Baron of Baltimore, is created Lord and Proprietary of a portion of territory in North America, which is erected into a province under the name of Maryland, in accordance with letters patent (charter) issued by command of the King of England on 20/30 Jun 1632 (Bacon's Laws of Maryland, The Charter of the Province of Maryland, n.p.; Archives of Maryland 1885, pp. 1-12)
25 Mar/4 Apr 1634	the province of Maryland is established on the arrival of first settlers as recorded in the diary of Rev. Andrew White (Narratives of Early Maryland, p. 40)
25 Mar/4 Apr 1634 - 8 Nov 1776	Province of Maryland
6/16 Apr 1692	due to "great neglects and miscarriages in the Government", the Province of Maryland is placed under "immediate Care" of the King and Queen of England, to be administered by a Captain General and Governor-in-Chief, whose commission of 27 Jun/7 Jul 1691 is read and published at a meeting of the Council held in St. Mary's City on 6/16 Apr 1692 (Archives of Maryland, 8:263, 8:305)
27 Dec 1715/7 Jan 1716	a public proclamation of the restoration of the Proprietor of Maryland to the government of the province is advised by the Council at its meeting held in Annapolis on 27 Dec 1715/7 Jan 1716 (Archives of Maryland, 25:322-326) [1]
24 Jun 1776	proprietary government ceased to exist upon the departure of the last colonial Governor
4 Jul 1776	the British colonies represented in the Continental Congress are proclaimed free and independent states in accordance with a declaration approved at the session of the Congress held on 4 Jul 1776 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Continental Congress Journals, 5:510-515)
6 Jul 1776	allegiance to the King of Great Britain is rejected by a declaration of the delegates (resolution on entering the declaration into the journals is passed by the Convention of the Delegates of Maryland 6 Jul 1776) [Maryland Conventions 1774-1776, 201]
8 Nov 1776	the Constitution and Form of Government is approved, session of the Convention of the Delegates of Maryland [Maryland Conventions 1774-1776, 349]
8 Nov 1776 -	State of Maryland [2]
2 Feb 1781	the delegates of Maryland to the Continental Congress are authorized to sign the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union in accordance with an act passed by the House of Delegates 30 Jan 1781, passed by the Senate 2 Feb 1781, and signed into law by the Governor 2 Feb 1781 (Maryland House Journal, 1780, October Session, 111; Maryland Senate Journal, 1780, October Session, 51-52; Maryland Session Laws, 1780, October, Chap. XL; Journals of the Continental Congress, 19:138-140) [3]
1 Mar 1781	the delegates of Maryland to the Continental Congress signed the ratification of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, session of the Continental Congress, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Journals of the Continental Congress, 19:213)
1 Mar 1781	formed part of the United States upon the taking effect of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union (Continental Congress Journals, 19:213-223)

As the holder of a royal commission, Governor Hart hesitated to read and publish his commission from the Proprietor until he received instructions from the Crown. Upon receiving a letter from the Guardian to the Proprietor, informing him that his reappointment under the proprietary commission had been approved by the King, the Governor sought the advice of the Council, which opined that the Governor should surrender the government to the Proprietor and accept his commission. It further advised that a public proclamation be held on 28 Dec 1715/8 Jan 1716; it was likely carried out, though no documentary record confirms this.
The Constitution of 1776 did not explicitly change the name to the State of Maryland, but included these words in the oath of allegiance (Art. 55) and required that all public commissions and grants should be titled "The State of Maryland, &c." (Art. 57); the change is also reflected in the journals of the Council of Safety (title of the volume starting 6 Jul 1776: "At a Meeting of the Council of Safety for the Province of Maryland at the City of Annapolis on Saturday the Sixth Day of July 1776"; volume starting 12 Nov 1776: "At a Meeting of the Council of Safety of the State of Maryland at the City of Annapolis on Tuesday the twelfth of November Anno Domini 1776.")
Full title: An act to empower the delegates of this State in Congress to subscribe and ratify the Articles of Confederation