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December 2019 Meeting
December 12, 2019 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Although our December meeting is not scheduled on the third Thursday of the month (Christmas is too near) and the Ravens are playing in town, we hope that many of you will join us for our last meeting of 2019 to celebrate the holiday season.
Our guest speaker this month is John J. Connolly, partner at Zuckerman Spaeder LLP.
On November 21, 2019, Mr. Connolly was invited by the BABC Historical Committee and the Library Company of the Baltimore Bar to give his talk on Racism and the Roots of the Maryland Constitution. Because of our prior commitment to our great organization, we were not able to attend. Mr. Connolly has, therefore, graciously agreed to give a repeated rendition of his talk to our illustrious group.
The current Maryland Constitution was drafted and ratified in 1867, two years after the Civil War ended and only three years after the prior Maryland Constitution was ratified. The 1867 Constitution, which survives in amended form today, was drafted by 118 white men, all members of the Southern-leaning Democratic party. Racial issues permeated the Convention but did not really divide it; the most illuminating debates occurred between the delegates and the Republican press that covered the Convention. The most prominent of these newspapers was the Baltimore American and Commercial Advertiser, which published daily news reports of Convention business in one column and thunderous editorials promoting civil rights in the next. Mr. Connolly will discuss how the Convention delegates addressed and resolved four racial issues (slavery and compensation for emancipation; manhood suffrage; competence to testify; and public education), how the American reacted, and what happened to the blatantly (and sometimes subtly) racist provisions of the 1867 Constitution.
Please RSVP by December by Friday, December 6 to allow us to plan a wonderful holiday meal! ***Be sure to indicate any food restrictions.
To add a guest, repeat the same registration process.
Thank you!
For questions contact poohbah@wranglerslawclub.com.