Maryland (Colony). Convention.

On April 19, 1774, the last proprietary Assembly adjourned and was prorogued by the governor until June 12, 1776, when it was dissolved. From June 1774 to November 1776, the Convention of Maryland, an extralegal assembly, served as the de facto government of Maryland. For convenience the sessions are numbered as separate conventions even though not all conventions were separately elected.

Held between 22 and 25 June 1774, the First Convention was an informal meeting to formulate Maryland's response to the Boston Port Act. Subsequent conventions became more formal assemblies composed of numerous delegates, elected much as representatives to the Lower House of the Assembly had been. These conventions increasingly assumed control of the colony's financial, legal, and military matters.

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