Maryland’s “Jew Bill” and Jewish Petitions for Equality

Maryland General Assembly

1825

About This Entry

Well into the nineteenth century, the U.S. Constitution held little authority over the states. Although it banned religious tests for federal office, many states still required them. Maryland’s constitution demanded that officeholders declare belief in the Christian religion, barring Jews and other non-Christians from full political rights and reinforcing other Christians-only policies, for example, for certain military roles or the practice of law. These laws reflected the view that Jews were not full citizens. From the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries, Maryland’s Jews repeatedly petitioned for equal rights, eventually persuading the legislature to pass the 1826 “Jew Bill,” which granted full citizenship.

An Act for the relief of the Jews in Maryland.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland. That every citizen of this State professing the Jewish Religion and who shall hereafter be appointed to any office or public trust under the State of Maryland shall in addition to the oaths required to be taken by the Constitution and Laws of the State, or of the United States, make and subscribe a declaration of his belief in a future State of Rewards and Punishments, in the stead of the declaration now required by the Constitution and form of Government of this State.

And be enacted. That the several clauses and sections of the declaration of rights, Constitution and form of Government and every part of any law of this State contrary to the provisions of this act, so far as respects the Sect of people aforesaid shall be and the same is hereby declared to be repealed and annulled on the confirmation hereof.

And be it enacted. That if this act shall be confirmed by the General Assembly of Maryland after the next election of Delegates in the first Session after such new election as the Constitution and forms of Government directs, in such case this Act and the alterations of the said Constitution and form of Government shall constitute and be valid.

Credits

An Act for the Relief of Jews in Maryland, 1825, Maryland General Assembly (Laws, Original), MSA S 966-182, f. 1 (1825).

Discussion Questions

  1. The new law could have used the same language as the U.S. Constitution in prohibiting all religious tests for political office. (In 1867, Maryland adopted just such a law.) Why does this legislation specifically prohibit such tests only for Jews?

  2. Did laws excluding non-Christians from political rights affect the definition of whiteness? Recalling the 1790 Naturalization Act, did the Christian threshold for rights in a state like Maryland change the meaning of white in that state?

  3. What is the relationship between this law and the institution of slavery, which was abolished in Maryland in 1864? How do the categories of religion or race overlap or diverge?

Engage with this Source

Well into the nineteenth century, the U.S. Constitution held little authority over the states. Although it banned religious tests for federal office, many states still required them. Maryland’s constitution demanded that officeholders declare belief in the Christian religion, barring Jews and other non-Christians from full political rights and reinforcing other Christians-only policies, for example, for certain military roles or the practice of law. These laws reflected the view that Jews were not full citizens. From the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries, Maryland’s Jews repeatedly petitioned for equal rights, eventually persuading the legislature to pass the 1826 “Jew Bill,” which granted full citizenship.

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