A historic landmark for democracy - or not
So just what is Professor Ellefson's beef with how Annapolis has been celebrating its charter?
First, he said, there were two charters that year, not one. While they elevated the place to a city, neither established the right to vote nor the first local government in Annapolis, he said. (The "Act for keeping good Rules and Order in the Port of Annapolis" beat the charters to it in 1696.)
The first 1708 charter was a "reactionary" power grab by Colonial Gov. John Seymour and actually took away voting rights, he said. Under protest, Seymour backed down and issued a second charter, which restored voting rights.
Ellefson says the battle that wrought the second charter was important because it set a precedent for limiting executive power. But he calls it "a very small step in increasing the participation of the people in the government."
"They say [on the Annapolis Alive! site] something like, '300 years of democracy,' " Ellefson said. "Well, that's nonsense. The right to vote granted by the second charter was very limited. A great stretch."
As for the queen, there might be a little half-empty, half-full thing going on.
Meany writes on the Web site that Queen Anne "gave her ascent" to the second charter. I think he meant "assent," a royal thumbs-up for democracy. Ellefson only gives her credit for "failing to disallow" the document.
City spokesman Weaver said if there are some historical inaccuracies, they shouldn't get in the way of a good time.
"Well, yeah, there are a whole host of celebrations and days of recognition in America that may or may not be 100 percent based in absolute, engraved-in-stone, historical fact. ... You're going to have Thanksgiving this year. Every year you see the articles about how there was no Thanksgiving, it's in the wrong month, it didn't happen, no turkey. But we still celebrate the spirit of the event, the intent. And the 1708 document was a progressive document, an influential document, I mean as far as the idea of the rule of law. If it's shrouded in some sort of controversy, so is pretty much all of American history."
Connect the dots
Some South Baltimoreans are blaming their new neighbor, Jenna Bush, for shrinking parking options, the Baltimore Business Journal reports. They suspect the president's daughter is the reason why several "no parking" signs have sprouted near her rowhouse. The BBJ wasn't able to reach police spokesman Sterling Clifford, but I did. His initial response: laughter. Then: "If it were true, I couldn't tell you it was true." ... Outside the state agriculture building near Annapolis, The Sun's Larry Carson spied two cardboard traps at either end of the lobby doors. Intended to capture any insects unauthorized to enter the premises, they read, "Ehrlich." The extermination firm is no relation to the former governor. ... Herbert D. Andrews of Baltimore writes: "Apparently sex is simply all over the place. As evidence, I enclose my ticket stub for a viewing of 'Sex and the City' last night at the Rotunda." The stub reads:
"SEX AND THE
Rotunda."
