The Postal Service issued a 22-cent Maryland Statehood stamp in Annapolis on February 15, 1988, to commemorate the bicentennial of the Free State's ratification of the US Constitution. The dedication ceremony occurred at the Maryland State House.
Six states had ratified the Constitution in a two-month period, but two more months elapsed with no progress before the Maryland convention met. Maryland's endorsement on April 28, 1788, restored momentum to the faltering ratification drive, and when the necessary two additional states promptly ratified, the Constitution became the law of the land.
At the Constitutional Convention itself, the state's delegates led the movement to divest the larger states of their claims to western lands and to place such tracts of land in the hands of Congress. Moreover, the oratory of Maryland delegate Luther Martin played a major role in preventing a stronger central government.
Designed by Steven Hustvedt, the stamps were printed in the offset/intaglio process by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The stamps were issued in panes of fifty.
Reference:
Postal Bulletin (February 4, 1988).
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