In 1648 Margaret Brent Asks for “Vote…And Voyce”

Margaret Brent (ca. 1601–1671), a Catholic gentlewoman, lived in Maryland from 1638 to 1650. In June 1647, the dying governor, Leonard Calvert, made her executrix of his estate with power to pay the soldiers he had hired to put down a Protestant rebellion. Margaret Brent’s skill in carrying out this mission preserved Lord Baltimore’s authority and his policy of religious toleration. During this crisis she unsuccessfully requested two votes in the Assembly, one for herself and one as Lord Baltimore’s agent. This was the first known effort of a woman in America to vote in a legislative assembly.

Maryland · United States