BY PAULA MINSK
BALTIMORE JEWISH TIMES
JANUARY 13, 2026
In January 1826, the state of Maryland passed the so-called “Jew Bill.” The 200th anniversary of the bill being enacted into law was last week. The Maryland state legislature will hold an event in February, during the annual legislative session, to commemorate the 1826 law.
Prior to 1826, only members of Christian religions were eligible to hold office in Maryland. In fact, there was a clause in the oath of office that elected officials were required to take that affirmed their belief in Christianity.
The formal title of the bill was “An act to extend to the sect of people professing the Jewish religion the same rights and privileges enjoyed by Christians.”
This bill was proposed and resisted for years before it was finally passed in 1826. It was sponsored by Thomas Kennedy, a Christian, who was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from Washington County. Kennedy persisted in his efforts, and the bill was passed into Maryland law on Jan. 5, 1826. Also prominent in the process was Henry Marie Brackenridge, a lawyer and legislator. He spoke up early in the debate, speaking about the constitutional significance of the separation of church and state. His name was less prominent than that of Kennedy, who had fought for the passage of the Jew Bill since 1818.
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