The current Constitution of the State of Maryland, which was ratified by the people of the state on September 18, 1867, forms the basic law

Basic Law

The term basic law is used in some places as an alternative to "constitution", implying it is a temporary but necessary measure without formal enactment of constitution. A basic law is either a codified constitution, or in countries with uncodified constitutions, a law given to have constitution...

 for the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

. It replaced the short-lived Maryland Constitution of 1864

Maryland Constitution of 1864

The Maryland Constitution of 1864 was the third of the four constitutions which have governed the U.S. state of Maryland. A controversial product of the Civil War and in effect only until 1867, when the state's present constitution was adopted, the 1864 document was short-lived.-Drafting:The 1864...

 and is the fourth constitution

Constitution

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

 under which the state has been governed. It was last amended in 2008. http://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/2006/results/general/Statewide_Ballot_Question_Results.html

At approximately 47,000 words (including annotations), the Maryland Constitution is much longer than the average length of a state constitution

State constitution (United States)

In the United States, each state has its own constitution.Usually, they are longer than the 7,500-word federal Constitution and are more detailed regarding the day-to-day relationships between government and the people. The shortest is the Constitution of Vermont, adopted in 1793 and currently...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, which is about 26,000 words (the United States Constitution

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

 is about 8,700 words long).
The state's 1864 constitution, written during the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 while the Unionists temporarily controlled Maryland, proved to be unsuitable in a state that still had Southern sympathies.