page_title: St. Mary's College of Maryland
section_title: The Center for the Study of Democracy
hierarchical_section_title: St. Mary's College of Maryland / Institutions / The Center for the Study of Democracy
caption_attribution_description: English: Margaret Brent Hall, on the campus of St. Mary's College of Maryland.
context_page_description: St. Mary's College of Maryland is a public, liberal arts college in St. Mary's City, Maryland. Established in 1840, St. Mary's College of Maryland is an honors college that claims to "offer an experience similar to that of an elite liberal arts college." With about 1,800 enrolled students, the institution offers bachelor's degrees in 24 disciplines, as well as a master's program and certification programs.
  The college is located in St. Mary's City, Maryland and shares much of its campus with Historic St. Mary's City, the site of Maryland's first colony and first capital. It is also the site of the fourth colony in British North America.
  The Historical Archaeology Field School is jointly operated by St. Mary's College of Maryland and Historic St. Mary's City. The campus and the rest of St. Mary's City combined are considered to be one of the premier archaeological sites in the United States.
  In 2020, U.S. News and World Report's annual "Best Colleges and Universities" report ranked St. Mary's College as the 5th best "Public Liberal Arts College" in the country; St. Mary's was tied for #92 in the "National Liberal Arts Colleges" category, which includes private schools.
context_section_description: The Center for the Study of Democracy is an interdisciplinary joint initiative of St. Mary's College of Maryland and Historic St. Mary's City. 
  It explores historical and contemporary issues related to democracy and also provides presentations by government officials and other leaders from both developed and developing countries and notable scholars. The Center also offers a Democracy Studies minor through St. Mary's College of Maryland.
  Colonial St. Mary's City, which was on the site where St. Mary's College of Maryland is located today, was a place where struggles over 'Liberty of conscience' in religion, representative political practices, freedom of the press, and minority rights all came to the fore at various times. Utilizing early Maryland as a case study in "emerging democracy," the foundation works to apply the lessons of the region's history to a domestic and international discussion of democracy's role in the modern world. The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) We the People initiative awarded the Center a $500,000 challenge grant in September 2004.
  Notable advisory board members include:
  Steny Hoyer, U.S. Representative and House Majority Leader, United States Congress
  Benjamin C. Bradlee –  vice president at large, The Washington Post
  Thomas Penfield Jackson  –  presiding judge in the United States v. Microsoft case, former Judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
  Ben Cardin  –  U.S. Senator from Maryland (2007–present); Former speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, (1979–1986); U.S. House of Representatives 1987–2007
  Michael Steele, Former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
  Martin E. Sullivan, Director, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery; former director of Historic St. Mary's City
caption: Margaret Brent Hall on the campus of St. Mary's College of Maryland. Named for Margaret Brent who, on the site of what is now the college, was the first woman to petition for the right to vote in America (in the Maryland Assembly in 1648).
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