Governor Hogan delivered his final Maryland State of the State as governor. Governor Hogan gave the address from Maryland’s Old Senate Chamber, where George Washington resigned his commission to Congress as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. This was the first peaceful transition of power from a military government to a civilian government in human history.
In the speech, Governor Hogan quoted Washington’s warning that partisanship would create a “spirit of revenge” that would undermine the “reins of government” and lead to the “ruins of public liberty.” Governor Hogan said, “to those who say that America is too divided, that our political system is too broken and can’t be fixed, I would argue that we have already shown a better path forward. And if we can accomplish that here in Maryland, then there is no place in America where these very same principles cannot succeed.”
