Edwin Warfield

Edwin Warfield ( born May 7, 1848 Howard County, Maryland, † March 31, 1920 in Baltimore, Maryland ) was an American politician and 1904-1908 Governor of Maryland.

Early years

Edwin Warfield attended the local schools of his home. In his youth he often had to help " Oakland " his parents on their plantation called. At the same time he worked as a teacher to be able to finance a law degree can. After his successful examination and his admission to the bar he began in Ellicott City to work in his new profession.

Political rise

Warfield was a member of the Democratic Party. Between 1874 and 1881 he was employed in the administration of Howard County at the notary with the jurisdiction for Wills ( Register of Wills ). From 1882 to 1886 he was a member of the Senate of Maryland. In this body he succeeded Arthur Pue Gorman, the U.S. senator has been and should be domestic political opponents of Warfield. In 1886, Warfield was even President of the Senate in Maryland. During the presidential campaign in 1884, he supported Grover Cleveland. Who named it after his election victory to the head of the Port Authority of Baltimore. This post he held between 5 April 1885 to 1 May 1890.

After the change of government in Washington in 1889, he was replaced by this post. Then he withdrew for a time from politics. He founded the Fidelity and Deposit Company of Baltimore, whose president he was to remain until his death. In 1896 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. In 1899 he applied unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for the upcoming gubernatorial election. The reason for the negative attitude was the opposition of party sizes including Arthur Gorman. Despite this opposition Warfield took in 1903 a new attempt for the office of governor. This time he was not only nominated, but he also won the subsequent elections against Stevenson A. Williams.

Governor of Maryland

Edwin Warfield took up his new post on 13 January 1904. The most important event of his four-year tenure should be a proposal to amend the state constitution, which his old opponent Gorman earned and would have the right to vote of the black population reduced dramatically. The proposal was quickly adopted by the legislature, but Governor Warfield refused to sign the document. Then the people in a vote on the proposed constitutional amendment had to vote. This was rejected by a majority of 30,000 votes. The whole process hurt the governor hard within his party. This would not forgive him his stance on this issue. At the end of his tenure, the relationship between Warfield and his party was very tense.

Further CV

Warfield's term ended on January 8, 1908. During the following years he devoted himself next to his personal and business affairs and the Maryland Historical Society, whose president he became. The end of 1919, his health deteriorated, so that he could hardly leave his house in Baltimore. He is also passed in March 1920. With his wife Emma Nicodemus he had four children.