William Daniel (Maryland politician)
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William Daniel (January 24, 1826 – October 13, 1897) was an American politician from the state of
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. A lawyer, he was a noted
prohibitionist Prohibitionism is a legal philosophy and political theory often used in lobbying which holds that citizens will abstain from actions if the actions are typed as unlawful (i.e. prohibited) and the prohibitions are enforced by law enforcement.C Canty ...
and
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...
. He served in both houses of the
Maryland state legislature The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamb ...
, first as a Whig, and later as a member of the American Party. Later, as a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, he was a member of the convention that wrote Maryland's constitution in 1864. He helped found the Maryland Temperance Alliance in 1872 and served as its president for twelve years. Daniel was the vice presidential nominee and running mate of John St. John on the
Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...
ticket in the presidential election of 1884. Placing third in the election that year, he continued his involvement with the cause of
temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
until his death in 1897.


Early life and education

Daniel was born on Deal Island in
Somerset County, Maryland Somerset County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,620, making it the second-least populous county in Maryland. The county seat is Princess Anne. The county was named for Mary, ...
on January 24, 1826, the son of Travers Daniel and his wife, Mary Wallace Daniel. Travers Daniel arrived at Deal Island at the age of eighteen to teach school but soon turned to farming after marrying Mary Wallace. William Daniel and his siblings were raised on the farm and attended the local school. He attended
Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = J ...
in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...
, graduating in 1848. While in college, he became a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
; he would remain affiliated with the church for the rest of his life. After finishing third in a class of twenty-eight, Daniel returned to Maryland to study law in the office of William S. Waters, a Somerset County lawyer who had recently served as
Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates The Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates presides as speaker over the House of Delegates in the state of Maryland in the United States. List of speakers Footnotes References Maryland State Archives - House of Delegates Records ...
. Daniel was admitted to the
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...
in 1851.


State legislator

Like the rest of his family, Daniel was a member of the Whig Party, and soon became involved in local politics. While maintaining his law practice, he was elected to a two-year term in the
Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...
in 1853. While there he introduced a bill based on the
Maine law The Maine Law (or "Maine Liquor Law"), passed on June 2, 1851 in Maine, was the first statutory implementation of the developing temperance movement in the United States. History Temperance activist Neal Dow helped craft the Maine liquor law whil ...
, which would have prohibited the sale and production of alcoholic beverages in the state, but it did not pass. By this time, the Whig Party was falling apart over sectional issues, but Daniel was reelected in 1855 as a member of the American Party (also known as the "Know Nothings"). The Know Nothings' main political issue was nativism, but Daniel remained focused more on prohibition. In 1857, he promoted a law permitting the local option, which would let individual counties in the state chose whether to enact prohibition of alcohol within their borders, but it did not pass. That year he was elected to a four-year term in the
Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...
. He resigned part-way through his term, in 1858, to practice law in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. Two years later, he married Ellen Young Guiteau, daughter of a
Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
minister. By 1864, Daniel had joined the Republican Party. That year, he was a delegate to the state's constitutional convention, which produced the
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, ...
. Despite growing up in a slaveholding area, Daniel was an abolitionist and joined with the majority at the convention in voting to outlaw slavery and disenfranchise those who had fought for the Confederacy in the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. In 1866, Daniel argued in court that state laws enforcing racial distinctions were no longer valid after the passage of the recent federal
Civil Rights Act Civil Rights Act may refer to several acts of the United States Congress, including: * Civil Rights Act of 1866, extending the rights of emancipated slaves by stating that any person born in the United States regardless of race is an American ci ...
. The court ruled in his favor, holding that the law could not treat black and white apprentices differently. Later that year, Daniel ran unsuccessfully for a judgeship on the state equity court.


Prohibition advocate

After the war, Daniel continued in his private law practice while remaining active in the anti-alcohol cause. He was elected president of the Maryland Temperance Alliance when it was formed in 1872. He was re-elected to that position annually for the next twelve years. During that time, the local option law Daniel favored while in the legislature became law; thirteen of the state's twenty-three counties (including Somerset) adopted prohibition under the statute. Throughout his leadership of the Maryland Temperance Alliance, Daniel remained a member of the Republican Party, but in 1884 he left to join the small
Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...
. Like Daniel, most party members came from
pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...
churches, and most were former Republicans. Elected as the head of the Maryland branch of the party, he attended the 1884 Prohibition Party National Convention in Pittsburgh. After being selected as temporary chairman of the convention, the delegates chose Daniel to be nominated for vice president alongside the presidential nominee, John St. John. The party platform was silent on most issues of the day, focusing instead on the alcohol problem. In the election that year, the Prohibition ticket fell far short of victory, as expected, but placed third with 1.5 percent of the vote—a marked improvement over the 0.1 percent the 1880 Prohibition candidates had received. Further, their vote total in New York—just over 25,000—was more than enough to throw the election in that state from James G. Blaine, the Republican, to
Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
, the
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
. Because pro-temperance voters usually voted Republican, many historians credit St. John and Daniel with costing Blaine the election. After the campaign, Daniel continued his temperance activism, remaining head of the state party until 1888. He organized the Prohibition Camp Meeting association in 1889, which later purchased land in
Glyndon, Maryland Glyndon is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1871 by Dr. Charles A. Leas, the village is located in the northwest section of Baltimore County and is primarily a residential suburb of metropolitan ...
for their meetings. He also kept up his law practice, training many law students in his office, including Orlando Franklin Bump, who also serve as Daniel's law partner for several years. He also served as a trustee of Dickinson College, his ''alma mater,'' and in other charitable and religious activities, including
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
. On October 13, 1897, he died suddenly of heart failure at his home in
Mount Washington, Baltimore Mount Washington is an area of northwest Baltimore, Maryland. It is a designated city historic district and divided into two sections: South Road/Sulgrave to the southeast and Dixon's Hill (or Dixon Hill) to the north. The Mount Washington Histori ...
, survived by his wife and their adopted son, Clarence Adreon. He was buried at
Green Mount Cemetery Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as many ...
in Baltimore.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel, William 1826 births 1897 deaths American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law American temperance activists Dickinson College alumni Maryland Know Nothings Maryland lawyers Maryland Prohibitionists Maryland Republicans Maryland state senators Maryland Whigs Members of the Maryland House of Delegates People from Somerset County, Maryland Prohibition Party (United States) vice presidential nominees 1884 United States vice-presidential candidates 19th-century American lawyers