Page "Edwin Warfield" Paragraph 8

The most significant event of his tenure as Governor came when Arthur Pue Gorman, who had opposed Warfield's election, proposed the Gorman Amendment to the Maryland Constitution, which would have effectively disenfranchised all black voters in the state.

The bill easily passed the Democrat-controlled General Assembly, but Warfield refused to sign the bill into law.

While Warfield was in favor of some of the bill's provisions, such as denying the vote to the less-educated black voters of the state, he feared it would eventually lead to greater levels of disenfranchisement which could threaten all voters in the state.

The bill was put before the public, and was defeated by 30, 000 votes, a defeat to the party in which Warfield played a major role in.

Warfield's actions in this affair further alienated him from the Democratic machine in Maryland, which was openly hostile towards him by the time he left office.