Episode 1 of 2
1857 Local Option Proposal
- When
- 1857
- Where
- Maryland state legislature
William Daniel promoted a law permitting the local option in Maryland, allowing counties to choose whether to enact prohibition of alcohol within their borders.
The measure did not pass in 1857. Daniel was a member of the American Party, also known as the Know Nothings, having been reelected in 1855. The local option concept allowed local political jurisdictions, typically counties or municipalities, to allow decisions on controversial issues within their borders, usually referring to a popular vote.
Sources
- William Daniel (Maryland politician) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-24
- Local option Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-07
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.