William J. Frere was an American farmer and politician, serving as a state senator in Maryland. A member of the Democratic Party,[1] Frere represented Charles County, Maryland from 1910 to 1914.[2][3] Frere lived in Tompkinsville and was a farmer.[4] He was a sponsor of the failed Digges Amendment, which was intended to disenfranchise African-American voters by challenging the Fifteenth Amendment's applicability to state elections, and also to enforce a property requirement.[5] It was strongly defeated in a public referendum.

References edit

  1. ^ Vincent, John Martin (1883). The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-1023-7.
  2. ^ Senate, Maryland General Assembly (2 March 2018). "Journal of the Proceedings of the Senate of the State of Maryland". Authority – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "Senate, Charles County (1838-1966)". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
  4. ^ The Country Gentleman, Luther Tucker & Son, 1912 "A Swamp that was Made a Farm", page 6
  5. ^ Hill, Stephanie (18 April 2005). "One Step Closer to Freedom". Simmons College. pp. 85–86. Retrieved 17 August 2010.