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William H. Seward

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William H. Seward

William H. Seward
24th United States Secretary of State
In office
March 5, 1861 – March 4, 1869
President Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Preceded by Jeremiah S. Black
Succeeded by Elihu B. Washburne
United States Senator
from New York
In office
March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1861
Preceded by John Adams Dix
Succeeded by Ira Harris
12th Governor of New York
In office
January 1, 1839 – December 31, 1842
Lieutenant Luther Bradish
Preceded by William L. Marcy
Succeeded by William C. Bouck
Personal details
Born William Henry Seward
(1801-05-16)May 16, 1801
Florida, New York
Auburn, New York
Political party Anti-Masonic, Whig, Republican
Spouse(s) Frances Adeline Seward
Alma mater Union College
Profession Lawyer, Land Agent, Politician
Religion Episcopalian

William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and also served as Governor of New York and United States Senator. A determined opponent of the spread of slavery in the years leading up to the American Civil War, he was a dominant figure in the Republican Party in its formative years. Although regarded as the leading contender for the party's presidential nomination in 1860, he was defeated by Abraham Lincoln.

Seward was born in southeastern New York, where his father, a farmer, owned slaves. He became educated as a lawyer, moving to the Western New York town of Auburn. Seward was elected to the New York State Senate in 1830 as an Anti-Mason. Four years later, he became the Whig Party's gubernatorial nominee. Though he was not successful in that race, Seward was elected governor in 1838, winning a second two-year term in 1840. During this period, he signed several laws advancing the rights and opportunities for black residents, as well as guaranteeing fugitive slaves jury trials in the state, protecting abolitionists, and using his position to intervene in cases of free blacks enslaved in the South.

After several years practicing law in Auburn, he was elected by the state legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1849. Seward's strong stances and provocative words against slavery brought him hatred in the South. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1855, and soon joined the nascent Republican Party, becoming one of its leading figures. As the 1860 presidential election cycle approached, he was regarded as the leading candidate for the Republican nomination. Several factors, including attitudes to his vocal opposition to slavery, his support for immigrants and Catholics, and his association with editor and political boss Thurlow Weed, combined to defeat him. Although devastated by his loss, he campaigned for Lincoln, who was elected, and who appointed him Secretary of State.

Seward did his best to stop the southern states from seceding; once that failed, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Union cause. His firm stance against foreign intervention in the Civil War helped deter Britain and France from entering the conflict and possibly gaining the independence of the Confederate States. He was one of the targets of the 1865 assassination plot that killed Lincoln, and was seriously wounded by conspirator Lewis Powell. Seward remained loyally at his post through the presidency of Andrew Johnson, during which he achieved the Alaska purchase. His contemporary Carl Schurz described Seward as "one of those spirits who sometimes will go ahead of public opinion instead of tamely following its footprints.".[1]


  • Early life 1
  • Lawyer and state senator 2
    • Early career and involvement in politics 2.1
    • State senator and gubernatorial candidate 2.2
  • Governor of New York 3
  • Out of office 4
  • U.S. Senator 5
    • First term 5.1
    • Second term 5.2
  • Election of 1860 6
    • Candidate for the nomination 6.1
    • Convention 6.2
    • Campaigning for Lincoln 6.3
  • Secession crisis 7
  • Secretary of State 8
    • Lincoln administration 8.1
      • War breaks out 8.1.1
      • Diplomacy 8.1.2
      • Involvement in wartime detentions 8.1.3
      • Relationship with Lincoln 8.1.4
      • 1864 election; Hampton Roads Conference 8.1.5
    • Assassination attempt 8.2
    • Johnson administration 8.3
      • Reconstruction and impeachment 8.3.1
      • Mexico 8.3.2
      • Territorial expansion and Alaska 8.3.3
  • 1868 election, retirement, and death 9
  • Legacy and historical view 10
  • See also 11
  • References 12
  • Bibliography 13
  • External links 14

Early life

Seward was born in the small community of Florida, New York, in Orange County, on May 16, 1801, the third son of Samuel Sweezy Seward and his wife Mary (Jennings) Seward.[2] Samuel Seward was a wealthy landowner and slaveholder in New York State; slavery was not fully abolished until 1827.[3] Florida, located some 60 miles (97 km) from New York City and west of the Hudson River, was a small rural village of perhaps a dozen homes. Young Seward attended school there, and also in the nearby county seat of Goshen.[4] He was a bright student and enjoyed his studies. In later years, one of the former family slaves would relate that instead of running away from school to go home, Seward would run away from home to go to school.[5]

At the age of 15, Henry (he was known by his middle name as a boy) was sent to Eatonton in Putnam County. The trustees interviewed the 17-year-old Seward, and found his qualifications acceptable.[6]

Seward enjoyed his time in Georgia, where he was accepted as an adult for the first time in his life. He was treated hospitably, but also witnessed the ill-treatment of slaves.[7] Seward was persuaded to return to New York by his family, and did so in June 1819. As it was too late for him to graduate with his class, he studied law at an attorney's office in Goshen before returning to Union College, securing his degree with highest honors in June 1820.[7]

Lawyer and state senator

Early career and involvement in politics

Seward's wife Frances Adeline Seward.

After graduation, Seward spent much of the following two years studying law in Goshen and New York City with attorneys John Duer, John Anthon and Ogden Hoffman. He passed the bar examination in late 1822.[8] He could have practiced in Goshen, but disliked the town, and sought a practice in growing Western New York. Seward decided upon Auburn in Cayuga County, about 150 miles (240 km) west of Albany, and 200 miles (320 km) northwest of Goshen.[9] He joined the practice of retired judge Elijah Miller, whose daughter Frances Adeline Miller was a classmate of his sister Cornelia at Emma Willard's Troy Female Seminary. Seward married Frances Miller on October 20, 1824.[10]

In 1824, while Seward was journeying with his wife to Niagara Falls, one of the wheels on his carriage was damaged while they passed through Rochester. Among those who came to their aid was local newspaper publisher Thurlow Weed.[11] Seward and Weed would become closer in the years ahead as they found they shared a belief that government policies should promote infrastructure improvements, such as roads and canals.[12] Weed, deemed by some one of the earliest political bosses, would become a major ally of Seward. Despite the benefits to Seward's career of such a supporter, perceptions that Seward was too much controlled by Weed became a factor in the former's defeat for the Republican nomination for president in 1860.[13]


Seward originally supported the Regency, but by 1824 had broken from it, concluding it was corrupt.[15] He became part of the Mason in Upstate New York; he was most likely killed by fellow Masons for publishing a book revealing the order's secret rites.[16] Since the leading candidate in opposition to President John Quincy Adams was General Andrew Jackson, a Mason who mocked opponents of the order, Anti-Masonry became closely associated with opposition to Jackson, and to his policies once he was elected president in 1828.[17]

Governor DeWitt Clinton had nominated Seward as Cayuga County Surrogate in late 1827 or early 1828, but as Seward was unwilling to support Jackson, he was not confirmed by the state Senate. During the 1828 campaign, Seward made speeches in support of President Adams' re-election.[18] Seward was nominated for the federal House of Representatives by the Anti-Masons, but withdrew, deeming the fight hopeless.[19] In 1829, Seward was offered the local nomination for New York State Assembly, but again felt there were no prospects of winning. In 1830, with Weed's aid, he gained the Anti-Masonic nomination for state senator for the local district. Seward had appeared in court throughout the district, and had spoken in favor of government support for infrastructure improvements, a position popular there. Weed had moved his operations to Albany, where his newspaper, the Albany Evening Journal, advocated for Seward, who was elected by about 2,000 votes.[20]

State senator and gubernatorial candidate

Seward was sworn in as state senator in January 1831. He left Frances and their children in Auburn, and wrote to her of his experiences. These included meeting former vice president Aaron Burr, who had returned to practicing law in New York following a self-imposed exile in Europe after his duel with Alexander Hamilton and treason trial. The Regency (or the Democrats, as the national party led by Jackson and supported by Van Buren was becoming known) controlled the Senate. Seward and his party allied with dissident Democrats and others to pass some legislation, including penal reform measures, for which Seward would become known.[21][22]

During his term as state senator, Seward traveled extensively, going to visit other anti-Jackson leaders, including former president Adams. He also accompanied his father Samuel Seward on a trip to Europe, where they met the political men of the day.[23] Seward hoped that the Anti-Masons would nominate Supreme Court Justice John McLean for president against Jackson's re-election bid in 1832, but the nomination fell to former Attorney General William Wirt. Kentucky Senator Henry Clay, an opponent of Jackson, was a Mason, and thus unacceptable as party standard-bearer.[24] In the aftermath of Jackson's easy victory, many of those who opposed him believed a united front necessary to defeat the Democrats, and the Whig Party gradually came into being. The Whigs believed in legislative action to develop the country, and opposed Jackson's unilateral actions as president, which they deemed imperial.[23] Many Anti-Masons, including Seward and Weed, readily joined the new party.[25]


Defeated for governor and with his term in the state Senate having expired, Seward returned to Auburn and the practice of law at the start of 1835. That year, Seward and his wife undertook a lengthy trip, going as far south as Virginia. Although they were hospitably received by southerners, the Sewards saw scenes of slavery which confirmed them as its opponents.[27] The following year, Seward accepted a position as agent for the new owners of the Panic of 1837 began, persuaded the owners to avoid foreclosures where possible. He also, in 1838, arranged the purchase of the company's holdings by a consortium that included himself.[28]

Van Buren had been elected president in 1836; even with his duties, Seward had found time to campaign against him. The economic crisis came soon after the inauguration, and threatened the Regency's control of New York politics.[29] Seward had not run for governor in 1836, but with the Democrats unpopular, saw a path to victory in 1838 (the term was then two years). Other prominent Whigs also sought the nomination. Weed persuaded delegates to the convention that Seward had run ahead of other Whig candidates in 1834; Seward was nominated on the fourth ballot.[30] Seward's opponent was again Marcy, and the economy the principal issue. The Whigs argued that the Democrats were responsible for the recession.[31] As it was thought improper for candidates for major office to campaign in person, Seward left most of that to Weed.[32] Seward was elected by a margin of about 10,000 votes out of 400,000 cast.[33] The victory was the most significant for the Whig Party to that point,[34] and put the Regency permanently out of power in New York State.[35]

Governor of New York

Gubernatorial portrait of William H. Seward.

William Seward was sworn in as New York's governor on January 1, 1839, inaugurated in front of a crowd of jubilant Whigs. In that era, the annual message by the New York governor was published and discussed to an extent that only a president's would be today.[36] Seward biographer Walter Stahr wrote that his address "brimmed with his youth, energy, ambition, and optimism".[37] Seward took note of America's great unexploited resources, and stated that immigration should be encouraged in order to take advantage of them. He urged that citizenship and religious liberty be granted to those who came to New York's shores.[36] At the time, New York City's public schools were run by a Protestant group, and used Protestant texts, including the King James Bible. Seward believed the current system was a barrier to literacy for immigrants' children, and proposed legislation to change it.[38] Education, he stated, "banishes the distinctions, old as time, of rich and poor, master and slave. It banishes ignorance and lays axe to the root of crime".[37] Seward's stance was popular among immigrants, but was disliked by nativists; their opposition would eventually help defeat his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1860.[39]



In September 1839, a ship sailing from Norfolk, Virginia to New York City had been discovered to have an escaped slave on board. The slave was returned to his owner pursuant to the Fugitive Slave Clause of the Constitution, but Virginia also demanded that three free black sailors, said to have concealed the fugitive aboard ship, be surrendered to its custody. This Seward would not do, and the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation inhibiting trade with New York. With Seward's encouragement, the New York legislature passed acts in 1840 protecting the rights of African Americans against Southern slave-catchers. [43] One guaranteed alleged fugitive slaves the right of a jury trial in New York to establish whether they were slaves, and another pledged the aid of the state to recover free blacks kidnapped into slavery (as happened to Solomon Northup of Saratoga Springs in 1841, who did not regain freedom until 1853.)[44][45]

Both Seward and Van Buren were up for re-election in 1840. Seward did not attend the December [46]

Seward was renominated for a second term by the Whig convention against Democrat William Brock, a former state legislator. Seward did not campaign in person, but ran affairs with Weed behind the scenes and made his views known to voters through a Fourth of July speech and lengthy letters, declining invitations to speak, printed in the papers. In one, Seward expounds upon the importance of the log cabin—a structure evoking the common man and a theme that the Whigs used heavily in the national campaign—where Seward had always found a far warmer welcome than in the marble palaces of the well-to-do (evoking the aristocratic Van Buren). Both Harrison and Seward were elected.[47] Although Seward would serve another almost thirty years in public life, his name would never again pass before the voters.[48]



Out of office

Seward around 1844. Painting by Henry Inman.





The main Whig contenders in 1848 were Clay again, and two war hero generals with little political experience, Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor. Seward supported the nominee, General Taylor. The former governor was less enthusiastic about the vice-presidential candidate, New York Comptroller Millard Fillmore, a rival of his from Buffalo. Nevertheless, he campaigned widely for the Whigs against the Democratic presidential candidate, former Michigan senator Lewis Cass. The two major parties did not make slavery an issue in the campaign. The Free Soil Party, mostly Liberty Party members and some Northern Democrats, nominated former president Van Buren. The Taylor/Fillmore ticket was elected, and the split in the New York Democratic Party allowed the Whigs to capture the legislature.[55]

State legislatures elected U.S. Senators until the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. In 1849 one of New York's seats was up for election, and a Whig would likely be elected to replace John Adams Dix. Seward, with Weed's counsel, decided to seek the seat. When legislators convened in January 1849, he was spoken of as the favorite. Some opposed him as too extreme on slavery issues, and intimated that he would not support the slaveholding President-elect Taylor, a Louisianan. Weed and Seward worked to dispel these concerns, and when the vote for the Senate seat took place, the former governor received five times the vote of the nearest other candidate, gaining easy election on the first ballot.[55]

U.S. Senator

First term

William Seward was sworn in as senator from New York on March 5, 1849, during the brief special session called to confirm President Taylor's cabinet nominees. Seward was seen as having influence over Taylor: taking advantage of an acquaintance with Taylor's brother. Seward met with the former general several times before Inauguration Day (March 4), and was friendly with Cabinet officers. Taylor hoped to gain the admission of California to the Union, and Seward worked to advance his agenda in the Senate.[56]


Seward in 1851

Although Clay had hoped the Compromise would be a final settlement on the matter of slavery that could unite the nation, it divided his Whig Party, especially when the 1852 Whig National Convention endorsed it to the anger of liberal northerners like Seward. The major candidates for the presidential nomination were President Fillmore, Senator Daniel Webster, and General Scott. Seward supported Scott, who he hoped like Harrison could unite enough voters behind a military hero to win the election. Scott gained the nomination, and Seward campaigned for him. With the Whigs unable to reconcile over slavery, whereas the Democrats could unite behind the Compromise, the Whigs won only four states, and former New Hampshire senator Franklin Pierce was elected president. Other events, such as the 1852 publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin and Northern anger over the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act (an element of the Compromise), widened the divide between North and South.[59]


In January 1854, Democratic Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas introduced his Kansas-Nebraska Bill. This would permit territories to choose whether to join the Union as free or slave states, and effectively repeal the Missouri Compromise forbidding slavery in new states north of 36° 30′ North latitude.[62] Seward was determined to defeat what he called "this infamous Nebraska Bill", and worked to ensure the final version of the bill would be unpalatable to enough senators, North and South, to defeat it. Seward spoke against the bill both on initial consideration in the Senate and when the bill returned after reconciliation with the House.[63] The bill passed into law, but northerners felt they had found a standard around which they could rally. Those in the South defended the new law, arguing that they should have an equal stake through slavery in the territories their blood and money had helped secure.[64]

Second term

Seward in 1859

The political turmoil engendered by the North-South divide not only split both major parties, but led to the founding of new ones. The American Party (better known as the [65]

The Republican Party had been founded in 1854, in reaction to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Its anti-slavery stance was attractive to Seward, but he needed the Whig structure in New York to get re-elected.[66] In September 1855, the New York Whig and Republican parties held simultaneous conventions that quickly merged into one. Seward was the most prominent figure to join the new party, and was spoken of as a possible presidential candidate in 1856. Weed, however, did not feel that the new party was strong enough on a national level to secure the presidency, and advised Seward to wait until 1860.[67] When Seward's name was mentioned at the 1856 Republican National Convention, a huge ovation broke out.[68] In the 1856 presidential election, the Democratic candidate, former Pennsylvania senator James Buchanan, defeated the Republican, former California senator John C. Frémont, and the Know Nothing candidate, former president Fillmore.[69]


In a message to Congress in December 1857, President Buchanan advocated the admission of Kansas as a slave state under the Lecompton Constitution, passed under dubious circumstances. This split the Democrats: the administration wanted Kansas admitted; Senator Douglas demanded a fair ratification vote.[74] The Senate debated the matter through much of early 1858, though few Republicans spoke at first, content to watch the Democrats tear their party to shreds over the issue of slavery.[75] The issue was complicated by the Supreme Court's ruling the previous year in Dred Scott v. Sandford that neither Congress nor a local government could ban slavery in the territories.[76]

In a speech on March 3 in the Senate, Seward "delighted Republican ears and utterly appalled administration Democrats, especially the Southerners".[77] Discussing Dred Scott, Seward accused Buchanan and Chief Justice Roger B. Taney of conspiring to gain the result, and threatened to reform the courts to eliminate Southern power.[77] Taney later told a friend that if Seward had been elected in 1860, he would have refused to administer the oath of office. Buchanan reportedly denied the senator access to the White House.[78] Seward predicted slavery was doomed:

The interest of the white races demands the ultimate emancipation of all men. Whether that consummation shall he allowed to take effect, with needful and wise precautions against sudden change and disaster, or be hurried on by violence, is all that remains for you to decide.[79]

Southerners saw this as a threat, by the man deemed the likely Republican nominee in 1860, to force change on the South whether it liked it or not.[80] Statehood for Kansas failed for the time being,[81] but Seward's words were repeatedly cited by Southern senators as the secession crisis grew.[82] Nevertheless, Seward remained on excellent personal terms with individual southerners such as Mississippi's Jefferson Davis. His dinner parties, where those from both sides of the sectional divide mixed and mingled, were a Washington legend.[83]

With an eye to a presidential bid in 1860, Seward tried to appear a statesman who could be trusted by both North and South.[84] Seward did not believe the federal government could mandate emancipation but that it would develop by action of the slave states as the nation urbanized and slavery became uneconomical, as it had in New York. Southerners still believed that he was threatening the forced end of slavery.[85] While campaigning for Republicans in the 1858 midterm elections, Seward gave a speech at Rochester that proved divisive and quotable, alleging that the U.S. had two "antagonistic system [that] are continually coming into closer contact, and collision results. … It is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces, and it means that the United States must and will, sooner or later, become entirely either a slave-holding nation, or entirely a free-labor nation."[86] White southerners saw the "irrepressible conflict" speech as a declaration of war, and Seward's vehemence ultimately damaged his chances of gaining the presidential nomination.[87]

Election of 1860

Candidate for the nomination

In this March 1860 cartoon, Seward brews "mild beer" in his February 29, 1860 address to position himself as a moderate after the "irrepressible conflict" speech.


Weed sometimes expressed certainty that Seward would be nominated; at other times he expressed gloom at the thought of the convention fight.[91] He had some reason for doubt, as word from Weed's agents across the country was mixed. Many in the Midwest did not want the issue of slavery to dominate the campaign, and with Seward as nominee, it inevitably would. The Know Nothing Party was still alive in the Northeast, and was hostile to Seward for his pro-immigrant stances, creating doubts as to whether Seward could win Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where there were many nativists, in the general election. These states were crucial to a Republican nominee faced with a Solid South. Conservative factions in the evolving Republican Party opposed Seward.[92]


There were no primaries in 1860, no way to be certain how many delegates a candidate might receive. Nevertheless, going into the 1860 Republican National Convention in May in Chicago, Seward was seen as the overwhelming favorite.[93] Others spoken of for the nomination included Ohio Governor Salmon P. Chase, former Missouri congressman Edward Bates, and former Illinois representative Abraham Lincoln.[94]

Seward stayed in Auburn during the convention;[95] Weed was present on his behalf and worked to shore up Seward's support. He was amply supplied with money: business owners had eagerly given, expecting Seward to be the next president. Weed's reputation was not entirely positive; he was believed corrupt by some, and his association both helped and hurt Seward.[13]

Abraham Lincoln, in 1860

Enemies such as publisher and former Seward ally Horace Greeley cast doubts as to Seward's electability in the battleground states of Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Lincoln had worked hard to gain a reputation as a moderate in the party and hoped to be seen as a consensus second choice, who might be successful in those critical states, of which the Republicans had to win three to secure the election. Lincoln's men, led by his friend David Davis, were active on his behalf. As Lincoln had not been seen as a major candidate, his supporters had been able to influence the decision to hold the convention in his home state,[96] and surrounded the New York delegation, pro-Seward, with Lincoln loyalists. They eventually were successful in gaining the support of the delegations from the other battleground states, boosting delegates' perceptions of Lincoln's electability. Although Lincoln and Seward shared many views, Lincoln, out of office since 1849, had not excited opposition as Seward had in the South and among Know Nothings. Lincoln's views on nativism, which he opposed, were not public.[97]

On the first ballot, Seward had 173½ votes to Lincoln's 102, with 233 needed to nominate. Pennsylvania shifted its vote to Lincoln on the second ballot, and Seward's lead was cut to 184½ to 181. On the third, Lincoln had 231½ to Seward's 180 after the roll call, but Ohio changed four votes from Chase to Lincoln, giving the Illinoian the nomination and starting a small stampede; the nomination was eventually made unanimous.[98] When word reached Seward by telegraph, by the accounts of witnesses, he calmly remarked that Lincoln had some of the attributes needed to be president, and would certainly be elected.[98]

Campaigning for Lincoln

Despite his public nonchalance, Seward was devastated by his convention loss, as were many of his supporters. The New Yorker was the best-known and most popular Republican, and his defeat shocked many in the North, who felt that Lincoln had been nominated through chicanery. Although Seward sent a letter stating Weed was not to blame, Seward's political manager took the defeat hard.[99] Seward was initially inclined to retire from public life, but received many letters from supporters: distrustful of Lincoln, they urged Seward to remain involved in politics.[100] On his way to Washington to return to Senate duties, he stopped in Albany to confer with Weed, who had gone to Lincoln's home in Springfield, Illinois to meet with the candidate, and had been very impressed at Lincoln's political understanding.[101] At the Capitol, Seward received sympathy even from sectional foes such as Jefferson Davis.[100]

Lincoln faced three major opponents. A split in the Democratic Party had led northerners to nominate Senator Douglas, while southerners chose Vice President John C. Breckenridge. The Constitutional Union Party selected former Tennessee senator John Bell. As Lincoln would not even be on the ballot in ten southern states, he needed to win almost every northern state to take the presidency.[102] Douglas was said to be strong in Illinois and Indiana, and if he took those, the election might be thrown into the House of Representatives.[103] Seward was urged to undertake a campaign tour of the Midwest in support of Lincoln and did so for five weeks in September and October, attracting huge crowds. He journeyed by rail and boat as far north as Saint Paul, Minnesota, into the border state of Missouri at St. Louis, and even to Kansas Territory, though it had no electoral votes to cast in the election. When the train passed through Springfield, Seward and Lincoln were introduced, with Lincoln appearing "embarrassed" and Seward "constrained".[104] In his oratory, Seward spoke of the U.S. as a "tower of freedom", a Union that might even include Canada, Latin America, and Russian America.[105]

New York was key to the election; a Lincoln loss there would deadlock the Electoral College. Soon after his return from his Midwest tour, Seward embarked on another, across New York State, speaking to large crowds. At Weed's urging he went to New York City and gave a patriotic speech before a large crowd on November 3, only three days before the election.[106] On Election Day, Lincoln carried most Northern states, while Breckenridge took the Deep South. Bell three border states, and Douglas won Missouri—the only state Seward campaigned in that Lincoln did not win. Lincoln was elected.[107]

Secession crisis

Seward photographed by the studio of Mathew Brady


The usual tradition was for the leading figure of the winning party to be offered the position of Secretary of State, the most senior Cabinet post. Seward was that man and around December 12, the vice president-elect, Maine Senator Hannibal Hamlin, offered Seward the position on Lincoln's behalf. At Weed's advice, Seward was slow to formally accept, doing so on December 28, 1860, though well before Inauguration Day, March 4, 1861.[109] Lincoln remained in Illinois until mid-February, and he and Seward communicated by letter.[110][111]

As states in the Deep South prepared to secede in late 1860, Seward met with important figures from both sides of the sectional divide.[112] Seward introduced a proposed constitutional amendment preventing federal interference with slavery. This was done at Lincoln's private request; the president-elect hoped that the amendment, and a change to the Fugitive Slave Act to allow those captured a jury trial, would satisfy both sides. Congressmen introduced many such proposals, and Seward was appointed to a committee of 13 senators to consider them. Lincoln was willing to guarantee the security of slavery in the states that currently had it, But he rejected any proposal that would allow slavery to expand. Increasingly it was clear that the deep South was committed to secession; the Republican hope was to provide compromises to keep the border slave states in the Union. Seward voted against the Crittenden Compromise on December 28, but quietly continued to seek a compromise that would keep the border states in the Union.[113]

Seward gave a major speech on January 12, 1861. By then, he was known to be Lincoln's choice as Secretary of State, and with Lincoln staying silent, it was widely expected that he would propound the new administration's plan to save the Union. Accordingly, he spoke to a crowded Senate, where even Jefferson Davis attended despite Mississippi's secession, and to packed galleries.[114] He urged the preservation of the Union, and supported an amendment such as the one he had introduced, or a constitutional convention, once passions had cooled. He hinted that New Mexico Territory might be a slave state, and urged the construction of two transcontinental railroads, one northern, one southern. He suggested the passage of legislation to bar interstate invasions such as that by John Brown. Although Seward's speech was widely applauded, it gained a mixed reaction in the border states to which he had tried to appeal. Radical Republicans were not willing to make concessions to the South, and were angered by the speech.[115] Pennsylvania Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, a radical, warned that if Lincoln like Seward ignored the Republican platform and tried to purchase peace through concessions, he would retire, as too old[1] to bear the years of warfare in the Republican Party that would result.[116]

Lincoln applauded Seward's speech, which he read in Springfield, but refused to approve any compromise that could lead to a further expansion of slavery. Once Lincoln left Springfield on February 11, he gave speeches, stating in Indianapolis that it would not be coercing a state if the federal government insisted on retaining or retaking property that belonged to it.[117] This came as the United States Army still held Fort Sumter; the president-elect's words upset moderate southerners. Virginia Congressman Sherrard Clemens wrote, "Mr. Lincoln, by his speech in the North, has done vast harm. If he will not be guided by Mr. Seward but puts himself in the hands of Mr. Chase and the ultra [that is, Radical] Republicans, nothing can save the cause of the Union in the South."[118]

Lincoln arrived in Washington, without announcement and incognito, early on the morning of February 23, 1861. Seward had been advised by General Winfield Scott that there was a plot to assassinate Lincoln in Baltimore when he passed through the city. Senator Seward sent his son Frederick to warn Lincoln in Philadelphia, and the president-elect decided to travel alone but for well-armed bodyguards. Lincoln travelled without incident, and came to regret his decision as he was widely mocked for it. Later that morning, Seward accompanied Lincoln to the White House, where he introduced the Illinoisan to President Buchanan.[119]

Seward and Lincoln differed over two issues in the days before the inauguration: the composition of Lincoln's cabinet, and his inaugural address. Given a draft of the address, Seward softened it to make it less confrontational toward the South; Lincoln accepted many of the changes, though he gave it, according to Seward biographer Glyndon G. Van Deusen, "a simplicity and a poetic quality lacking in Seward's draft".[120] The differences regarding the Cabinet revolved around the inclusion of Salmon Chase, a radical. Lincoln wanted all elements of the party, as well as representation from outside it; Seward opposed Chase, as well as Democrats such as Gideon Wells and Montgomery Blair. Seward did not get his way, and gave Lincoln a letter declining the post of Secretary of State.[121] Lincoln felt, as he told his private secretary, John Nicolay, that he could not "afford to let Seward take the first trick".[122] No reply or acknowledgement was made by Lincoln until after the inaugural ceremonies were over on March 4, when he asked Seward to remain. Seward did[123] and was both nominated, and confirmed by the Senate, with minimal debate, on March 5, 1861.[124]

Secretary of State

Lincoln administration

War breaks out

Lincoln faced the question of what to do about Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, held by the Army against the will of South Carolinians, who had blockaded it. Major Robert Anderson, in command, had sent word that he would run out of supplies. Seward, backed by most of the Cabinet, recommended to Lincoln that an attempt to resupply Sumter would be provocative to the border states, that Lincoln hoped to keep from seceding. Seward hinted to the commissioners that had come to Washington on behalf of the Confederacy that Sumter would be surrendered. Lincoln was loath to give up Sumter, feeling it would only encourage the South in its insurgency.[125]

With the Sumter issue unresolved, Seward sent Lincoln a memorandum on April 1, proposing various courses of action, including possibly declaring war on France and Spain if certain conditions were not met, and reinforcing the forts along the Gulf of Mexico. In any event, vigorous policies were needed and the president must either establish them himself or allow a Cabinet member to, with Seward making it clear he was willing to do it.[126] Lincoln drafted a reply indicating that whatever policy was adopted, "I must do it", though he never sent it, but met with Seward instead, and what passed between them is not known.[127] Seward's biographers make the point that the note was sent to a Lincoln who had not yet proved himself in office.[128][129]

Lincoln decided on expeditions to try to relieve Sumter and Florida's Fort Pickens. Meanwhile, Seward was assuring Justice John Archibald Campbell, the intermediary with the Confederate commissioners that had come to Washington in an attempt to secure recognition, that no hostile action would be taken. Lincoln sent a notification to South Carolina's governor of the expedition, and on April 12, Charleston's batteries began firing on Sumter, beginning the Civil War.[130]


When the war started Seward turned his attention to making sure that foreign powers did not interfere in the conflict.[131] When in April 1861, the Confederacy announced that it would authorize privateers, Seward sent word to the American representatives abroad that the U.S. would become party to the Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law of 1856, outlawing such vessels, but Britain required that, if the U.S. were to become a party, the ratification would not require action to be taken against Confederate vessels.[132]


In May 1861, Britain and France declared the South to be belligerents by international law, and their ships were entitled to the same rights as U.S.-flagged vessels to remain 24 hours in neutral ports.[134] Nevertheless, Seward was pleased that both nations would not meet with Confederate commissioners or recognize the South as a nation. Britain did not challenge the Union blockade of Confederate ports, and Seward wrote that if Britain continued to avoid interfering in the war, he would not be overly sensitive to what wording they used to describe their policies.[135]

In November 1861, the USS San Jacinto, commanded by Union Captain Charles Wilkes, intercepted the British mail ship RMS Trent and removed two Confederate diplomats, James Mason and John Slidell. They were held in Boston amid jubilation in the North and outrage in Britain. The British minister in Washington, Lord Lyons demanded their release, as the U.S. had no right to stop a British-flagged ship traveling between neutral ports. The British drew up war plans to attack New York and sent reinforcements to Canada. Seward worked to defuse the situation. He persuaded Lyons to postpone delivering an ultimatum, and told Lincoln that the prisoners would have to be released. Lincoln did let them go, reluctantly, on technical grounds.[136] Relations between the U.S. and Britain soon improved; in April 1862, Seward and Lyons signed a treaty they had negotiated allowing each nation to inspect the other's ships for contraband slaves.[137] In November 1862, with America's image in Britain improved by the issuance of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, the British cabinet decided against recognition of the Confederacy as a nation.[138]

Confederate agents in Britain had arranged for the construction of Confederate ships, most notably the CSS Alabama, which ravaged Union shipping after her construction in 1862. With two more such vessels under construction the following year, supposedly for French interests, Seward pressed Palmerston not to allow them to leave port, and, nearly complete, they were seized by British officials in October 1863.[139]

Involvement in wartime detentions

Seward's little bell, as depicted in a hostile postwar cartoon


In September 1861, Maryland legislators planned to vote to leave the Union. Seward took action against them: his son Frederick, the United States Assistant Secretary of State, reported to his father that the Union men had gone unmolested and the disloyal legislators were in prison.[141] On evidence provided by detective Allen Pinkerton, Seward in 1862 ordered the arrest of Rose Greenhow, a Washington socialite with Confederate sympathies. Greenhow had sent a stream of reports south, and continued even after being placed on house arrest. From Washington's Old Capitol Prison, the "Rebel Rose" provided newspaper interviews until she was allowed to cross into Confederate territory.[142]


Relationship with Lincoln

Seward had mixed feelings about the man who had blocked him from the presidency. One story is that when Seward was told that to deny Carl Schurz an office would disappoint him, Seward angrily stated, "Disappointment! You speak of me of disappointment! To me, who was justly entitled to the Republican nomination for the presidency, and who had to stand aside and see it given to a little Illinois lawyer!"[144] Despite his initial reservations about Lincoln's abilities, he came to admire Lincoln as the president grew more confident in his job. Seward wrote to his wife in June 1861, "Executive skill and vigor are rare qualities. The President is the best of us, but he needs constant and assiduous cooperation."[145] According to Goodwin, "Seward would become his most faithful ally in the cabinet ... Seward's mortification at not having received his party's nomination never fully abated, but he no longer felt compelled to belittle Lincoln to ease his pain."[146] Lincoln, a one-term congressman, was inexperienced in Washington ways, and relied on Seward's advice on protocol and social etiquette.[147]






1864 election; Hampton Roads Conference


Running The "Machine"

In January 1865, Francis Preston Blair, father of former Lincoln Postmaster General Montgomery Blair, went, with Lincoln's knowledge, to the Confederate capital of Richmond to propose to Davis that North and South unite to expel the French from their domination of Mexico. Davis appointed commissioners (Vice President Alexander Stephens, former U.S. Supreme Court justice Campbell, and former Confederate Secretary of State Robert M.T. Hunter) to negotiate. They met with Lincoln and Seward at the Hampton Roads Conference the following month. Lincoln would settle for nothing short of a cession of resistance to the federal government and an end to slavery; the Confederates would not even concede that they and the Union were one nation. There was much friendly talk, as most of them had served together in Washington, but no agreement.[154] After the conference broke up, Seward sent a bucket of champagne to the Confederates, conveyed by a black oarsman in a rowboat, and called to the southerners, "keep the champagne, but return the Negro."[155]

Assassination attempt

Lewis Powell attacking Frederick Seward after attempting to shoot him.


All five men injured that night at the Seward home survived. Powell was captured the next day at the boarding house of Mary Surratt, and was executed on July 7, 1865, along with Herold, Atzerodt, and Mrs. Surratt, convicted as conspirators in the Lincoln assassination. They died only weeks after Seward's wife Frances, who never recovered from the shock of the assassination attempt.[158]

Johnson administration

Reconstruction and impeachment



Unlike Lincoln, who had a close rapport with Seward, Johnson kept his own counsel, and generally did not take advantage of Seward's political advice as Congress prepared to meet in December 1865.[160] Johnson had issued proclamations allowing for the southern states to reform their state governments and hold elections; they mostly elected men who had served as prewar or wartime leaders. Seward advised Johnson to state, in his first annual message to Congress, that southern states meet three conditions for readmission to the Union: repeal of secession, repudiation of the war debt incurred by the rebel governments, and ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment. Johnson, hoping to appeal to both Republicans and Democrats, did not take the suggestion. Congress did not seat southerners, but appointed a joint committee of both houses to make recommendations on the issue. Johnson opposed the committee; Seward was prepared to wait and see.[161]



Johnson hoped the public would elect congressmen who agreed with him in the 1866 midterm elections, and embarked on a trip, dubbed the Swing Around the Circle that summer, giving speeches in a number of cities. Seward was among the officials who went with him. The trip was a disaster for Johnson; he made a number of ill-considered statements about his opponents that were criticized in the press. The Radical Republicans were strengthened by the results of the elections.[163] The Republican anger against Johnson extended to his Secretary of State—Maine Senator William P. Fessenden said of Johnson, "he began by meaning well, but I fear that Seward's evil counsels have carried him beyond the reach of salvation."[164]

In February 1867, both houses of Congress passed the Tenure of Office Bill, purporting to restrict Johnson in the removal of presidential appointees. When Stanton refused, Seward drafted a veto message for Johnson, questioning the measure's constitutionality. It was to no avail, Congress promptly overrode the veto.[165] Johnson suspended, then fired Stanton, over Reconstruction policy differences, leading to the president's impeachment for allegedly violating the Tenure of Office Act. Seward recommended that Johnson hire the renowned attorney, William M. Evarts, and, with Weed, raised funds for the president's successful defense.[166]


Mexico was strife-torn in the early 1860s, as it often had been in the fifty years since independence. France, Spain, and Great Britain joined together to intervene in 1861 on the pretext of protecting their nationals, and to secure repayment of debt. Spain and the British soon withdrew, but France remained. Distracted by civil war, Seward could do little to enforce the Monroe Doctrine, and in 1864, French emperor Napoleon III set his cousin, Archduke Maximilian of Austria on the Mexican throne, with French military support. When this became an issue in the U.S., Seward used strident language publicly, but was privately conciliatory toward the French.[167][168]


In late 1866, Napoleon tried to postpone the French departure, but the Americans had large numbers of troops on the north bank of the Rio Grande and Seward held firm. Napoleon suggested a new Mexican government that would exclude both Maximilian and Juárez; the Americans had recognized Juárez as the legitimate president and were not willing to consider this. In the meantime, Juárez, with the help of American military aid, was advancing through northeast Mexico. The French withdrew in early 1867, leaving Maximilian, who was soon captured by Juárez's troops. Although both the U.S. and France urged Juárez against it, the deposed emperor was executed by firing squad on June 19, 1867.[170]

Territorial expansion and Alaska

Signing the Alaska purchase. Seward is seated at center.

Although in speeches Seward had predicted all of North America joining the Union, he had, as a senator, opposed the Gadsden Purchase obtaining land from Mexico, and Buchanan's attempts to purchase Cuba from Spain. Those stands were likely because the land to be secured might become slave territory. After the Civil War, this was no longer an issue, and Seward became an ardent expansionist. The Union Navy had been hampered due to the lack of overseas bases during the war, and Seward also believed that American trade would be helped by the purchase of overseas territory.[171]



Seward had been interested in whaling as a senator; his interest in Russian America was a byproduct of this. In his speech prior to the 1860 convention, he predicted the territory would become part of the U.S., and when he learned in 1864 that it might be for sale, he pressed the Russians (then a U.S. ally) for negotiations. The Russian minister, Baron Eduard de Stoeckl, returned home on leave in 1866. Fearing that the territory might be overrun by American settlers and lost, he urged his government to sell it. He was given the authority to make the sale and when he returned in March 1867, negotiated with the Secretary of State. Seward initially offered $5 million; the two men settled on $7 million and on March 15, Seward presented a draft treaty to the Cabinet. Stoeckl's superiors raised several concerns; to induce him to waive them, the final purchase price was increased to $7.2 million. The treaty was signed in the early morning of March 30, 1867, and ratified by the Senate on April 10. Stevens sent the secretary a note of congratulations, predicting that the Alaska purchase would be seen as one of Seward's greatest accomplishments.[3][174]

1868 election, retirement, and death

Seward hoped that Johnson would be nominated at the 1868 Democratic National Convention, but the delegates chose New York Governor Horatio Seymour. The Republicans chose General Ulysses S. Grant, who had a hostile relationship with Johnson. Seward gave a major speech on the eve of the election, endorsing Grant, who was easily elected. Seward met twice with Grant after the election, leading to speculation that he was seeking to remain as secretary for a third presidential term. The president-elect had no interest in retaining Seward, and the secretary resigned himself to retirement. Grant refused to have anything to do with Johnson, even declining to ride to his inauguration in the same carriage as the outgoing president, as was customary. Despite Seward's attempts to persuade him to attend Grant's swearing-in, Johnson and his Cabinet spent the morning of March 4, 1869 at the White House dealing with last-minute business, then left once the time for Grant to be sworn in had passed. Seward returned to Auburn.[175]

Restless in Auburn, Seward embarked on a trip across North America by the new transcontinental railroad. In Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, he met with Mormon leader Brigham Young, who had worked as a carpenter on Seward's house (then belonging to Judge Miller) as a young man. On reaching the Pacific Coast, the Seward party took a steamer north to visit Sitka, Department of Alaska, part of the vast wilderness Seward had acquired for the U.S. After spending time in Oregon and California, the party went to Mexico, where he was given a hero's welcome. After a visit to Cuba, he returned to the U.S.,[176] concluding in March 1870 his trip of nine months.[177]


Back in Auburn, Seward began his memoirs, but only reached his thirties before putting it aside to write of his travels. In these months he was steadily growing weaker. On October 10, 1872, he worked at his desk in the morning as usual, then complained of trouble breathing. Seward grew worse during the day, as his family gathered around him. Asked if he had any final words, he said, "Love one another."[179] Seward died that afternoon. His funeral a few days later was preceded by the people of Auburn and nearby filing past his open casket for four hours. Thurlow Weed was there for the burial of his friend, and Harriet Tubman, a former slave whom the Sewards had aided, sent flowers. President Grant sent his regrets he could not be there. William Seward rests with his wife Frances and daughter Fanny, in Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn.[180][181]

Legacy and historical view

Seward's reputation, controversial in life, remained so in death, dividing his contemporaries. Former Navy Secretary Gideon Welles argued that not only did Seward lack principles, he was unable to understand how he had fooled Lincoln into thinking that he did, and gained entry to the Cabinet.[182] Charles Francis Adams, minister in London during Seward's tenure as secretary, deemed him "more of a politician than a statesman", but Charles Dana, former Assistant Secretary of State, disagreed, writing that Seward had "the most cultivated and comprehensive intellect in the administration" and "what is very rare in a lawyer, a politician, or a statesman—imagination".[183]

Scholars of history have generally praised Seward for his work as Secretary of State; in 1973, Ernest N. Paolino deemed him, "the one outstanding Secretary of State after John Quincy Adams".[184] Seward has been given high marks by historians both for his achievements in office, and for his foresight in anticipating the future needs of the U.S.[184] According to his biographer Van Deusen, "his foreign policy built for the future. He wished to prepare America for the great era which lay ahead. So he sought bases, naval stations and, peacefully, additional territory."[185]

Seward's biographers suggested that there are two faces to Seward. One, "John Quincy Adams Seward", dreamed big dreams and tried to convey them in speeches, working to achieve education for all, a fair deal for immigrants, an end to slavery, and an expanded America.[186] The other, "Thurlow Weed Seward", cut backroom deals over cigars and a bottle, and was a pragmatist who often settled for half a loaf when the whole was not achievable.[186] Daniel S. Crofts, in Seward's entry in American National Biography argued, "Each Seward was, of course, a caricature, and both tendencies, at once symbiotic and contradictory, existed in tandem."[186]

The praise Seward has received extends to his work during the Civil War. Stahr wrote that Seward "skillfully managed the nation's foreign affairs, avoiding the foreign intervention that would have ensured that the Confederacy would become a separate nation".[187] Nevertheless, historians, focusing on the battlefields of the Civil War, have given him relatively little attention. Seward has a dozen biographers, while thousands of books focus on Lincoln.[188] According to Crofts, "Seward and Lincoln were the two most important leaders spawned by the intersection of antebellum idealism and partisan politics. Lincoln, of course, will always overshadow Seward. Before 1860, however, Seward eclipsed Lincoln."[186]

Lincoln's assassination helped to seal his greatness, and according to Seward biographer John M. Taylor, to relegate "his associates ... to the status of bit players".[189] Dozens of biographies extolling Lincoln as the quintessential American were written in the decades after the president's death,[189] placing Lincoln on a pedestal of public esteem Seward could not climb.[189] Seward realized this even in life; by one account, when asked to show his scars from the attempt on his life, Seward regretted he had not been martyred along with Lincoln, "I think I deserved the reward of dying there".[190]

Despite his being an ardent supporter of American expansionism during his time in the Cabinet, only Alaska was added to U.S. territory during Seward's service as Secretary of State. Nevertheless, his influence extended to later American acquisitions. One of his friends, Hamilton Fish, in 1875 signed the trade reciprocity treaty with the Kingdom of Hawaii that eventually led to American annexation of the islands. William Everts, another Seward friend, in 1877 signed a treaty of friendship with the Samoan Islands, laying the groundwork for another American acquisition. A young friend and protege of Seward, Lincoln's assistant private secretary, John Hay, served as a successor of Seward from 1898 to 1905, during which time the U.S. acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Philippines, and the Panama Canal Zone.[191]

Stahr believes that Seward's influence is still felt today:


See also


  1. ^ Stevens was then 68 years old.
  1. ^ Goodwin, p. 14.
  2. ^ Hale, pp. 9, 13.
  3. ^ Taylor, pp. 12–14.
  4. ^ Hale, p. 9.
  5. ^ Stahr, p. 9.
  6. ^ Stahr, pp. 12–13.
  7. ^ a b Taylor, p. 14.
  9. ^ Stahr, pp. 16–19.
  10. ^ Taylor, p. 18.
  11. ^ Taylor, pp. 23–24.
  12. ^ Goodwin, p. 70.
  13. ^ a b Taylor, p. 5.
  14. ^ Stahr, pp. 20–21.
  15. ^ Stahr, p. 22.
  16. ^ Taylor, pp. 20–21.
  17. ^ Brodie, pp. 38–39.
  18. ^ Stahr, pp. 24–26.
  19. ^ Taylor, p. 23.
  20. ^ Stahr, pp. 28–30.
  21. ^ Taylor, p. 26.
  22. ^ Stahr, pp. 32–33.
  23. ^ a b Taylor, pp. 33–34.
  24. ^ Hale, pp. 99–101.
  25. ^ Stahr, p. 41.
  26. ^ Taylor, pp. 34–35.
  27. ^ Goodwin, pp. 77–78.
  28. ^ Taylor, pp. 39–40.
  29. ^ Stahr, pp. 49–50.
  30. ^ Goodwin, pp. 80–81.
  31. ^ Stahr, pp. 54–57.
  32. ^ Goodwin, p. 81.
  33. ^ Stahr, p. 57.
  34. ^ Taylor, p. 42.
  35. ^ Hale, pp. 137–138.
  36. ^ a b Taylor, pp. 44–45.
  37. ^ a b Stahr, p. 60.
  38. ^ Stahr, pp. 68–70.
  39. ^ Goodwin, p. 83.
  40. ^ Hale, p. 141.
  41. ^ Stahr, pp. 64–65.
  42. ^ Stahr, pp. 65–66.
  43. ^ Goodwin, pp. 83–84.
  44. ^ a b Finkelman, pp. 212–213.
  45. ^ Egerton.
  46. ^ Stahr, pp. 66–67.
  47. ^ Stahr, pp. 49–51.
  48. ^ Taylor, pp. 49–51.
  49. ^ Stahr, pp. 76–80.
  50. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 87–90.
  52. ^ Stahr, pp. 99–104.
  53. ^ Taylor, p. 67.
  54. ^ Taylor, p. 70.
  56. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 114–116.
  57. ^ Taylor, pp. 83–86.
  58. ^ Stahr, pp. 127–132.
  59. ^ Taylor, pp. 91–93.
  60. ^ Frances Seward to William Seward Oct. 16 [1851] University of Rochester Rush Rhees Library Special Collections
  61. ^ Frances Seward to William Seward July 1, 1852 University of Rochester Rush Rhees Library Special Collections
  62. ^ Seitz, pp. 174–175.
  63. ^ Stahr, pp. 141–143.
  64. ^ Goodwin, pp. 160–163.
  65. ^ Stahr, pp. 149–152.
  66. ^ Taylor, pp. 98–99.
  67. ^ Goodwin, pp. 182–183, 187.
  68. ^ Denton, p. 53.
  69. ^ Goodwin, p. 188.
  70. ^ Seitz, pp. 176–178.
  71. ^ Denton, p. 52.
  72. ^ Taylor, pp. 100–103.
  73. ^ Stahr, p. 162.
  74. ^ Stegmaier, p. 198.
  75. ^ Stegmaier, p. 199.
  76. ^ Stegmaier, p. 200.
  77. ^ a b Stegmaier, p. 203.
  78. ^ Stahr, p. 172.
  79. ^ Stegmaier, pp. 204–205.
  80. ^ Stegmaier, pp. 205–206.
  81. ^ Stegmaier, pp. 217–218.
  82. ^ Stegmaier, p. 220.
  83. ^ Goodwin, p. 193.
  84. ^ Van Deusen, p. 188.
  85. ^ Goodwin, p. 192.
  86. ^ Stahr, p. 174.
  87. ^ Stegmaier, pp. 218–219.
  88. ^ Stahr, pp. 177–181.
  89. ^ Stahr, p. 182.
  90. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 216–220.
  91. ^ Van Deusen, p. 216.
  92. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 220–221.
  93. ^ Stahr, p. 184.
  94. ^ Seitz, p. 200.
  95. ^ Goodwin, p. 250.
  96. ^ Denton, pp. 13–19.
  97. ^ Stahr, pp. 190–192.
  98. ^ a b Taylor, pp. 8–9.
  99. ^ Denton, pp. 18–20.
  100. ^ a b Taylor, pp. 119–120.
  101. ^ Stahr, p. 195.
  102. ^ Taylor, p. 120.
  103. ^ Stahr, p. 201.
  104. ^ Stahr, pp. 201–205.
  105. ^ Stahr, pp. 203–204.
  106. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 234–235.
  107. ^ Stahr, pp. 208–209.
  108. ^ Stahr, pp. 210–212.
  109. ^ Stahr, pp. 213–215, 220.
  110. ^ Donald, pp. 148–149.
  111. ^ Goodwin, p. 306.
  112. ^ Denton, p. 63.
  113. ^ Taylor, pp. 128–129.
  114. ^ Denton, pp. 63, 97.
  115. ^ Stahr, pp. 224–227.
  116. ^ Goodwin, p. 302.
  117. ^ Goodwin, pp. 304–308.
  118. ^ Denton, p. 93.
  119. ^ Stahr, pp. 237–238.
  120. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 250–251.
  121. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 251, 253.
  122. ^ Donald, p. 249.
  123. ^ Donald, pp. 249–250.
  124. ^ Stahr, p. 248.
  125. ^ Stahr, pp. 259–264.
  126. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 282–283.
  127. ^ Taylor, p. 151.
  128. ^ Van Deusen, p. 283.
  129. ^ Taylor, pp. 151–152.
  130. ^ Taylor, pp. 157–158.
  131. ^ Taylor, p. 161.
  132. ^ Stahr, p. 289.
  133. ^ Goodwin, pp. 363–364.
  134. ^ Stahr, p. 293.
  135. ^ Stahr, pp. 294–295.
  136. ^ Stahr, p. 307–323.
  137. ^ Stahr, pp. 336–337.
  138. ^ Taylor, p. 198.
  139. ^ Taylor, pp. 217–219.
  140. ^ Stahr, p. 285.
  141. ^ Stahr, p. 287.
  142. ^ Taylor, pp. 169–170.
  143. ^ Taylor, pp. 170–171.
  144. ^ Van Deusen, p. 336.
  145. ^ Goodwin, p. 364.
  146. ^ Goodwin, pp. 364–365.
  147. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 336–337.
  148. ^ Taylor, pp. 188–189.
  149. ^ Taylor, p. 192.
  150. ^ Stahr, pp. 341–347.
  151. ^ Taylor, pp. 187–188.
  152. ^ Taylor, pp. 223–224.
  153. ^ Taylor, pp. 231–234.
  154. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 381–386.
  155. ^ Taylor, p. 236.
  156. ^ Taylor, pp. 241–245.
  157. ^ Goodwin, pp. 739–740.
  158. ^ Taylor, pp. 247–250.
  159. ^ Taylor, pp. 253–255.
  160. ^ Taylor, p. 257.
  161. ^ Stahr, pp. 450–451.
  162. ^ Stahr, pp. 457–461.
  163. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 452–464.
  164. ^ Taylor, p. 267.
  165. ^ Taylor, p. 272.
  166. ^ Taylor, pp. 271–273, 283–285.
  167. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 365–369.
  168. ^ Taylor, pp. 198–199.
  169. ^ Taylor, pp. 251–253.
  170. ^ Taylor, pp. 269–270.
  171. ^ Stahr, pp. 453–454.
  172. ^ Stahr, pp. 453–457.
  173. ^ Taylor, p. 275.
  174. ^ Stahr, pp. 482–491.
  175. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 550–552.
  176. ^ Taylor, pp. 290–291.
  177. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 555–556.
  178. ^ Van Deusen, pp. 558–561.
  179. ^ Taylor, pp. 295–296.
  180. ^ Stahr, pp. 543–544.
  181. ^ Taylor, p. 296.
  182. ^ Stahr, p. 544.
  183. ^ Stahr, pp. 544–545.
  184. ^ a b Valone, p. 583.
  185. ^ Van Deusen, p. 566.
  186. ^ a b c d Crofts.
  187. ^ Stahr, p. 3.
  188. ^ Taylor, p. ix.
  189. ^ a b c Taylor, p. 299.
  190. ^ Taylor, p. 297.
  191. ^ Stahr, p. 504.
  192. ^ Stahr, pp. 504–505.


  • Denton, Lawrence M. (2009). William Henry Seward and the Secession Crisis: The Effort to Prevent Civil War. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc.  
  • Stahr, Walter (2012). Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man. Simon & Schuster.  
  • Taylor, John M. (1991). William Henry Seward: Lincoln's Right Hand. Washington, DC: Brassey's.  
  • Van Deusen, Glyndon (1967). William Henry Seward. New York: Oxford University Press.  
Other sources:
  • Finkelman, Paul (September 1988). "The Protection of Black Rights in Seward's New York" (PDF). Civil War History (Kent State University Press) 34 (3): 211–234.  
  • Crofts, Daniel S. (February 2000). "Seward, William Henry". American National Biography Online. (subscription required)
  • Stegmaier, Mark J. (September 1985). "Intensifying the Sectional Conflict: William Seward versus James Hammond in the Lecompton Debate of 1858". Civil War History (Kent State University Press) 31 (3): 197–221.  
  • Valone, Stephen J. (Fall 1995). ""Weakness offers temptation": William H. Seward and the reassertion of the Monroe Doctrine". Diplomatic History (Blackwell Publishing) 19 (4): 583–599.  

External links

  • William H. Seward at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2009-04-30
  • Works by William H. Seward at Project Gutenberg
  • Works by or about William H. Seward at Internet Archive
  • Works by William H. Seward at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
  • William H. Seward Letter, W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama
  • Finding Aid to the William Henry Seward Collection, 1828–1936 (bulk 1828–1873), New York State Library
  • , November 4, 2012Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man interview with Walter Stahr on Q&AC-SPAN
New York State Senate
Preceded by
William M. Oliver
New York State Senate
Seventh District (Class 4)

Succeeded by
Chester Loomis
Political offices
Preceded by
William L. Marcy
Governor of New York
Succeeded by
William C. Bouck
Preceded by
Jeremiah S. Black
U.S. Secretary of State
Served under: Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson

Succeeded by
Elihu B. Washburne
United States Senate
Preceded by
John A. Dix
U.S. Senator (Class 3) from New York
Served alongside: Daniel S. Dickinson, Hamilton Fish and Preston King
Succeeded by
Ira Harris


