William
Henry Seward was born in Florida, New York, the son of a wealthy physician who became a
judge. He graduated from Union College with high honors in 1820, and began practicing law
in 1823, gaining a reputation as a skilled criminal lawyer. He first became active in
politics with the Anti-Mason party, then by supporting the (unsuccessful) reelection bid
of President John Quincy Adams in 1828. Seward entered elective politics by serving in the
state senate from 1830 to 1834, wherein he established himself as a leader of the Whig
party. He was elected governor of New York in 1838 and reelected in 1840, returning to
private legal practice at the end of his second term. He reentered elective politics in
1849 when the state legislature choose him to represent New York in the U. S. Senate,
where he served two terms lasting until 1861. In 1860, Seward was the leading candidate
for the Republican presidential nomination. After losing on the third ballot to Abraham
Lincoln, Seward campaigned actively for his Republican rival. After the election, Lincoln
chose Seward to be his Secretary of State. The New Yorker s strong leadership proved
valuable to the Union cause during the Civil War. He eased U.S.-British tensions during
the Trent Affair and, working through the U.S. Minister to Great Britain, Charles Francis
Adams, dissuaded Britain from recognizing the Confederacy. He also pressured France to
withdraw from Mexico, basing his argument on the Monroe Doctrine. Seward was wounded by a
would-be assassin on the same night that Lincoln was murdered.
After his recovery, Seward remained as Secretary of State in the administration of
Andrew Johnson. Although Seward had been an anti-slavery Whig, then Republican, he
supported Johnsons lenient plan of Reconstruction against that of the Radical
Republicans. An enthusiastic expansionist, he negotiated the annexation of the Midway
Islands and the purchase of Alaska, both in 1867. He retired from politics at the end of
Johnsons term in March 1869. After touring the Pacific Northwest, he returned to
Auburn, New York, where he died in 1872.
Robert C. Kennedy, HarpWeek
Sources consulted: Harpers Encyclopedia of United States History; William
Degregorio, The Complete Book of the U.S. Presidents; and Harpers Weekly. |
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William Henry Seward
(16 May 1801 - 10 October 1872)
Source: Harper's Weekly
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