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William H. Seward (1801–1872)


When William Henry Seward was passed over for the Republican nomination in 1860 in favor of Abraham Lincoln, many people felt it was the “sacrifice of commanding ability in favor of respectable mediocrity.” Having served as governor of New York and later as a United States senator, he was by far the better-known and more-seasoned politician. But Seward’s belief that the struggle between the slave and free states was “an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces” had made him some implacable enemies.

In the end, Seward supported Lincoln actively and became his secretary of state. Combining the virtues of politician and statesman, Seward was highly successful in preventing the intervention of European powers in American affairs during the Civil War years. So closely was he associated with Lincoln’s policies that he was attacked on the night the President was assassinated, in an unsuccessful attempt to cripple the government.


Unidentified photographer
Daguerreotype, circa 1852
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

 

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