William H. Seward
Seward's most famous achievement as Secretary of State was his successful acquisition of Alaska from Russia. On March 30, 1867, he completed negotiations for the territory, which involved the purchase of 586,412 square miles (1,518,800 km²) of territory (more than twice the size of Texas) for $7,200,000, or approximately 2 cents per acre. The purchase of this frontier land was alternately mocked by the public as "Seward's Folly", "Seward's Icebox", and Andrew Johnson's "polar bear garden". Currently, Alaska celebrates the purchase on Seward's Day, the last Monday of March.
[
Later life
Seward retired as Secretary of State after Ulysses S. Grant took office as president. During his last years, Seward traveled and wrote prolifically. Most notably, he traveled around the world in fourteen months and two days from July, 1869 to September, 1871. On October 10, 1872, Seward died in his office in his home in Auburn, New York, after having difficulty breathing. His last words were to his children saying, "Love one another." He was buried in Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York, with his wife and two children, Cornelia and Fanny. His headstone reads, “He was faithful.”
His son, Frederick, edited and published his memoirs in three volumes.
[
Legacy
- The purchase of Alaska.
- The Guano Islands Act of 1856
- The $50-dollar Treasury note, also called the Coin note, of the Series 1891, features a portrait of Seward on the obverse. Examples of this note are very rare and would likely sell for about $50,000.00 at auction.
- His house in Auburn, New York is open as a public museum.
- The house in which he lived in Westfield, New York is now home to the Chautauqua County Historical Society and a public museum.
- He was a name partner of the law firm of Blatchford, Seward & Griswold, today known as Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
[
Memorials
- Seward Avenue in Auburn. Also in Auburn, Frances Street, Augustus Street, and Frederick Street are named for members of his family. The four streets form a block.
- Seward Elementary School in Auburn.
- Seward Place in Schenectady, New York, on the west side of the Union College campus.
- Seward Park in Auburn, New York.
- Seward Park in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
- Seward Park in Seattle, Washington.
- Seward Square park in Washington, D.C..
- The Seward Peninsula in Alaska.
- Seward, Kansas; Seward, New York; Seward, Nebraska; and Seward, Alaska.
- Seward Mountain (4,361 feet, 1,329 m), one of the Adirondack High Peaks, the highest point in Franklin County.
- At Union College, the campus bus is known as Seward's Trolley, a pun on Seward's Folly.
- Seward High School in his hometown of Florida is named for his father, Dr. Samuel Seward.
- Statues of him in Seward Park in Auburn, in Madison Square Park in New York City, and in Volunteer Park in Seattle (not facing towards Alaska).
- The William Henry Seward Memorial in Florida, with a bust sculpted by Daniel Chester French.
- Seward Park Housing Corporation, a housing cooperative in the Lower East Side of Manhattan
[
References
- ^ Doris Kearns Goodwin. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, p. 70 (2005).
- ^ Seward, William H.. Discourse on Education. (Albany: Hoffman & White, 1837).
- ^ Doris Kearns Goodwin. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, pp. 77-78 (2005).
- ^ Seward, William. Works of William H. Seward Vol. I, (New York: Redfield, 1853) 417.
- ^ Seward, William. Works of William H. Seward Vol. I, (New York: Redfield, 1853) 471.
- ^ Doris Kearns Goodwin. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, p. 191 (2005).
- ^ Ibid., p. 192.
- ^ Doris Kearns Goodwin, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, pp. 736-37 (2005).
- Frederic Bancroft; The Life of William H. Seward 2 vol 1900
- David Herbert Donald. We Are Lincoln Men: Abraham Lincoln and His Friends (2003) pp 140-76.
- Doris Kearns Goodwin. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (2005) ISBN 0-684-82490-6
- Hendrick, Burton. Lincoln's War Cabinet (1946)
- Mark E. Neely Jr.; The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties Oxford University Press 1991
- John M Taylor. William Henry Seward (1991)
- Van Deusen, Glyndon. William Henry Seward Oxford University Press, 1967
- Karl Marx. The Dismissal of Frémont Die Presse No. 325, November 26, 1861
- James L. Swanson, "Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer", (New York: HarperCollins 2006), 58-59.
- Holman Hamilton. Zachary Taylor: Soldier in the White House (1951)
- Dr. John Lattimer. Kennedy and Lincoln, Medical & Ballistic Comparisons of Their Assassinations (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980) [information about Seward's accident and jaw splint, in particular]
[
Works
- Frederick William Seward. Autobiography of William H. Seward from 1801 to 1834: With a memoir of his life, and selections from his letters from 1831 to 1840 (1877)
- Commerce in the Pacific ocean. Speech of William H. Seward, in the Senate of the United States, July 29, 1852 (1852; Digitized page images & text)
- The continental rights and relations of our country. Speech of William Henry Seward, in Senate of the United States, January 26, 1853 (1853; Digitized page images & text)
- The destiny of America. Speech of William H. Seward, at the dedication of Capital University, at Columbus, Ohio, September 14, 1853 (1853; Digitized page images & text)
- Certificate of Exchange (1867; Digitized page images & text)
- Alaska. Speech of William H. Seward at Sitka, August 12, 1869 (1869; Digitized page images & text)
- The Works of William H. Seward. Edited by George E. Baker. Volume I of III (1853) online edition
- The Works of William H. Seward. Edited by George E. Baker. Volume II of III (1853) online edition
- The Works of William H. Seward: Vol. 5: The diplomatic history of the war for the union.. Edited by George E. Baker. Volume 5 (1890)
[
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Wikisource has original works written by or about:
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
- William H. Seward at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Seward House, Auburn, NY
- Brief Seward biography
- Mr. Lincoln and Friends: William H. Seward
- Mr. Lincoln and New York: William H. Seward
- Mr. Lincoln's White House: William H. Seward
- Works by William H. Seward at Project Gutenberg
- Pictures of US Treasury Notes featuring William Seward, provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
- William Henry Seward, the Virginia controversy, and the anti-slavery movement, 1839-1841
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William L. Marcy |
Governor of New York 1839 – 1842 |
Succeeded by William C. Bouck |
| Preceded by John A. Dix |
United States Senator (Class 3) from New York March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1861 Served alongside: Daniel S. Dickinson, Hamilton Fish and Preston King |
Succeeded by Ira Harris |
| Preceded by Jeremiah S. Black |
United States Secretary of State March 5, 1861 – March 4, 1869 |
Succeeded by Elihu B. Washburne |
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Categories: United States Secretaries of State | United States presidential candidates, 1856 | United States presidential candidates, 1860 | Union political leaders | United States Senators from New York | Governors of New York | United States Whig Party | History of the foreign relations of the United States | American abolitionists | New York State Senators | People of New York in the American Civil War | New York lawyers | New York Republicans | Orange County, New York politicians | People from Cayuga County, New York | Union College, New York alumni | American Episcopalians | American adoptive parents | 1801 births | 1872 deaths
For more information review our copyright contact and privacy policy.