William H. Seward

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William H. Seward
Seward's signature
William H. Seward

William Henry Seward (* 16th May 1801 in Florida , Orange County , New York ; †  10. October 1872 in Auburn , New York) was an American politician , the 1861 to 1869 under the President Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson as Served as Secretary of State of the United States . In 1867 he was the main initiator of the purchase of Alaska from Russia.

Life

Ascent

Seward, a lawyer by profession, sat in the New York Senate from 1831 to 1833 and served as governor of that state from 1839 to 1843 . After moving to federal politics, he represented New York's interests in the US Senate in Washington from 1849 to 1861 . Originally a member of the Whig Party , after 1854 - as a staunch opponent of slavery - he was one of the spokesmen for the newly founded Republican Party . At the Chicago Republican nomination convention for the 1860 presidential election , Seward was initially considered the most promising candidate. But in the end Abraham Lincoln won the race because of his more conciliatory stance towards the slave-holding southern states .

Foreign Minister during the Civil War

After the Republican election victory, Seward joined Lincoln's cabinet in 1861 and became a key adviser to the president during the Civil War . His main task as foreign minister was to prevent Great Britain and France from intervening in favor of the Confederation . Great Britain had an economic interest in the continued existence of slavery, since it secured the import of cheap cotton for its own textile industry . France saw a split and weakening of the USA as an opportunity to expand its sphere of influence in Mexico (see French intervention in Mexico ).

Seward had a strong influence on the proclamation for the liberation of slaves of September 22, 1862, which he also saw as a foreign policy tool. The fact that the abolition of slavery was now an official war goal of the northern states made it morally impossible for the European powers to intervene actively on the Confederate side.

attack

At the end of the Civil War, on April 14, 1865, Seward was the target of an attack by the conspiratorial group around John Wilkes Booth , who fell victim to Abraham Lincoln during a theater performance in Washington, DC that same evening . Lincoln had originally invited Seward to the performance and there were plans to murder Seward too. However, since Seward had stayed home due to illness, co-conspirator Lewis Powell tried to stab him at his house. Seward survived the assassination seriously injured and then also served Lincoln's successor, former Vice President Andrew Johnson , as Secretary of State.

The acquisition of Alaska

Seward's most momentous venture during his second term was his commitment to the acquisition of Russian territories in North America (Alaska Purchase) . After long negotiations, Seward and the Russian ambassador Eduard von Stoeckl signed a treaty on March 30, 1867, according to which the Tsarist Empire of Alaska ceded the United States for $ 7.2 million .

Seward was heavily criticized in public for this deal. In the press, Alaska was referred to as 'Seward's icebox' ("Seward's refrigerator") or - in allusion to the alleged alcoholism of the US President - as "Johnson's polar beer garden". The New York Herald suggested that impoverished European monarchs with a piece of worthless land for sale should contact WH Seward, State Department, Washington, DC . Seward, in a speech in Sitka in August 1868, expressed confidence that Alaska would become a valuable part of the United States over time. Indeed, gold was discovered in Alaska shortly afterwards , and during the 1896 gold rush , many prospectors traveled to the Canadian Klondike via southeastern Alaska . The place Seward and the public holiday Seward's Day in Alaska as well as Seward County in Kansas and Seward County in Nebraska are named after William H. Seward.

After leaving office Seward undertook extensive trips abroad, about which he wrote travel reports.


1873 William H Seward 10 Dollars State Department.jpg

Honor

In his honor, a series of stamps was issued in 1873 with the values ​​2, 5, 10 and 20 dollars, which was used by the State Department (State Department).

Works

literature

Web links

Commons : William H. Seward  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files
Wikiquote: William H. Seward  - Quotes
Wikisource: William H. Seward  - Sources and full texts (English)
personal data
SURNAME Seward, William H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Seward, William Henry (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician and secretary of state
DATE OF BIRTH May 16, 1801
PLACE OF BIRTH Florida , New York
DATE OF DEATH October 10, 1872
Place of death Auburn , New York