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108-738: In this wartime incident, Kentuckian Bennett H. Young led the Confederate forces. Young had been captured after the Battle of Salineville in Ohio ended Morgan's Raid the year before. He managed to escape to Canada , which was not then a unified nation . After meeting with Confederate agents there, he returned to the Confederacy, where he proposed raids on the Union from the Canada–US border to build

216-733: A "higher law than the Constitution". The speech was widely reprinted and made Seward the leading anti-slavery advocate in the Senate. President Taylor took a stance sympathetic to the North, but his death in July 1850 caused the accession of the pro-Compromise Fillmore and ended Seward's influence over patronage. The Compromise passed, and many Seward adherents in federal office in New York were replaced by Fillmore appointees. Although Clay had hoped

324-718: A Republican nominee faced with a Solid South . Conservative factions in the evolving Republican Party opposed Seward. 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. Others spoken of for the nomination included Ohio Governor Salmon P. Chase, former Missouri congressman Edward Bates , and former Illinois congressman Abraham Lincoln . Seward stayed in Auburn during

432-618: A boy—was sent to Union College in Schenectady, New York . Admitted to the sophomore class, Seward was an outstanding student and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa . Seward's fellow students included Richard M. Blatchford , who became a lifelong legal and political associate. Samuel Seward kept his son short on cash, and in December 1818—during the middle of Henry's final year at Union—the two quarreled about money. The younger Seward returned to Schenectady but soon left school in company with

540-693: A case against the Ku Klux Klan . Between 1890 and 1908, Young helped create the Louisville Free Public Library . In 1913, Young was elected commander-in-chief of the United Confederate Veterans , which he held until his retirement in 1916, where he was made "honorary commander-in-chief for life." In 1866, Young married Mattie R. Robinson, and they had a son Lawrence, who became an attorney in Chicago. He remarried in 1895 to Eliza S. Sharp, and they had

648-612: A daughter, Eliza Bennett Young. By 1908, Young was known as "the father of the Louisville Free Public Library." Young died on February 23, 1919, at his home at 429 West Ormsby Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky. He was buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville. The railroad bridge over the Kentucky River at Tyrone, Kentucky was named Young's High Bridge for him, and Youngstown, Kentucky

756-616: A delayed pursuit. In response to US demands, the Canadian authorities arrested the raiders, recovering US$ 88,000 (equivalent to $ 1,714,315 in 2023). However, a Canadian court ruled that because they were soldiers under military orders, officially neutral Canada could not extradite them. Canada freed the raiders but returned to St. Albans the money found. The release of the raiders angered American opinion. As U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward informed his counterparts in London , "it

864-476: A draft of the speech to Seward, who had advised him to omit the personal references. Two days after the speech, Butler's nephew, Congressman Preston Brooks entered the chamber and beat Sumner with a cane, injuring him severely. Although some southerners feared the propaganda value of the incident in the North, most lionized Brooks as a hero. Many northerners were outraged, though some, including Seward, felt that Sumner's words against Butler had unnecessarily provoked

972-426: A far warmer welcome than in the marble palaces of the well-to-do (evoking Van Buren). Both Harrison and Seward were elected. Although Seward would serve for nearly thirty more years in public life, his name would never again pass before the voters. In his second term, Seward was involved with the trial of Alexander McLeod , who had boasted of involvement in the 1837 Caroline Affair , in which Canadians came across

1080-549: A fellow student, Alvah Wilson . The two took a ship from New York to Georgia , where Wilson had been offered a job as rector, or principal, of a new academy in rural Putnam County . En route, Wilson took a job at another school, leaving Seward to continue on to Eatonton in Putnam County. The trustees interviewed the 17-year-old Seward and found his qualifications acceptable. Seward enjoyed his time in Georgia, where he

1188-549: A former state legislator. Seward did not campaign in person, but ran affairs behind the scenes with Weed 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 expounded upon the importance of the log cabin —a structure evoking the common man and a theme that the Whigs used heavily in Harrison's campaign —where Seward had always found

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1296-508: 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. Seward predicted slavery was doomed: The interest of the white races demands the ultimate emancipation of all men. Whether that consummation shall be allowed to take effect, with needful and wise precautions against sudden change and disaster, or be hurried on by violence,

1404-628: A good time to absent himself from electoral politics, as the Whig Party was in turmoil. President Tyler, a former Democrat, and Senator Clay each claimed leadership of the Whig Party and, as the two men differed over such issues as whether to re-establish the Bank of the United States , party support was divided. The abolitionist movement attracted those who did not want to be part of a party led by slavery-supporting Southerners. In 1844 , Seward

1512-426: A gubernatorial candidate. Democratic Governor William Marcy was heavily favored to be re-elected, and few prominent Whigs were anxious to run a campaign that would most likely be lost. Seward's wife and father wanted him to retire from politics to increase the income from his law practice, and Weed urged him to seek re-election to the state Senate. Nevertheless, the reluctance of others to run caused Seward to emerge as

1620-495: A house near Philipsburg. The home's owner alerted Conger, who had pursued the raiders into Canada. Conger's group took Young prisoner. He attempted to escape, but was recaptured quickly by the mob, who began attacking him. The fight was broken up by a British officer who saw that Conger's entourage returned to Vermont and that Young and seven other captured raiders were soon brought to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu , where "they were treated as heroes". The raiders escaped to Canada, despite

1728-478: A hunting and fishing club. Young was forced to postpone the raid, initially set for October 18, because the town would have been too busy, instead settling on October 19, a Wednesday, as it would be "the dullest [day] of the week." The engagement began on Wednesday afternoon as Young set a gun off. Most townspeople "believed it was a joke or a prank", but one of the raiders soon announced "we are Confederate soldiers and you are my prisoners" they robbed St. Albans Bank,

1836-709: A lawyer and moved to the Central 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 gubernatorial nominee of the Whig Party . Though he was not successful in that race , Seward was elected governor in 1838 and won a second two-year term in 1840 . During this period, he signed several laws that advanced the rights of and opportunities for black residents, as well as guaranteeing jury trials for fugitive slaves in

1944-468: A local government could ban slavery in the territories. In a speech on March 3 in the Senate, Seward "delighted Republican ears and utterly appalled administration Democrats, especially the Southerners". 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. Taney later told

2052-487: A major candidate, his supporters had been able to influence the decision to hold the convention in his home state, and surrounded the New York delegation, pro-Seward, with Lincoln loyalists. They were eventually 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

2160-494: A major candidate. Weed procured Seward's triumph at the Utica convention. The election turned on national issues, most importantly President Jackson's policies. These were then popular, and in a strong year for Democrats, Seward was defeated by some 11,000 votes—Weed wrote that the Whigs were overwhelmed by illegally cast ballots. Defeated for governor and with his term in the state Senate having expired, Seward returned to Auburn and

2268-571: A military hero to win the election. Scott gained the nomination, and Seward campaigned for him. The Whigs were 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

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2376-541: A trip to Europe, where they met the political men of the day. 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. In the aftermath of Jackson's easy victory, many of those who opposed him believed that

2484-461: A united front was 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. Many Anti-Masons, including Seward and Weed, readily joined the new party. In preparation for the 1834 election, New York's Whigs met in Utica to determine

2592-562: Is all that remains for you to decide. 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. Statehood for Kansas failed for the time being, but Seward's words were repeatedly cited by Southern senators as the secession crisis grew. 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

2700-568: Is impossible to consider those proceedings as either legal, just or friendly towards the United States." In Europe, news of the raid and subsequent speculation of war between Britain and the U.S. increased the price of Confederate gold bonds . As an unintended consequence, the raid served to turn many Canadians against the Confederacy since they felt that Canada was being drawn into the conflict without its consent. The Confederate agents in Canada realized that and so no further raids were made. None of

2808-634: The Albany Evening Journal , advocated for Seward, who was elected by about 2,000 votes. 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

2916-685: The American Civil War . As a lieutenant of the Confederate States Army , he entered Vermont from Canada and occupied the town of St. Albans . Young was born in Nicholasville, Kentucky , on May 25, 1843, to Robert Young and Josephine Henderson. He was 17 years old when he enlisted as a private in the Confederate 8th Kentucky Cavalry. This unit became a part of John Hunt Morgan 's cavalry command. Young

3024-526: 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. During his term as state senator, Seward traveled extensively, visiting other anti-Jackson leaders, including former president Adams. He also accompanied his father Samuel Seward on

3132-1058: The Niagara River and sank the Caroline , a steamboat being used to supply William Lyon Mackenzie 's fighters during the Upper Canada Rebellion . McLeod was arrested, but the British Foreign Minister, Lord Palmerston , demanded his release. McLeod, who was part of the Canadian colonial militia , could not be held responsible for actions taken under orders. Although the Van Buren administration had agreed with Seward that McLeod should be tried under state law, its successor did not and urged that charges against McLeod be dropped. A series of testy letters were exchanged between Governor Seward and Harrison's Secretary of State Daniel Webster , and also between

3240-709: The Queen's University of Ireland and at the University of Edinburgh . After being permitted to return to the United States, he became an attorney in Louisville, Kentucky . Young founded the first orphanage for black children in Louisville, a school for blind students, and did pro bono work for people experiencing poverty. He also worked as a railroad officer as President of the Louisville Southern Railroad , and wrote books. Young also served on

3348-477: The village green . Soon, resistance emerged in the form of Captain George Conger, a member of the 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment on leave , who began alerting the rest of the town and raised a group to fight back. In the face of resistance, Young and his group retreated, attempting to fire the town as they went. Elinus J. Morrison was shot, dying two days later from his wounds, while Collins H. Huntington

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3456-443: 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 would, like Harrison, unite enough voters behind

3564-580: The Confederate treasury and force the Union Army to divert troops from the South. Young was commissioned as a lieutenant and returned to Canada, where he recruited other escaped Confederates for a raid on St. Albans, Vermont , a quiet city just 15 miles (24 km) from the Canada–U.S. border. The first two raiders arrived in Philipsburg, Canada East , on the morning of October 11, where they stayed at

3672-599: The Democrats: the administration wanted Kansas admitted; Senator Douglas demanded a fair ratification vote. 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. The issue was complicated by the Supreme Court's ruling the previous year in Dred Scott v. Sandford that neither Congress nor

3780-540: The Freeman case, invoking mental illness and racial issues, Seward argued, "he is still your brother, and mine, in form and color accepted and approved by his Father, and yours, and mine, and bears equally with us the proudest inheritance of our race—the image of our Maker. Hold him then to be a Man." Although they were locally contentious, the trials boosted Seward's image across the North. He gained further publicity in association with Ohioan Salmon P. Chase when handling

3888-591: 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. 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

3996-681: The Know Nothing candidate, former president Fillmore. The 1856 campaign played out against the backdrop of " Bleeding Kansas ", the violent efforts of pro- and anti-slavery forces to control the government in Kansas Territory and determine whether it would be admitted as a slave or free state. This violence spilled over into the Senate chamber itself after Republican Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner delivered an incendiary speech against slavery, making personal comments against South Carolina Senator Andrew P. Butler . Sumner had read

4104-553: The Lafayette Hotel. More people reached the hotel throughout the day; the city served as an ideal starting-point because it was within 1 mile (1.6 km) of the Canada–United States border . Young was planning for a series of raids beginning with St. Albans, which was chosen first because it was close to the border and well-connected through roads, railways, and waterways. It also had three banks in close proximity and

4212-712: The New York legislature passed acts in 1840 protecting the rights of blacks against Southern slave-catchers. 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. Seward and Van Buren were both up for re-election in 1840. Seward did not attend the December 1839 Whig National Convention in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , but Weed did on his behalf. They were determined to support General Winfield Scott for president, but when Weed concluded Scott could not win, he threw New York's support behind

4320-544: The October 19, 1864, raid on St. Albans, Vermont , a quiet town 15 miles (25 km) from the Canada–US border. Young and two others checked into a local hotel on October 10, saying they had come from St. John's in Canada for a "sporting vacation." Every day, two or three more young men arrived. By October 19, there were 21 cavalrymen assembled; just before 3:00 p.m. the group simultaneously staged an armed robbery of

4428-716: The Regency from power in New York, permanently. William Seward was sworn in as governor of New York on January 1, 1839, and 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 the extent of that of a president. Seward biographer Walter Stahr wrote that his address "brimmed with his youth, energy, ambition, and optimism". 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. At

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4536-535: The Senate and when the bill returned after reconciliation with the House. The bill passed into law, but northerners 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. The political turmoil engendered by the North–South divide split both major parties and led to

4644-483: The Union as free or slave states, and effectively repeal the Missouri Compromise forbidding slavery in new states north of 36° 30′ North latitude. 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

4752-484: The Union, and Seward worked to advance his agenda in the Senate. The regular session of Congress that began in December 1849 was dominated by the issue of slavery. Senator Clay advanced a series of resolutions, which became known as the Compromise of 1850 , giving victories to both North and South. Seward opposed the pro-slavery elements of the Compromise, and in a speech on the Senate floor on March 11, 1850, invoked

4860-450: The United States must and will, sooner or later, become entirely either a slave-holding nation, or entirely a free-labor nation." 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. In 1859, Seward was advised by his political supporters that he would be better off avoiding additional controversial statements, and left

4968-474: The Whigs won a majority in both houses of the state legislature, the extent of their support for Seward as a US senator was unclear. When the election was held by the legislature in February 1855, Seward won a narrow majority in each house. The opposition was scattered, and a Know Nothing party organ denounced two dozen legislators as "traitors". The Republican Party had been founded in 1854, in reaction to

5076-656: The attack. Some Southern newspapers felt that the Sumner precedent might usefully be applied to Seward; the Petersburg Intelligencer , a Virginia periodical, suggested that "it will be very well to give Seward a double dose at least every other day". 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

5184-481: 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

5292-634: The board of trustees of the Confederate Veteran . In 1876, Young was selected by Governor James B. McCreary to represent Kentucky at the Paris Exposition of 1878 . In 1878, Young joined the Polytechnic Society of Kentucky as a financier to the institution. Young became president of the society after the death of Dr. Stuart Robinson. In 1899, Young represented a formerly enslaved person, George Dinning , in

5400-489: The center of controversy in Auburn when he defended, in separate cases, two felons accused of murder. Henry Wyatt, a white man, was charged with fatally stabbing a fellow inmate in prison; William Freeman, a black man, was accused of breaking into a house after his release and stabbing four people to death. In both cases, the defendants were likely mentally ill and had been severely abused while in prison. Seward, having long been an advocate of prison reform and better treatment for

5508-439: The convention; 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. Enemies such as publisher and former Seward ally Horace Greeley cast doubts as to Seward's electability in

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5616-587: The country for an eight-month tour of Europe and the Middle East. Seward spent two months in London, meeting with the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston , and was presented at Court to Queen Victoria . Seward returned to Washington in January 1860 to find controversy: that some southerners blamed him for his rhetoric, which they believed had inspired John Brown to try to start a slave insurrection. Brown

5724-494: The disappearance and death of William Morgan , a Mason in Upstate New York ; he was most likely killed by fellow Masons for publishing a book revealing the order's secret rites. 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

5832-490: The election, there was unrest near Albany among tenant farmers on the land owned by Dutch-descended patroons of the van Rensselaer family . These tenancies allowed the landlords privileges such as enlisting the unpaid labor of tenants, and any breach could result in termination of tenure without compensation for improvements. When sheriff's deputies in Albany County were obstructed from serving eviction writs, Seward

5940-652: The enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act (an element of the Compromise), widened the divide between North and South. Seward's wife Frances was deeply committed to the abolitionist movement. In the 1850s, the Seward family opened their Auburn home as a safehouse to fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad. Seward's frequent travel and political work suggest that it was Frances who played

6048-415: The eventual winner, General William Henry Harrison . This action outraged supporters of Senator Clay. These grievances would not be quickly forgotten—one supporter of the Kentuckian wrote in 1847 that he was intent on seeing the "punishment of Seward & Co. for defrauding the country of Mr. Clay in 1840". Seward was renominated for a second term by the Whig convention against Democrat William C. Bouck ,

6156-476: The fight hopeless. In 1829, Seward was offered the local nomination for New York State Assembly , but again felt there was no prospect 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,

6264-429: The first of the three. They took cash from several people who came in to pay deposits as well as cash in the bank, but left uncut bank notes and coins behind. The prisoners were forced to swear allegiance to the Confederate States of America before being locked in the bank. After twelve minutes, the robbers had moved on. Nine raiders were delegated to take the town as the robberies were ongoing, moving inhabitants onto

6372-451: 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. He could have practiced in Goshen, but he disliked the town and sought a practice in growing Western New York . Seward decided upon Auburn in Cayuga County , which was about 150 miles (200 km) west of Albany and 200 miles (300 km) northwest of Goshen. He joined

6480-448: The founding of new ones. The American Party (known as the Know Nothings ) contained many nativists and pursued an anti-immigrant agenda. The Know Nothings did not publicly discuss party deliberations (thus, they knew nothing). They disliked Seward, and an uncertain number of Know Nothings sought the Whig nomination to legislative seats. Some made clear their stance by pledging to vote against Seward's re-election, but others did not. Although

6588-443: The four-ounce bottles of Greek fire they had brought failed to work, and only one shed was destroyed. The raiders fled with the money into Canada, where authorities arrested them and held them in Montreal . There, the Lincoln administration retained prominent Irish-Canadian lawyer Bernard Devlin, QC, as counsel for the prosecution in the subsequent court case, which sought the raiders' extradition. The court ultimately decided that

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6696-457: The governor and the new president John Tyler , who succeeded on Harrison's death after a month in office. McLeod was tried and acquitted in late 1841. Stahr pointed out that Seward got his way in having McLeod tried in a state court, and the diplomatic experience served him well as Secretary of State. Seward continued his support of blacks, signing legislation in 1841 to repeal a "nine-month law" that allowed slaveholders to bring their slaves into

6804-423: The hopefuls for the Whig nomination for president, spent part of the summer in Upstate New York, and the two men met by chance on a ferry. Seward refused to formally visit Clay at his vacation home in Saratoga Springs in the interests of neutrality, beginning a difficult relationship between the two men. After the 1839 election, the Whigs had 19 seats, allowing the party full control of state government. Following

6912-427: The inauguration and threatened the Regency's control of New York politics. 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. Seward's opponent

7020-532: 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 in his post through the presidency of Andrew Johnson , during which he negotiated the Alaska Purchase in 1867 and supported Johnson during his impeachment . 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". Seward

7128-455: The insane, sought to prevent each man from being executed by using the relatively new defense of insanity. Seward gained a hung jury in Wyatt's first trial, though he was subsequently convicted in a retrial and executed despite Seward's efforts to secure clemency. Freeman was convicted, though Seward gained a reversal on appeal. There was no second Freeman trial, as officials were convinced of his insanity. Freeman died in prison in late 1846. In

7236-401: The lifestyle expected of the office, but also because he could not pay down his obligation from the land company purchase. At the time he left office, he owed $ 200,000. Returning to Auburn, he absorbed himself in a profitable law practice. He did not abandon politics and received former president Adams at the Seward family home in 1843. According to his biographer, John M. Taylor, Seward picked

7344-696: The more active role in Auburn abolitionist activities. In the excitement following the rescue and safe transport of fugitive slave William "Jerry" Henry in Syracuse on October 1, 1851, Frances wrote to her husband, "two fugitives have gone to Canada—one of them our acquaintance John". Another time she wrote, "A man by the name of William Johnson will apply to you for assistance to purchase the freedom of his daughter. You will see that I have given him something by his book. I told him I thought you would give him more." In January 1854, Democratic Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas introduced his Kansas–Nebraska Bill . This would permit territories to choose whether to join

7452-399: The most urgent matters, and he initially found himself unable to advance much of his agenda. Accordingly, the 1839 legislative elections were crucial to Seward's legislative hopes, and to advancing the nominations of many Whigs to state office whose posts required Senate confirmation. Both Seward and President Van Buren gave several speeches across New York State that summer. Henry Clay, one of

7560-427: The nascent Republican Party , becoming one of its leading figures. As the 1860 presidential election 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 , worked against him, and Abraham Lincoln secured

7668-406: The new party was strong enough on a national level to secure the presidency, and advised Seward to wait until 1860. When Seward's name was mentioned at the 1856 Republican National Convention , a huge ovation broke out. In the 1856 presidential election , the Democratic candidate, former Pennsylvania senator James Buchanan , defeated the Republican, former California senator John C. Frémont , and

7776-618: The old, and when there was unrest, they hired Seward, popular in Western New York, in hopes of adjusting the matter. He was successful, and when 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. Van Buren had been elected president in 1836; even with his other activities, Seward had found time to campaign against him. The economic crisis came soon after

7884-542: The other opposed him. Van Buren, over a quarter century, held a series of senior posts, generally in the federal government. His allies were dubbed the Albany Regency , as they governed for Van Buren while he was away. Seward originally supported the Regency, but by 1824 had broken from it, concluding that it was corrupt. He became part of the Anti-Masonic Party , which became widespread in 1826 after

7992-674: 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. The following year, Seward accepted a position as agent for the new owners of the Holland Land Company , which owned large tracts of land in Western New York, upon which many settlers were purchasing real estate on installment. The new owners were viewed as less forgiving landlords than

8100-411: 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. In 1824, Seward was journeying with his wife to Niagara Falls when one of the wheels on his carriage was damaged while they passed through Rochester . Among those who came to their aid

8208-541: The presidential nomination . Although devastated by his loss, he campaigned for Lincoln, who appointed him Secretary of State after winning the election. 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 the United Kingdom and France from recognizing

8316-554: The root of crime". Seward's stance was popular among Catholic immigrants, but was disliked by nativists ; their opposition would eventually help defeat his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1860. Although the Assembly had a Whig majority at the start of Seward's first term as governor, the party had only 13 legislators out of 32 in the state Senate. The Democrats refused to cooperate with Governor Seward except on

8424-427: The sectional divide mingled, were a Washington legend. With an eye to a presidential bid in 1860, Seward tried to appear a statesman who could be trusted by both North and South. 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

8532-407: The senator, in his speech, said that Brown was justly punished. The Republican National Committee ordered 250,000 copies in pamphlet form, and eventually twice that many were printed. Weed sometimes expressed certainty that Seward would be nominated; at other times he expressed gloom at the thought of the convention fight. He had some reason for doubt, as word from Weed's agents across the country

8640-504: The soldiers were under military orders and that the officially neutral Canada could not extradite them to America. They were freed, but the $ 88,000 ($ 1,714,000 in current dollar terms) the raiders had on them was returned to Vermont. After the end of the Civil War, Young was excluded from President Andrew Johnson 's amnesty proclamation. He could not return home until 1868. Thus, he spent time studying law and literature in Ireland at

8748-447: The state for a period of nine months before they were considered free. After this, slaves brought to the state were immediately considered freed. Seward also signed legislation to establish public education for all children, leaving it up to local jurisdictions as to how that would be supplied (some had segregated schools). As governor, Seward incurred considerable personal debt not only because he had to live beyond his salary to maintain

8856-432: The state. The legislation protected abolitionists , and he used his position to intervene in cases of freed black people who were enslaved in the South . After many years of 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

8964-519: The three banks in St. Albans. They announced that they were Confederate soldiers and stole a total of $ 208,000 ($ 4,052,000 in current dollar terms). As the banks were being robbed, eight or nine of the Confederates held the townspeople prisoner on the village green as their horses were stolen. The Confederates killed one townsperson and wounded another. Young ordered his troops to burn the town down, but

9072-554: The three banks still stand as of 2020. Other sites surviving are Taylor Park and the American House, where some of the raiders stayed. The 1954 film The Raid was loosely based on this incident. Bennett H. Young Bennett Henderson Young (May 25, 1843 – February 23, 1919) was a commanding officer, lawyer, administrator, and author. As a Confederate officer he led forces in the St. Albans Raid (October 19, 1864) during

9180-474: The time, New York City's public schools were run by Protestants , and used Protestant texts, including the King James Bible . Seward believed the current system was a barrier to literacy for the children of Catholic immigrants and proposed legislation to change it. Education, he stated, "banishes the distinctions, old as time, of rich and poor, master and slave. It banishes ignorance and lays axe to

9288-747: The unsuccessful appeal in the United States Supreme Court of John Van Zandt , an anti-slavery advocate sued by a slaveowner for assisting blacks in escaping on the Underground Railroad . Chase was impressed with Seward, writing that the former New York governor "was one of the very first public men in our country. Who but himself would have done what he did for the poor wretch Freeman?" 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 General Taylor. The former governor

9396-426: Was elected president in 1828 . 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's re-election. Seward was nominated for the federal House of Representatives by the Anti-Masons, but withdrew, deeming

9504-530: Was a "prosperous market town". Young was the first of the raiders to arrive at St. Albans, on October 12. Upon arrival he began to inspect the city, particularly the three banks. The twenty-two young raiders planned to rob three banks—the First National, St. Albans, and Franklin County Banks—and then set fire to the town using incendiaries. They reached the town in pairs after Young, posing as part of

9612-654: Was a prominent figure in the Republican Party in its formative years , and was praised for his work on behalf of the Union as Secretary of State during the Civil War. He also negotiated the treaty for the United States to purchase the Alaska Territory . Seward was born in 1801 in the village of Florida, in Orange County , New York, where his father was a farmer and owned slaves. He was educated as

9720-413: Was a small rural village of perhaps a dozen homes. Young Seward attended school there, and also in the nearby county seat of Goshen . He was a bright student who 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. At the age of 15, Henry—he was known by his middle name as

9828-540: Was accepted as an adult for the first time. He was treated hospitably but also witnessed the ill-treatment of slaves. 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. After graduation, Seward spent much of

9936-457: Was again Marcy, and the economy the principal issue. The Whigs argued that the Democrats were responsible for the recession. As it was thought improper for candidates for major office to campaign in person, Seward left most of that to Weed. Seward was elected by a margin of about 10,000 votes out of 400,000 cast. The victory was the most significant for the Whig Party to that point, and eliminated

10044-419: Was also named for him. William H. Seward William Henry Seward ( / ˈ s uː ər d / ; May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States senator . A determined opponent of the spread of slavery in the years leading up to the American Civil War , he

10152-432: Was asked to call out the militia. After an all-night cabinet meeting, he did so, though quietly assuring the tenants that he would intervene with the legislature. This mollified the settlers, though Seward proved unable to get the legislature to pass reforming laws. This question of tenants' rights was not settled until after Seward had left office. In September 1839, a ship sailing from Norfolk, Virginia , to New York City

10260-600: Was asked to run for president by members of the Liberty Party ; he declined and reluctantly supported the Whig nominee, Clay. The Kentuckian was defeated by Democrat James K. Polk . The major event of Polk's administration was the Mexican–American War ; Seward did not support this, feeling that the price in blood was not worth the increase in territory, especially as southerners were promoting this acquisition to expand territory for slavery. In 1846, Seward became

10368-600: Was born on May 16, 1801, in the small community of Florida, New York , in Orange County . He was the fourth son of Samuel Sweezy Seward and his wife Mary (Jennings) Seward. Samuel Seward was a wealthy landowner and slaveholder in New York State ; slavery was not fully abolished in the state until 1827. Florida, located some 60 miles (100 km) north of New York City and west of the Hudson River ,

10476-493: Was captured and executed; nevertheless, Mississippi representatives Reuben Davis and Otho Singleton each stated that if Seward or another Radical Republican was elected, he would meet with the resistance of a united South. To rebut such allegations, and to set forth his views in the hope of receiving the nomination, Seward made a major speech in the Senate on February 29, 1860, which most praised, though white southerners were offended, and some abolitionists also objected because

10584-630: Was captured in Morgan's Raid but fled to Canada in the fall of 1863. Young traveled back to the Confederacy via Nova Scotia and Bermuda , where he proposed Canada-based raids on the United States as a means of building the Confederate treasury and forcing the Union Army to protect their northern border as a diversion. Young was commissioned as a lieutenant and returned to Canada, where he recruited other escaped rebels to participate in

10692-576: Was 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,

10800-582: Was elected, and the split in the New York Democratic Party allowed the Whigs to capture the legislature. State legislatures elected U.S. senators until the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. One of New York's seats was up for election in 1849, 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

10908-546: Was less enthusiastic about the vice-presidential candidate, New York State 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

11016-421: Was local newspaper publisher Thurlow Weed . 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. Weed, deemed by some to be one of the earliest political bosses , would become a major ally of Seward. Despite the benefits to Seward's career from Weed's support, perceptions that Seward

11124-592: Was mixed. Many in the Midwest did not want the issue of slavery to dominate the campaign, and with Seward as the nominee, it inevitably would. The Know Nothing Party was still alive in the Northeast, and was hostile to Seward for his pro-immigrant stance, 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

11232-415: 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 election on the first ballot . William Seward

11340-428: 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

11448-405: Was threatening the forcible ending of slavery. 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 systems [that] are continually coming into closer contact, and collision results ... It is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces, and it means that

11556-497: Was too much controlled by Weed became a factor in the former's defeat for the Republican nomination for president in 1860. Almost from the time he settled in Auburn, Seward involved himself in politics. At that time, the political system was in flux as new parties evolved. In New York State, there were generally two factions, which went by varying names, but were characterized by the fact that Martin Van Buren led one element, and

11664-495: Was wounded, both civilians. A raider, Charles Higby, was wounded by gunfire as armed citizenry arrived on the scene, but escaped with the rest of the Confederates. They reached Canada around 9:00 P.M., after crossing the Missisquoi River . While they planned to return to Montreal , the Canadian police captured or otherwise held thirteen of the men in captivity. Young soon resolved to give himself up. He took board in

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