William Seward is known to most people as the architect of “Seward’s folly,” the acquisition of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867. The stinging name has stuck, though energy-rich Alaska has turned out to be a bargain at 2 cents an acre.
Seward’s biggest role was in Washington as President Lincoln’s secretary of state and closest adviser. On the night Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theater by John Wilkes Booth, Seward was knifed and left bleeding and near death at his home a few blocks away by a Booth henchman.
These two events are by far the most notable in Seward’s life in the judgment of historians. And I have no quarrel with their verdict — none at all. But there’s another role played by Seward that is unheralded but historically important, one in which his political skill, sense of duty, and emotional control led to Lincoln’s election.
Read Full Article »