William H. Seward: Surviving the Lincoln Night Attack and Buying Alaska

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

William H. Seward was born in 1801 in rural New York to a slave-owning farmer and was so bookish that he ran away from home to go to school. At 17, after a quarrel with his father over money, he left Union College to teach in Georgia, where he saw slavery at full scale. A broken carriage wheel in Rochester in 1824 introduced him to newspaper publisher Thurlow Weed, who became his political manager. Elected governor of New York in 1838, Seward backed school access for Catholic immigrants and jury trials for accused fugitive slaves. In 1846 he defended William Freeman, a Black man who killed four members of a white family, with an early insanity defense.

Elected to the Senate in 1849, he invoked a higher law than the Constitution in 1850 and spoke of an irrepressible conflict in 1858. The favorite for the 1860 Republican nomination, he lost to Abraham Lincoln, campaigned for him, and became secretary of state. He defused the Trent affair and oversaw early wartime arrests. On April 14, 1865, Lewis Powell stabbed him in bed, and a surgical neck brace from a carriage accident helped save him. He stayed on under Andrew Johnson, bought Alaska in 1867, and died in Auburn in 1872.

Early in the Lincoln administration he sent a memo offering to take over policy, and Lincoln firmly declined.
When Seward said Washington gentlemen did not black their own boots, Lincoln asked whose boots he blackened.
In the Trent affair he argued the captain erred by seizing the envoys instead of bringing the ship before a prize court.
He reportedly boasted he could ring a little bell and have any citizen arrested.
The Alaska treaty cost $7.2 million, and his last words to his family were love one another.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(16184)

The Art of Adult Friendship: Why Quality Matters More Than Quantity

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore how our understanding of friendship changes as we grow old...

9 Marras 18min

Summer Explained: The Science, History, and Traditions of the Warmest Season

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore summer, the season most closely associated with sunshine, ...

7 Marras 18min

Sir Patrick Stewart: From Shakespeare to Star Trek, the Life and Legacy of a Legend

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the extraordinary life of Sir Patrick Stewart, the acclaim...

7 Marras 49min

Larry David: The Genius of Social Awkwardness, Seinfeld, and Curb Your Enthusiasm

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the life and career of Larry David, the comedian, writer, ...

6 Marras 38min

Why Australian Shepherds Aren't From Australia

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the history of the Australian Shepherd, an intelligent, en...

5 Marras 45min

Labrador Retriever: From Newfoundland Fishing Dogs to Modern-Day Heroes

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the remarkable history of the Labrador Retriever, one of t...

4 Marras 53min

Discovering Ireland: A Journey Through History, Culture, and the Wild Atlantic Way

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore Ireland through the philosophy of slow travel: go slower, ...

3 Marras 48min

Willie Hutch: An Overnight I'll Be There Lyric and The Mack's Soundtrack

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!William McKinley Hutchins was born in Los Angeles in December 1944 and raised in Dallas, where h...

2 Marras 21min