William Henry Seward (1801–72) was United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as Governor of New York and United States Senator. A determined opponent of the spread of slavery in the years leading up to the American Civil War, he was a dominant figure in the Republican Party in its formative years. Although regarded as the leading contender for the party’s presidential nomination in 1860, he was defeated by Abraham Lincoln.
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The United States are a political state, or organized society, whose end is government, for the security, welfare, and happiness of all who live under its protection.
—William H. Seward
The whole hope of human progress is suspended on the ever growing influence of the Bible.
—William H. Seward
But assuming the same premises, to wit, that all men are equal by the law of nature and of nations, the right of property in slaves falls to the ground; for one who is equal to another cannot be the owner or property of that other.
—William H. Seward
But there is a higher law than the Constitution, which regulates our authority over the domain, and devotes it to the same noble purposes.
—William H. Seward
The circumstances of the world are so variable, that an irrevocable purpose or opinion is almost synonymous with a foolish one.
—William H. Seward
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