William H. Seward - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Henry Seward
24th United States Secretary of State
In office March 5, 1861 – March 4, 1869
President	Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson
Preceded by	Jeremiah S. Black
Succeeded by	Elihu B. Washburne
14th Governor of New York
In office January 1, 1839 – December 31, 1842
Lieutenant	Luther Bradish
Preceded by	William L. Marcy
Succeeded by	William C. Bouck
United States Senator from New York
In office March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1861
Preceded by	John A. Dix
Succeeded by	Ira Harris
Personal details
Born	(1801-05-16)May 16, 1801 Florida, New York, U.S.
Died	October 10, 1872(1872-10-10) (aged 71) Auburn, New York, U.S.
Cause of death	Respiratory failure
Political party	Whig, Republican
Spouse(s)	Frances Adeline Seward
Children	Augustus Henry Seward Frederick William Seward Cornelia Seward William Henry Seward, Jr. Frances Adeline Seward Olive Risley Seward (adopted)
Alma mater	Union College
Profession	Lawyer, Land Agent, Politician
Signature

William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801–October 10, 1872) was an American politician. He was the fourteenth Governor of New York, and later a United States Senator. He was also the United States Secretary of State for two presidents, Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. He was very much against slavery. He was an important person in the Republican Party when it was starting. Many people thought he would be nominated by the Republican Party to run for President of the United States in 1860, but that did not happen.

On the night that President Abraham Lincoln was killed, someone also tried to kill Seward. For the rest of his life, Seward had scars on his face from the attack. Later, the man who attacked him was caught and put to death.

When Seward was Secretary of State, he arranged for the United States to buy Alaska from Russia. People made fun of him for doing that. They called it "Seward's Folly". When asked what he thought was the most important thing he did as Secretary of State, Seward said "The purchase of Alaska—but it will take the people a generation to find it out".^[1]

Media related to William H. Seward at Wikimedia Commons