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Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man (2012)

by Walter Stahr(Favorite Author)

4.03 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1439121168 (ISBN13: 9781439121160)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Simon & Schuster

review 1: An excellent biography of Lincoln’s Secretary of State. It tells of his rise in NY politics to become Senator and Governor, his role as a founder in the Republican Party and how he lost the Presidential nomination to Lincoln in 1860, Seward was considered the front runner. It tells of the friendship that Lincoln and Seward formed and how Seward became Lincoln’s most trusted advisor and how the Radical Republican’s tried to remove Seward from the cabinet. It describes the assassination attempt on Seward the same night that they killed President Lincoln, his recovery and how he continue to serve Andrew Johnson. It tells the story of what he is most famous for Seward’s Folly the purchase of Alaska and his effort to get Congress to approve the purchase. Good ... moreread.
review 2: Most people only know Seward from his purchase of Alaska, but he was the foremost statesman of the 19th century. He was Governor of NY, Senator from NY, and Secretary of State for both Lincoln and Johnson. His hometown was Auburn, NY, near our cottage, so we have visited his home and learned general facts about him. But this book points out his myriad of accomplishments, and the unpopular decisions that he had to make. He was the favorite to get the 1860 Republican nomination, but lost largely because his views and positions were too well-known, especially compared to Lincoln. He then worked tirelessly to get Lincoln elected, served as his chief advisor during the war, managed to keep all European countries out of the war, was severely wounded and almost killed on the night that Lincoln was assasinated, and then served another term under Johnson during which time he bought Alaska and entered into negotiations for the Virgin Islands, Panama, the Dominican Republic,and Hawaii. He helped Johnson survive impeachment making himself even more unpopular. He pursued a low-key policy with Mexico that resulted in the French leaving peacefully, even when many others championed war. In short, Seward was a truly remarkable man. The book is a slow, detail intensive read,as many historical books are, but extremely interesting. My respect for Seward has grown. less

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