Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;airedale, post: 143986, member: 4695&quot;]Speaking of precocious 19 year old persons, what a wonderful history lesson from Heritage Galleries:</p><p><br /></p><p>William H. Seward was a well educated man born to an affluent New York family. <b>A penchant for learning allowed him to graduate with a law degree from Union College at the age of 19. </b>Over the next decade, Seward spent time practicing law in Georgia and New York and developed a stance against slavery. Seward&#039;s empathy towards others may have led him to leave law and enter the political arena where he first served as a New York State Senator from 1831 to 1834. Between his position in the Senate and serving as Governor of New York from 1839 to 1843, he was an advocate for education and prison reform. As a United States Senator, he spent most of his tenure between 1849 and 1861 advocating rights for slaves and speaking out against legislation like the Fugitive Slave Act and Compromise of 1850.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><br /></p><p>The leadership abilities that William H. Seward showed as a Senator brought him to the forefront of American politics. In 1856, he lost out on the presidential nomination to John C. Fremont. Over the next few years, Seward relaxed his ardent stand on certain political positions to make himself a palatable candidate for the presidential nomination in 1860. This plan did not bode well for the presidential hopeful, and in 1860, the Republican Party nominated Abraham Lincoln. Seward did not sit idly by throughout the rest of the campaign and subsequent election; he campaigned for Lincoln, a fellow anti-slavery advocate.</p><p><br /></p><p>Abraham Lincoln did not overlook William H. Seward&#039;s hard work during his campaign for President, ultimately appointing him to his cabinet as Secretary of State. Seward&#039;s role in the Lincoln administration nearly led him to the same fate as the President. John Wilkes Booth organized two other Confederate sympathizers to participate in assassination attempts on Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Seward. On the same night that Lincoln was assassinated, co-conspirator Lewis Powell conned his way into Seward&#039;s home and stabbed him repeatedly. Members of Seward&#039;s family were also seriously injured in the incident. </p><p><br /></p><p>William H. Seward would best be known for his work as Secretary of State under President Andrew Johnson. Seward&#039;s new political agenda included westward expansion and he was instrumental in purchasing Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000, as well as the acquisition of the Midway Islands. At the time however, the acquisition of Alaska was not viewed in a positive light and was quickly nicknamed &quot;Seward&#039;s Folly&quot;. Accounting for inflation, the amount paid in 1867 for Alaska is equivalent to approximately one day&#039;s worth of oil production today.</p><p><br /></p><p>Two towns, Seward, Alaska and Seward, New York, a mountain peak in New York, and the Seward Peninsula in Alaska bear the name of this important United States politician. </p><p><br /></p><p>Surprisingly, even rarer than the American that knows Seward&#039;s legacy is the currency that bears his portrait. The Series 1891 $50 Treasury Note was printed to pay for silver purchases as part of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890. A total of 80,000 notes were printed, though only 23,500 were actually issued.</p><p><br /></p><p>Today, only 22 examples of the Seward $50 are known to exist, of which, six are permanently impounded in institutional collections.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in