Editing William H. Seward (section)

==Election of 1860==

===Candidate for the nomination===
[[File:The Senatorial Tapster, H. L. Stephens, Vanity Fair 1860.jpg|thumb|In this March 1860 cartoon, Seward serves "mild beer" in his February 29, 1860, address to position himself as a moderate after the "irrepressible conflict" speech.|alt=]]
In 1859, Seward was advised by his political supporters that he would be better off avoiding additional controversial statements, and left the country for an eight-month tour of Europe and the Middle East. Seward spent two months in London, meeting with the Prime Minister, [[Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Lord Palmerston]], and was presented at Court to [[Queen Victoria]].{{sfn|Stahr|pp=177–181}} Seward returned to Washington in January 1860 to find controversy: that some southerners blamed him for his rhetoric, which they believed had inspired [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] to try to start a slave insurrection. Brown was captured and executed; nevertheless, Mississippi representatives [[Reuben Davis (representative)|Reuben Davis]] and [[Otho Singleton]] each stated that if Seward or another [[Radical Republican]] was elected, he would meet with the resistance of a united South.{{sfn|Stahr|p=182}} To rebut such allegations, and to set forth his views in the hope of receiving the nomination, Seward made a major speech in the Senate on February 29, 1860, which most praised, though white southerners were offended, and some abolitionists also objected because the senator, in his speech, said that Brown was justly punished. The [[Republican National Committee]] ordered 250,000 copies in pamphlet form, and eventually twice that many were printed.{{sfn|Van Deusen|pp=216–220}}

Weed sometimes expressed certainty that Seward would be nominated; at other times he expressed gloom at the thought of the convention fight.{{sfn|Van Deusen|p=216}} He had some reason for doubt, as word from Weed's agents across the country was mixed. Many in the Midwest did not want the issue of slavery to dominate the campaign, and with Seward as the nominee, it inevitably would. The Know Nothing Party was still alive in the Northeast, and was hostile to Seward for his pro-immigrant stance, creating doubts as to whether Seward could win Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where there were many nativists, in the general election. These states were crucial to a Republican nominee faced with a [[Solid South]]. Conservative factions in the evolving Republican Party opposed Seward.{{sfn|Van Deusen|pp=220–221}}

===Convention===
{{main|1860 Republican National Convention}}
There were no [[Partisan primary|primaries]] in 1860, no way to be certain how many delegates a candidate might receive. Nevertheless, going into the [[1860 Republican National Convention]] in May in Chicago, Seward was seen as the overwhelming favorite. Others spoken of for the nomination included Ohio Governor Salmon P. Chase, former Missouri congressman [[Edward Bates]], and former Illinois congressman [[Abraham Lincoln]].{{sfn|Stahr|p=184}}

Seward stayed in Auburn during the convention;{{sfn|Goodwin|p=250}} Weed was present on his behalf and worked to shore up Seward's support. He was amply supplied with money: business owners had eagerly given, expecting Seward to be the next president. Weed's reputation was not entirely positive; he was believed corrupt by some, and his association both helped and hurt Seward.{{sfn|Taylor|p=5}}

[[File:Abraham Lincoln O-26 by Hesler, 1860 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|[[Abraham Lincoln]] in 1860]]
Enemies such as publisher and former Seward ally [[Horace Greeley]] cast doubts as to Seward's electability in the battleground states of Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Lincoln had worked hard to gain a reputation as a moderate in the party and hoped to be seen as a consensus second choice, who might be successful in those critical states, of which the Republicans had to win three to secure the election. Lincoln's men, led by his friend [[David Davis (Supreme Court justice)|David Davis]], were active on his behalf. As Lincoln had not been seen as a major candidate, his supporters had been able to influence the decision to hold the convention in his home state,{{sfn|Denton|pp=13–19}} and surrounded the New York delegation, pro-Seward, with Lincoln loyalists. They were eventually successful in gaining the support of the delegations from the other battleground states, boosting delegates' perceptions of Lincoln's electability. Although Lincoln and Seward shared many views, Lincoln, out of office since 1849, had not excited opposition as Seward had in the South and among Know Nothings. Lincoln's views on nativism, which he opposed, were not public.{{sfn|Stahr|pp=190–192}}

On the first ballot, Seward had 173½ votes to Lincoln's 102, with 233 needed to nominate. Pennsylvania shifted its vote to Lincoln on the second ballot, and Seward's lead was cut to 184½ to 181. On the third, Lincoln had 231½ to Seward's 180 after the roll call, but Ohio changed four votes from Chase to Lincoln, giving the Illinoian the nomination and starting a small stampede; the nomination was eventually made unanimous.{{sfn|Taylor|pp=8–9}} By the accounts of witnesses, when word reached Seward by telegraph he calmly remarked that Lincoln had some of the attributes needed to be president, and would certainly be elected.{{sfn|Taylor|pp=8–9}}

===Campaigning for Lincoln===

Despite his public nonchalance, Seward was devastated by his convention loss, as were many of his supporters. The New Yorker was the best-known and most popular Republican, and his defeat shocked many in the North, who felt that Lincoln had been nominated through chicanery. Although Seward sent a letter stating Weed was not to blame, Seward's political manager took the defeat hard.{{sfn|Denton|pp=18–20}} Seward was initially inclined to retire from public life but received many letters from supporters: distrustful of Lincoln, they urged Seward to remain involved in politics.{{sfn|Taylor|pp=119–120}} On his way to Washington to return to Senate duties, he stopped in Albany to confer with Weed, who had gone to Lincoln's home in [[Springfield, Illinois]], to meet with the candidate, and had been very impressed at Lincoln's political understanding.{{sfn|Stahr|p=195}} At the Capitol, Seward received sympathy even from sectional foes such as Jefferson Davis.{{sfn|Taylor|pp=119–120}}

Lincoln faced three major opponents. A split in the Democratic Party had led northerners to nominate Senator Douglas, while southerners chose Vice President [[John C. Breckinridge]]. The [[Constitutional Union Party (United States)|Constitutional Union Party]], a new party consisting mostly of former Southern Whigs, selected former Tennessee senator [[John Bell (Tennessee politician)|John Bell]]. As Lincoln would not even be on the ballot in ten southern states, he needed to win almost every northern state to take the presidency.{{sfn|Taylor|p=120}} Douglas was said to be strong in Illinois and Indiana, and if he took those, the election might be thrown into the House of Representatives.{{sfn|Stahr|p=201}} Seward was urged to undertake a campaign tour of the Midwest in support of Lincoln and did so for five weeks in September and October, attracting huge crowds. He journeyed by rail and boat as far north as [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], into the [[Border states (American Civil War)|border state]] of Missouri at St. Louis, and even to Kansas Territory, though it had no electoral votes to cast in the election. When the train passed through Springfield, Seward and Lincoln were introduced, with Lincoln appearing "embarrassed" and Seward "constrained".{{sfn|Stahr|pp=201–205}} In his oratory, Seward spoke of the U.S. as a "tower of freedom", a Union that might even come to include Canada, Latin America, and [[Russian America]].{{sfn|Stahr|pp=203–204}}

New York was key to the election; a Lincoln loss there would deadlock the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]]. Soon after his return from his Midwest tour, Seward embarked on another, speaking to large crowds across the state of New York. At Weed's urging, he went to New York City and gave a patriotic speech before a large crowd on November 3, only three days before the election.{{sfn|Van Deusen|pp=234–235}} On Election Day, Lincoln carried most Northern states, while Breckinridge took the Deep South, Bell three border states, and Douglas won Missouri—the only state Seward campaigned in that Lincoln did not win. Lincoln was elected.{{sfn|Stahr|pp=208–209}}