4. William H. Seward
William H. Seward, born on May 16, 1801, in Florida, New York, was a prominent politician and a leading antislavery activist. He served as Governor of New York and later as a U.S. Senator, where he became a leading antislavery politician. In 1860, Seward was the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. However, his vocal opposition to slavery, support for immigrants, and association with the influential newspaper publisher, Thurlow Weed, worked against him. (nps.gov). As a result, Abraham Lincoln secured the nomination. Despite his disappointment, Seward campaigned for Lincoln, who won the 1860 presidential election by defeating John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, and John Bell of Tennessee, carrying all but one of the northern states. After Lincoln’s victory, Seward was offered the position of Secretary of State, the senior cabinet position traditionally filled by the leading figure in the winning party.
