Seward and the States

I am working this morning on a summary of Seward’s relations with the various states, and realizing that there is almost no state which Seward did not visit.

Not many northern politicians ever visited the South, but Seward lived in Georgia as a young man and visited Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, and other southern states in later years.  Not many easterners ever went west, but Seward went west as soon as the transcontinental railroad opened, and toured California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska thoroughly.  During his great 1860 campaign tours, Seward went as far east and north as Bangor, Maine, and as far west as Lawrence, Kansas.  Even states which he did not visit he touched, in various ways.  As secretary of state, Seward was responsible for the various territorial governments, in New Mexico, Idaho, Washington and other places that were still territories at the time.  So Seward was the “point of contact” for these far-flung places with the central government.

I am not going to be able to visit as many states as Seward in my book tour, but hope to visit some of those he cared most about, such as California, Kansas and perhaps Alaska.