William Henry Seward was born on May 16, 1801 in the Orange County hamlet of Florida, NY. He graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York in 1820 and passed the new York State bar examination in 1822.
He held political office in New York and rose become New York's governor on January 1, 1839. In 1849, he became the United States senator from New York where he worked as an opponent of slavery. In 1855 he was one of the first senators to join the newly formed Republican Party.
After the election of Lincoln, Seward was appointed Secretary of State. When the Civil War began, Seward's main mission was to make sure that foreign powers, especially England and France, did not interfere in the conflict. After the war, he survived the plot by John Wilkes Booth that included the assassination of Lincoln.
In 1867, he negotiated what was to be his lasting legacy. For $7,200,000 he purchased Alaska from Russia. After the election of 1868, Seward retired from politics and took up residence in his home in Auburn, NY. He died on October 10, 1872.
A 9' high bronze statue of William H. Seward stands on a 9' high granite base. Seward is depicted wearing a knee length coat with wide lapels and a vest. He is gesturing with his right hand held straight up while holding a scroll of paper in his left hand. The statue was created by Walter G. Robinson and dedicated on November 15, 1888.
The bottom of the base has the name SEWARD on the front and the back in raised capital letters. The south side dado has the inscription:
THE CONSTITUTION REGULATES OUR STEWARDSHIP,
THE CONSTITUTION DEVOTES THE DOMAIN TO
UNION, TO JUSTICE, TO DEFENCE, TO WEL-
FARE AND TO LIBERTY.
BUT THERE IS A HIGHER LAW THAN THE CONSTI-
TUTION, WHICH REGULATES OUR AUTHORITY OVER THE
DOMAIN, AND DEVOTES IT TO THE SAME NOBLE PURPOSES.
The east side is inscribed:
PRESENTED NOVEMBER 18, 1888, TO THE CITY
OF AUBURN, NY BY THE TOWNSMEN AND FRIENDS
OF WILLIAM H. SEWARD, IN COMMEMORATION
OF HIS BENEFICENT LIFE, AND OF HIS DIS-
TINGUISHED SERVICES TO THE STATE, TO
THE NATION, AND TO MANKIND.
The north side is inscribed:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD
1801 - 1872
The west side is inscribed:
"NOW THROUGH THE YEARS IN SILENCE THOU HAST BORNE
THE CRUEL DOUBT, THE SLANDERS OF DEBATE.
THE ASSASSIN'S KNIFE, AND KNEENER BLADE OF SCORN
WIELDED BY PARTY IN ITS NARROW HATE:
HOW COULD 'ST THOU PAUSE EACH STEP TO VINDICATE
OF THY SURPASSING WORK? LO! IT IS DONE ;
FREEDOM ENSHRINED IN OUR REGENERATE STATE.
AND THEY WHO WERE DIVIDED MADE AS ONE!"