William H. Seward, Madison Square

  • Sculptor: Randolph Rogers
  • Date: 1876
  • Location: Southwest corner of Madison Square, at 23rd St. and Fifth Ave.

Randolph Rogers, William H. Seward, 1876. Madison Square, New York. Photo copyright © 2019 Dianne L. Durante

October 25, 1858: William Seward on the “irrepressible conflict” between the North and South

 In the late 1850s Seward (1801-1872) stood an excellent chance of being nominated for president. In 1858, in his most famous speech, this fervent Abolitionist explained why decades of attempts at compromise between slavery and freedom had failed and must continue to fail. Click here to read substantial excerpts from the “irrepressible conflict” speech. Despite some errors of knowledge and logic, it’s a principled, rational, well-thought-out speech of the sort we seldom hear from 21st-century politicians.

Delegates to the Republican National Convention in 1860 gave Seward the most votes on the first ballot, but not enough to win the presidential nomination. Lincoln was eventually nominated in hopes he would win in the key states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illinois.

“Seward’s Folly”

Seward’s efforts on behalf of Lincoln and his political expertise were rewarded with the position of Secretary of State, which he held from 1861 to 1869. A proponent of territorial expansion for the United States, he lobbied for the purchase of the Alaska territory (“Seward’s Folly”) from Russia for $70 million. Seward signed the treaty acquiring Alaska on March 30, 1867.

Seward’s sculpture

Seward was the first New Yorker to be honored with a monument in the city. Alas, it was so unexciting that rumors circulated that the artist, Randolph Rogers, had merely grafted Seward’s head on the same body he’d used for a statue of Lincoln in Philadelphia’s Fairmont Park. He quite clearly did not.

  • Randolf Rogers, Abraham Lincoln. Fairmont Park, Philadelphia. Photo: Wikipedia

  • Randolph Rogers, William H. Seward, 1876. Madison Square, New York. Photo copyright © 2019 Dianne L. Durante

More

  • If you’re more in the mood for poetry than political thought today, read Robert W. Service’s “Spell of the Yukon.”
  • Among those who contributed to the cost of Seward’s statue were Cornelius Vanderbilt.
  • Among those who attended its dedication were future President Chester A. Arthur, whose statue stands at the north end of Madison Square Park. Also in attendance: future Democratic presidential nominee General Winfield S. Hancock, whose bust stands where Manhattan Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue meet at 124th Street.
  • In Getting More Enjoyment from Sculpture You Love, I demonstrate a method for looking at sculptures in detail, in depth, and on your own. Learn to enjoy your favorite sculptures more, and find new favorites. Available on Amazon in print and Kindle formats. More here.
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