Almost President: Horatio Seymour
A number of Presidents and "Almost Presidents" have held the office of Governor of New York, and so it is that today's subject in this series is another former New York Governor, the 18th man to hold that office, Horatio Seymour.
Horatio Seymour's father Henry Seymour was a merchant and politician and his mother, Mary Ledyard Forman, was the daughter of General Johnathan Forma. Horatio Seymour was born on May 31, 1810 in Pompey Hill, New York. At the age of 10 the family moved to Utica, New York, where young Henry attended a number of local schools. In the autumn of 1824 he was sent to the American Literary, Scientific & Military Academy (Norwich University). Upon his return to Utica in 1827, Seymour studied law in the offices of Greene Bronson and Samuel Beardsley. He was admitted to the bar in 1832, but did not enjoy work as a lawyer and was preoccupied with politics and his family's business interests. In 1835 he married Mary Bleecker. In 1833, he was named military secretary to Democratic governor, William L. Marcy.
In 1839 Seymour returned to Utica to take over the management of his family's estate following his father's suicide two years earlier. In 1841 he won election to the New York State Assembly, and at the same time he served as Mayor of Utica from 1842 to 1843. He won reelection to the state assembly in 1842, and again from 1844 to 1846, and was elected speaker in 1845.
In the late 1840s, the New York Democratic Party split between the two factions: Hunkers and Barnburners. Seymour identified with the more conservative Hunker faction, led by Marcy. This split led to disaster in the elections of 1848, when the division between the Hunkers, who supported Lewis Cass, and the Barnburners, who supported former President Martin Van Buren split the Democratic vote, allowing the Whigs to win the state.
In 1850, Seymour ran for Governor of New York as the candidate of the reunited Democratic Party, but he narrowly lost to the Whig candidate, Washington Hunt. Seymour campaigned for Franklin Pierce in 1852 and in the same year Seymour, supported by a unified Democratic Party, narrowly defeated Hunt in a governor's race rematch.
Seymour's first term as governor of New York was a turbulent one. He won approval of a measure to finance the enlargement of the Erie Canal via a $10.5 million loan in a special election in February 1854, but much of his tenure was plagued by factional chaos within the state Democratic Party. The Pierce administration's use of patronage alienated some New York Democrats, refracturing the party. The Pierce administration's support of the unpopular Kansas-Nebraska Act, cost Seymour many votes. In a four way race, Whig candidate Myron H. Clark defeated Seymour by 309 votes.
Despite his defeat, Seymour remained a prominent figure in party politics at the national level. In 1856 he was considered a possible compromise presidential candidate in the event of a deadlock between Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan and in 1860, some considered Seymour a compromise candidate for the Democratic nomination in Baltimore after southern delegates split from the party. But Seymour supported the candidacy of Stephen Douglas.
In the secession crisis following Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 Seymour supported the war effort but criticized Lincoln's conduct of the war. Seymour was especially critical of Lincoln's wartime restrictions on civil liberties, as well as his support for emancipation.
In 1862, the sitting governor, Republican Edwin D. Morgan, announced that he would not run for an additional term. The Democratic Party nominated Seymour and though Seymour accepted the nomination with reluctance, he won a close race against the Republican candidate James S. Wadsworth. Seymour's second term proved to be even more tumultuous than his first one. As governor of the largest state in the union from 1863 to 1864, Seymour was one of the most prominent Democratic opponents of the President. He opposed the Lincoln administration's institution of the military draft in 1863 on constitutional grounds, an act which led many to question his support for the war. His efforts to conciliate the rioters during the New York Draft Riots of July 1863 was used against him by the Republicans, who accused him of treason and support for the Confederacy. Support for Seymour eroded and in the 1864 election Seymour was defeated in a close race by Republican Reuben Fenton.
Seymour continued as a prominent figure in national Democratic politics both during and immediately after his second term as governor. In 1864, he served as permanent chairman at the Democratic National Convention, where the opposition of many delegates to the nomination of General George B. McClellan led many to seek out Seymour as an alternative. But Seymour made it clear that he would not be a candidate. Following the end of the war, Seymour joined other Democrats in supporting President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction policies, and was a strong opponent of Radical Reconstruction.
As the 1868 presidential election approached, there was no clear candidate for the Democratic nomination. When Seymour was approached about running for the nomination, he preferred that either Senator Thomas A. Hendricks or Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase receive the nomination instead. At the convention, Seymour once again served as permanent chairman. Balloting began on June 7 without a strong candidate. Two days later, as the twenty-second ballot was being taken, delegates settled on Seymour as their candidate.
Seymour faced a formidable opponent in General Ulysses S. Grant, who enjoyed the support of a unified Republican party and most of the nation's press. While he generally followed to the tradition that presidential nominees did not actively campaign, Seymour toured the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic states in October. In his campaign Seymour advocated a policy of conservative, limited government, and he opposed the Reconstruction policies of the Republicans in Congress. The Republican campaign, by contrast, was the first in which they "waved the bloody shirt", accusing Seymour and the Democrats of disloyalty to the Union. Though the popular vote was closer, Seymour was defeated decisively in the electoral vote by a count of 214 to 80.
After the presidential election, Seymour remained involved in state politics, primarily as an elder statesman rather than an active politician. He served as the chancellor of Union College in 1873. He refused two additional efforts to nominate him for the New York governorship, in 1876 and 1879, as well as a final attempt to select him as the Democratic presidential nominee in 1880.
Seymour's health began a permanent decline in 1876. He campaigned for Grover Cleveland's election as president in 1884, but deteriorated physically the following year. Seymour died on February 12, 1886 in New York City at the age of 75. He was interred in Forest Hill Cemetery in Utica, New York. His wife Mary died a month later and is buried next to him.
Horatio Seymour's father Henry Seymour was a merchant and politician and his mother, Mary Ledyard Forman, was the daughter of General Johnathan Forma. Horatio Seymour was born on May 31, 1810 in Pompey Hill, New York. At the age of 10 the family moved to Utica, New York, where young Henry attended a number of local schools. In the autumn of 1824 he was sent to the American Literary, Scientific & Military Academy (Norwich University). Upon his return to Utica in 1827, Seymour studied law in the offices of Greene Bronson and Samuel Beardsley. He was admitted to the bar in 1832, but did not enjoy work as a lawyer and was preoccupied with politics and his family's business interests. In 1835 he married Mary Bleecker. In 1833, he was named military secretary to Democratic governor, William L. Marcy.
In 1839 Seymour returned to Utica to take over the management of his family's estate following his father's suicide two years earlier. In 1841 he won election to the New York State Assembly, and at the same time he served as Mayor of Utica from 1842 to 1843. He won reelection to the state assembly in 1842, and again from 1844 to 1846, and was elected speaker in 1845.
In the late 1840s, the New York Democratic Party split between the two factions: Hunkers and Barnburners. Seymour identified with the more conservative Hunker faction, led by Marcy. This split led to disaster in the elections of 1848, when the division between the Hunkers, who supported Lewis Cass, and the Barnburners, who supported former President Martin Van Buren split the Democratic vote, allowing the Whigs to win the state.
In 1850, Seymour ran for Governor of New York as the candidate of the reunited Democratic Party, but he narrowly lost to the Whig candidate, Washington Hunt. Seymour campaigned for Franklin Pierce in 1852 and in the same year Seymour, supported by a unified Democratic Party, narrowly defeated Hunt in a governor's race rematch.
Seymour's first term as governor of New York was a turbulent one. He won approval of a measure to finance the enlargement of the Erie Canal via a $10.5 million loan in a special election in February 1854, but much of his tenure was plagued by factional chaos within the state Democratic Party. The Pierce administration's use of patronage alienated some New York Democrats, refracturing the party. The Pierce administration's support of the unpopular Kansas-Nebraska Act, cost Seymour many votes. In a four way race, Whig candidate Myron H. Clark defeated Seymour by 309 votes.
Despite his defeat, Seymour remained a prominent figure in party politics at the national level. In 1856 he was considered a possible compromise presidential candidate in the event of a deadlock between Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan and in 1860, some considered Seymour a compromise candidate for the Democratic nomination in Baltimore after southern delegates split from the party. But Seymour supported the candidacy of Stephen Douglas.
In the secession crisis following Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 Seymour supported the war effort but criticized Lincoln's conduct of the war. Seymour was especially critical of Lincoln's wartime restrictions on civil liberties, as well as his support for emancipation.
In 1862, the sitting governor, Republican Edwin D. Morgan, announced that he would not run for an additional term. The Democratic Party nominated Seymour and though Seymour accepted the nomination with reluctance, he won a close race against the Republican candidate James S. Wadsworth. Seymour's second term proved to be even more tumultuous than his first one. As governor of the largest state in the union from 1863 to 1864, Seymour was one of the most prominent Democratic opponents of the President. He opposed the Lincoln administration's institution of the military draft in 1863 on constitutional grounds, an act which led many to question his support for the war. His efforts to conciliate the rioters during the New York Draft Riots of July 1863 was used against him by the Republicans, who accused him of treason and support for the Confederacy. Support for Seymour eroded and in the 1864 election Seymour was defeated in a close race by Republican Reuben Fenton.
Seymour continued as a prominent figure in national Democratic politics both during and immediately after his second term as governor. In 1864, he served as permanent chairman at the Democratic National Convention, where the opposition of many delegates to the nomination of General George B. McClellan led many to seek out Seymour as an alternative. But Seymour made it clear that he would not be a candidate. Following the end of the war, Seymour joined other Democrats in supporting President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction policies, and was a strong opponent of Radical Reconstruction.
As the 1868 presidential election approached, there was no clear candidate for the Democratic nomination. When Seymour was approached about running for the nomination, he preferred that either Senator Thomas A. Hendricks or Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase receive the nomination instead. At the convention, Seymour once again served as permanent chairman. Balloting began on June 7 without a strong candidate. Two days later, as the twenty-second ballot was being taken, delegates settled on Seymour as their candidate.
Seymour faced a formidable opponent in General Ulysses S. Grant, who enjoyed the support of a unified Republican party and most of the nation's press. While he generally followed to the tradition that presidential nominees did not actively campaign, Seymour toured the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic states in October. In his campaign Seymour advocated a policy of conservative, limited government, and he opposed the Reconstruction policies of the Republicans in Congress. The Republican campaign, by contrast, was the first in which they "waved the bloody shirt", accusing Seymour and the Democrats of disloyalty to the Union. Though the popular vote was closer, Seymour was defeated decisively in the electoral vote by a count of 214 to 80.
After the presidential election, Seymour remained involved in state politics, primarily as an elder statesman rather than an active politician. He served as the chancellor of Union College in 1873. He refused two additional efforts to nominate him for the New York governorship, in 1876 and 1879, as well as a final attempt to select him as the Democratic presidential nominee in 1880.
Seymour's health began a permanent decline in 1876. He campaigned for Grover Cleveland's election as president in 1884, but deteriorated physically the following year. Seymour died on February 12, 1886 in New York City at the age of 75. He was interred in Forest Hill Cemetery in Utica, New York. His wife Mary died a month later and is buried next to him.