William H. Seward's Nomination to be Secretary of State

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Description

President Abraham Lincoln nominated New York Senator William H. Seward for Secretary of State on March 5, 1861. During his eight-year tenure as Secretary of State, Seward handled the delicate relations with foreign nations during the Civil War; and in 1867, he negotiated and signed the treaty with Russia for the sale of Alaska to the United States.

Transcript

To the Senate of the United States

I nominate William H. Seward of New York to be Secretary of State of the United States.

Abraham Lincoln

Washington 5th March 1861.

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Citation

This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Senate.

National Archives Identifier: 306309

Full Citation: Message of President Abraham Lincoln Nominating William H. Seward to be Secretary of State; 3/5/1861; Anson McCook Collection of Presidential Signatures, 1789 – 1975; Records of the U.S. Senate, Record Group 46; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/document/seward-nomination/, June 1, 2026]

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