32 Facts About Horatio Seymour

Horatio Seymour served as Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864.

Horatio Seymour was the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 1868 United States presidential election, losing to Republican Ulysses S Grant.

Horatio Seymour primarily focused on managing his family's business interests.

Horatio Seymour was elected that body's speaker in 1845 and aligned with Marcy's "Softshell Hunker" faction.

Horatio Seymour was nominated for governor in 1850 but narrowly lost to the Whig candidate, Washington Hunt.

Horatio Seymour defeated Hunt in the 1852 gubernatorial election, and spent much of his tenure trying to reunify the fractured Democratic Party, losing his 1854 re-election campaign in part due to this disunity.

Horatio Seymour supported the Union war effort during the Civil War but criticized President Abraham Lincoln's leadership.

Horatio Seymour won election to another term as governor in 1862 and continued to oppose many of Lincoln's policies.

Horatio Seymour was born in Pompey Hill, Onondaga County, New York.

Horatio Seymour's father was Henry Seymour, a merchant and politician; his mother, Mary Ledyard Forman, of Matawan, New Jersey, was the daughter of General Jonathan Forman and Mary Ledyard.

Horatio Seymour was one of six children, and his sister Julia Catherine became the wife of Roscoe Conkling.

Horatio Seymour won election to the Assembly again in 1843 to 1844, and thanks in part to massive turnover in the ranks of the Democratic caucus he was elected speaker in 1845.

When, in the late 1840s, the New York Democratic Party split between the two factions of Hunkers and Barnburners, Seymour was among those identified with the more conservative Hunker faction, led by Marcy and Senator Daniel S Dickinson.

In 1850, Horatio Seymour was the gubernatorial candidate of the reunited Democratic Party, but he narrowly lost to the Whig candidate, Washington Hunt.

That year proved a good one for the Softs, as Horatio Seymour, again supported by a unified Democratic Party, narrowly defeated Hunt in a gubernatorial rematch, while Pierce, overwhelmingly elected president, appointed Marcy as his Secretary of State.

Whigs controlling the state legislature sought to injure him further politically by responding to his call for action on the problem of alcohol abuse with a bill establishing a statewide prohibition, which Horatio Seymour vetoed as unconstitutional.

Horatio Seymour wrote a letter to the editor of his local newspaper declaring unreservedly that he was not candidate for either president or vice president.

Horatio Seymour was especially critical of Lincoln's wartime centralization of power and restrictions on civil liberties, as well as his support for emancipation.

Horatio Seymour won a close race against the Republican candidate James S Wadsworth, one of a series of victories by the Democratic ticket in the state that year.

Horatio Seymour 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.

Horatio Seymour opposed a bill giving votes to the soldiers on legal grounds, vetoing the bill when it reached his desk.

Horatio Seymour continued as a prominent figure in national Democratic politics both during and immediately after his second term as governor.

Horatio Seymour refused to be nominated with the nomination ultimately going to McClellan.

When Seymour was approached about running for the nomination, he demurred again, preferring that either Indiana Senator Thomas A Hendricks or US Chief Justice Salmon P Chase receive the nomination instead.

At the convention, Horatio Seymour served as permanent chairman.

Horatio Seymour faced considerable challenges; his opponent, General Ulysses S Grant, enjoyed the support of a unified Republican party and most of the nation's press.

Horatio Seymour's campaign was marked by pronounced appeals to racism with repeated attempts to brand General Grant as the "Nigger" candidate and Horatio Seymour as the "White Man's" candidate.

Horatio Seymour received a number of honors during this period, including the chancellorship of Union College in 1873.

Horatio Seymour 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.

Never enjoying robust health, Horatio Seymour suffered a permanent decline beginning in 1876.

Horatio Seymour made a final political effort in 1884 by campaigning for Grover Cleveland's election as president, but deteriorated physically the following year.

Horatio Seymour died in February 1886 and was interred in Forest Hill Cemetery in Utica, New York; Mary died a month later and is buried next to him.