LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
proclaim May 16, 2013, as William H. Seward Day in the State of New York

WHEREAS, It is with noble admiration and pride that this Legislative
Body joyfully pays just recognition to the life and work of William H.
Seward, one of its great leaders; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to memorialize Governor
Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim May 16, 2013, as William H. Seward Day and
to celebrate the 212th anniversary of his birth; and
WHEREAS, William H. Seward was born in Florida, New York on May 16,
1801, and graduated at the top of his class from Union College in 1820;
and
WHEREAS, William H. Seward served in the New York State Legislature
from 1831-1834; and
WHEREAS, William H. Seward was elected the 12th Governor of New York
State in 1839 and served until 1842; and
WHEREAS, William H. Seward was elected to the United States Senate
where he represented New York State from 1849-1861, and from where he
became one of the nation's most ardent opponents of slavery; and
WHEREAS, William H. Seward was named Secretary of State by President
Abraham Lincoln in 1861 and served in that capacity through the adminis-
trations of Presidents Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, helping to guide the
nation through the Civil War and surviving an assassination attempt the
very night President Lincoln was murdered; and
WHEREAS, William H. Seward, as Secretary of State, played an integral
role in negotiating the Lyons-Seward Treaty of 1862, which set forth
strong measures by which the United States and Great Britain agreed to
enforce an end to the Atlantic slave trade; and
WHEREAS, William H. Seward, as Secretary of State, negotiated the
purchase of the territory of Alaska from Russia in 1867; the territory
encompassed 586,412 miles, which Seward was able to purchase for approx-
imately two cents per acre, and is one of the most resource-rich and
environmentally pristine areas in the world; and
WHEREAS, William H. Seward III willed the William H. Seward House in
Auburn, New York, to the Fred L. Emerson Foundation to be operated as a
public museum in 1951; and
WHEREAS, The William H. Seward House became a museum chartered by New
York State in 2008 and continues to preserve and honor William H.
Seward's collection and legacy; and
WHEREAS, The William H. Seward House museum's collection includes many
priceless artifacts, including "Portage Falls on Genesee," an oil-paint-
ing done by famed artist Thomas Cole in 1839 and given to then-Governor
Seward as a gift; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim May 16, 2013 as William
H. Seward Day in the State of New York; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New
York, the William H. Seward House and The Reverend Raymond Messenger,
direct descendant of William H. Seward.