Episode 17: Almost Lincoln (w/ Jeff Ludwig)

For the first time, we'll look at a man who didn't even earn his party's nomination. In 1860, the Republican Party met in a gigantic wigwam in Chicago to choose their nominee for president. The smart money was on a conscientious antislavery man and the party's most prominent public figure: New York's William H. Seward. The public was shocked when delegates instead chose an obscure man who was most famous for losing a Senate race: Abraham Lincoln. Instead of being the man who led the nation through the Civil War, Seward became Lincoln's most important advisor and his Secretary of State-- foremost among the "Team of Rivals." We are lucky to be joined by Jeff Ludwig, Director of Education at the William Seward House in scenic Auburn, New York.