Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Introduction: T he Country Lawyer 1
4. 1. “There Is No Law of This State Which Recognizes Slavery”: Governor of New York 7
5. 2. “Harboring and Concealing a Weary and Fainting Slave”: Antislavery Litigator 28
6. 3. “There Is a Higher Law Than the Constitution”: Conscience Whig Senator 57
7. 4. “An Irrepressible Conflict between Opposing and Enduring Forces”: Republican Party Campaigner 77
8. 5. “I Am to Engage in Conducting a War against a Portion of the American People”: Secretary of State 93
9. 6. “To the Arbitrament of Courts of Law and to the Councils of Legislation”: Hesitant Emancipator 123
10. 7. “The Union Has Been Rescued from All Its Perils”: Elder Statesman 141
11. Conclusion: Seward’s Law 151
12. Acknowledgments 161
13. Notes 163
14. Index 195