Quotes by William H. Seward
“The circumstances of the world are so variable that an irrevocable purpose or opinion is almost synonymous with a foolish one.”— William H. Seward
“I speak for the universal franchise, and for the admission of women to that franchise.”— William H. Seward
“I know that Nature designs that this whole continent, not merely these thirty-six states, shall be, sooner or later, within the magic circle of the American union.”— William H. Seward
“Give me only this--a free press, and I will defend the cause of liberty throughout the world.”— William H. Seward
“Treason is a crime against the State. The State is the government. The government is the President.”— William H. Seward
“Slavery can be limited to its present bounds; it can be ameliorated. It can be and must be abolished, and you and I can and must do it.”— William H. Seward
“Hitherto, the two systems have existed in different states, but side by side within the American Union. This has happened because the Union is a confederation of states. But in another aspect the United States constitute only one nation.”— William H. Seward
“The penalty of success is to be bored by the attentions of people who formerly snubbed you.”— William H. Seward
“Let us contemplate our forefathers, and posterity, and resolve to maintain the rights bequeathed to us from the former, for the sake of the latter.”— William H. Seward
“Every man is born a legislator; for every man has within himself the germ of the most important part of legislation—a sense of equity.”— William H. Seward
“The welcome of strangers and the relief of the poor are the highest duties of the Christian faith.”— William H. Seward
“The security of the nation is not at the ramparts alone. Security also lies in the value of our free institutions.”— William H. Seward