Daniel S. Dickinson (1807-1866) Dickinson was indeed an orator who could change minds. Historian Sidney David Brummer noted that at the 1859 Democratic State Convention, “Dickinson had made a speech utterly re-probating the tactics of [New York City Mozart Hall leader Fernando] Wood and thus influenced many of the…” Abraham Lincoln and New York >

Erastus Corning (1794-1872) Corning was a Democrat, but he was first and foremost a businessman — first in iron manufacturing, then banking and later in railroads. No record has ever been found of Corning discussing this appointment with the New York Central board. Politics was a sideline in which he… Abraham Lincoln and New York […]

John J. Cisco (1806-1884) As the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in New York, John J. Cisco had won the confidence of New York bankers while working under two Democratic presidents. He continued to serve, according to presidential aides… Abraham Lincoln and New York >

August Belmont (1816-1890) Belmont was “sensitive to the ferment around him, but generally speaking what concerned him were the practical effects of disunion, not the moral and humanitarian aspects of human slavery. As a consequence, Belmont…” Abraham Lincoln and New York >

Samuel L. M. Barlow (1826-1889) General McClellan’s friendship with Barlow helped define him politically — as a conservative Democrat. But Barlow’s friendship with McClellan targeted him for scrutiny by the War Department. Historian Sears wrote: “In March [1863] T. J. Barnett had written Samuel Barlow from Washington to warn him that…” Abraham Lincoln and New […]

New York Democrats President Lincoln told a visiting Democratic politician from New York: “I have heard some things from New York and if they are true, one might well say to your party there, as a drunken fellow once said when he heard the reading of an indictment for…” Abraham Lincoln and New York >

Thurlow Weed (1797-1882) Thurlow Weed was a political legend in his own time. “The very thoroughness and frankness of Weed’s bossism produced dissension in New York. The name of Weed connoted tricky politics,” wrote historian James G. Randall. “In 1859-60 he had…” Abraham Lincoln and New York >

Abram Wakeman (1824-1889) President Lincoln wrote Wakeman, an unusually frank letter about politics, in July 1864: “I feel that the subject which you pressed upon my attention in our recent conversation is an important one. The men of the South, they are in the…” Abraham Lincoln and New York >

James S. Wadsworth (1807-1864) James S. Wadsworth was an unlikely soldier and a somewhat improbable politician. Wadsworth was “a thorough Radical, in favor of every elision of constitutional guarantees that the President had made, and likewise an…” Abraham Lincoln and New York >

William H. Seward (1801-1872) Seward was a lightening rod for controversy. “Apart from politics, I liked the man, though not blind to his faults. His natural instincts were humane and progressive. He hated Slavery and all its belongings…” wrote New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley, a frequent… Abraham Lincoln and New York >