e notion of borrowing ideas from
Lincoln; and had he studied the progress of the Illinois canvass, he
must have seen that the declaration did not meet with general favour.
In February of this year there had been bodied forth in Seward the
politician. Now, a far-seeing statesman spoke. One was compared to
Webster's 7th-of-March speech,--the other was commended by the
Abolitionists."--James F. Rhodes, _History of the United States_, Vol.
2, pp. 344-5.]

The result of the election was favourable to the Republicans, Morgan's
majority over Parker being 17,440.[503] Ninety-nine members of the
Legislature and twenty-nine congressmen were either Republicans or
anti-Lecompton men. But, compared with the victory of 1856, it was a
disappointment. John A. King had received a majority of 65,000 over
Parker. The _Tribune_ was quick to charge some of this loss to Seward.
"The clamour against Sewardism lost us many votes," it declared the
morning after the election. Two or three days later, as the reduced
majority became more apparent, it explained that "A knavish clamour
was raised on the eve of election by a Swiss press against Governor
Seward's late speech at Rochester as revolutionary and disunionist.
Our loss from this source is considerable." The returns, however,
showed plainly that one-half of the Americans, following the precedent
set in 1857, had voted for Parker, while the other half, irritated by
the failure of the union movement at Syracuse, had supported Burrows.
Had the coalition succeeded, Morgan's majority must have been larger
than King's. But, small as it was, there was abundant cause for
Republican rejoicing, since it kept the Empire State in line with the
Republican States of New England, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, and Wisconsin,
which were now joined for the first time by Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
and Minnesota. Indeed, of the free States, only California and Oregon
had indorsed Buchanan's administration.

[Footnote 503: Edwin D. Morgan, 247,953; Amasa J. Parker, 230,513;
Lorenzo Burrows, 60,880; Gerrit Smith, 5470.--_Civil List, State of
New York_ (1887), p. 166.]

CHAPTER XIX

SEWARD'S BID FOR THE PRESIDENCY

1859-1860

The elections in 1858 simplified the political situation. With the
exception of Pennsylvania, where the tariff question played a
conspicuous part, all the Northern States had disapproved President
Buchanan's Lecompton policy, and the people, save the old-line Whigs,
the Abolitionists,