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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 February 2017
William Seward was elected governor of New York State in 1838. Economic depression and distress resulting from the Panic of 1837, a strong political machine engineered by Thurlow Weed, and the editorial talents of Horace Greeley produced a Whig landslide and the election of Seward by ten thousand votes. Very early in January 1839, Seward delivered his first annual message to the state legislature. After carefully submitting his recommendation for internal improvements within the state—a subject which held high priority in all of Seward's messages—the Whig governor turned his attention to the progress of education in New York State. Although the state's system of public instruction was by no means unsuccessful, the governor thought “that its usefulness is much less than the state rightfully demands, both as a return for her munificence and a guaranty of her institutions.” Superior educational facilities were imperative if Americans were to achieve an enlightened understanding of responsible citizenship and cherish the legacy of their republican heritage. Seward was convinced that only a first-rate education could effect “the improvability of our race”—an elevation which was infinite in dimension. Careful not to deprecate the past merit of New York's educational system, Seward tempered his critical remarks by noting that “all that is proposed is less wonderful than what has already been accomplished.” Lest his legislative audience misconstrue his educational observations as mere platitudes doomed to oblivion amid more important priorities, the chief executive forewarned that “education is the chief of our responsibilities.” In fact, Seward prophesied that during his administration “improvement in our system of education will be wider and more enduring than the effects of any change of public policy.”
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