alternatehistory.com

One of the odd decisions in past political campaigns is the overconfident would be winner that decides to just offer platitudes instead of actually campaigning to win.

One of these was at a critical time in our history, the 1860 political primary. Henry Seward, the Favorite to win the primary, OTL instead visited Europe and went on a goodwill tour around the world, while Abraham Lincoln campaigned hard and managed to grab the nomination. Despite this posturing, Seward would loyally support Lincoln as Secretary of State during the civil war.

Suppose, instead, that it is Seward who is running for election in 1860, possibly making the same deal in reverse to Lincoln. What happens next?
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