This article explores William H. Seward's opposition to Abraham Lincoln's pursuit of black colonization (resettlement) during the American Civil War. Although the existing literature has shown a cursory awareness of the two men's differences over that policy, scholars have failed to appreciate the full force of what was easily the strongest point of disagreement between the president and his secretary of state. Drawing on archival research from three countries, this article explains why Seward opposed colonization. It charts how wartime colonization policy evolved and investigates why even Seward could discern some merit in the idea during the early part of the war. Above all, it demonstrates the dilemmas faced by a would-be saboteur of the presidential will, as well as the unintended consequences that can arise from an administrator's well-meaning interventions in policymaking.

中文翻译：

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“一把锋利的刀足以将我们分开”：威廉·H·苏厄德、亚伯拉罕·林肯和黑人殖民

本文探讨了威廉·H·苏厄德 (William H. Seward) 反对亚伯拉罕·林肯 (Abraham Lincoln) 在美国内战期间追求黑人殖民化（重新安置）的行为。尽管现有文献粗略地意识到了两人在该政策上的分歧，但学者们未能充分理解总统与其国务卿之间最明显的分歧点的全部力量。本文借鉴三个国家的档案研究，解释了西沃德反对殖民化的原因。它描绘了战时殖民政策是如何演变的，并调查了为什么即使是西沃德在战争初期也能看出这个想法的一些优点。最重要的是，它表明了总统意志的潜在破坏者所面临的困境，