William Henry Seward was born in New York in 1801. After graduating from Union College in 1820, he passed the state bar exam in 1822 and began to practice law. He first entered politics by running unsuccessfully for the New York State Senate in 1828. Two years later, he won the office on the Anti-Masonic Party ticket with the help of his political mentor, Thurlow Weed. After an unsuccessful bid for the New York governorship in 1834, he was elected four years later as a Whig and served two terms. Seward compiled a progressive record as governor, supporting prison reform, immigrant rights, and financial aid to parochial schools. His unwillingness to extradite three black fugitives to Virginia won him the support of antislavery advocates across the nation.