Seward was a native of Florida, New York, and was educated at the S. S. Seward Institute. He attended Union College, and was appointed to the position of U.S. Consul in Shanghai in 1861. He was subsequently appointed United States Consul General in Shanghai on 1863, and U.S. Minister to China on January 7, 1876.\n', '

During his service, Seward played a key role in early treaty negotiations that would eventually become known as the Chinese Exclusion Act. Seward opposed restricting Chinese immigration.\n', '

His successor at Shanghai, John C. Myers of Reading, Pennsylvania, had reported to State Department superiors that Seward and his vice-counsul Oliver Bradford had been engaging in private land and capital speculation in China that seemed to violate the noninterference provisions of the Burlingame Treaty of 1868. However, Myers had been suspended for his efforts, as had his successor Wiley Wells, ex-Congressman from Mississippi. Wells and Myers then sought redress from Congress, and a committee considered impeaching George Seward.\n', '

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