Pierre Soulé, the driving force behind the Ostend Manifesto
Events leading to the American Civil War
Economic
End of Atlantic slave trade
Panic of 1857
Political
Northwest Ordinance
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
Missouri Compromise
Nullification crisis
Gag rule
Tariff of 1828
End of slavery in British colonies
Texas Revolution
Texas annexation
Mexican–American War
Wilmot Proviso
Nashville Convention
Compromise of 1850
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
Kansas–Nebraska Act
Ostend Manifesto
Caning of Charles Sumner
Lincoln–Douglas debates
1860 presidential election
Crittenden Compromise
Secession of Southern states
Peace Conference of 1861
Corwin Amendment
Social
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Martyrdom of Elijah Lovejoy
Burning of Pennsylvania Hall
American Slavery As It Is
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Bleeding Kansas
The Impending Crisis of the South
Oberlin–Wellington Rescue
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
Judicial
Trial of Reuben Crandall
Commonwealth v. Aves
The Amistad affair
Prigg v. Pennsylvania
Recapture of Anthony Burns
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Virginia v. John Brown
Military
Star of the West
Battle of Fort Sumter
President Lincoln's 75,000 volunteers
v
t
e
The Ostend Manifesto, also known as the Ostend Circular, was a document written in 1854 that described the rationale for the United States to purchase Cuba from Spain while implying that the U.S. should declare war if Spain refused. Cuba's annexation had long been a goal of U.S. slaveholding expansionists. At the national level, American leaders had been satisfied to have the island remain in weak Spanish hands so long as it did not pass to a stronger power such as Britain or France. The Ostend Manifesto proposed a shift in foreign policy, justifying the use of force to seize Cuba in the name of national security. It resulted from debates over slavery in the United States, manifest destiny, and the Monroe Doctrine, as slaveholders sought new territory for the expansion of slavery.
During the administration of President Franklin Pierce, a pro-Southern Democrat, Southern expansionists called for acquiring Cuba as a slave state, but the outbreak of violence following the Kansas–Nebraska Act left the administration unsure of how to proceed. At the suggestion of Secretary of State William L. Marcy, American ministers in Europe—Pierre Soulé for Spain, James Buchanan for Britain, and John Y. Mason for France—met to discuss strategy related to an acquisition of Cuba. They met secretly at Ostend, Belgium, and drafted a dispatch at Aachen, Prussia. The document was sent to Washington in October 1854, outlining why a purchase of Cuba would be beneficial to each of the nations and declaring that the U.S. would be "justified in wresting" the island from Spanish hands if Spain refused to sell. To Marcy's chagrin, Soulé made no secret of the meetings, causing unwanted publicity in both Europe and the U.S. The administration was finally forced to publish the contents of the dispatch, which caused it irreparable damage.
The dispatch was published as demanded by the House of Representatives. Dubbed the "Ostend Manifesto", it was immediately denounced in both the Northern states and Europe. The Pierce administration suffered a significant setback, and the manifesto became a rallying cry for anti-slavery Northerners. The question of Cuba's annexation was effectively set aside until the late 19th century, when support grew for Cuban independence from Spain.
The OstendManifesto, also known as the Ostend Circular, was a document written in 1854 that described the rationale for the United States to purchase...
[citation needed] An October 1854 meeting of American envoys led to the OstendManifesto. Important for the image of the town was the attention it started to...
that Spain refused to sell the island, became known as the OstendManifesto. The Manifesto was swiftly doomed by its leak to the New York Herald and the...
was severely criticized after several of his diplomats issued the OstendManifesto, which called for the annexation of Cuba, by force if necessary. His...
administration was further damaged when several of his diplomats issued the OstendManifesto calling for the annexation of Cuba, a document that was roundly criticized...
Some wanted to obtain Cuba as slave territory, as espoused by the OstendManifesto. Northern Democrats called for "popular sovereignty", which in theory...
proposal grew out of previous unsuccessful proposals to annex Cuba (OstendManifesto), parts of Central America (Filibuster War), and all of Mexico (All...
island, this time for $130 million. When the public learned of the OstendManifesto in 1854, which argued that the United States could seize Cuba by force...
format in favour of the manifesto, because he felt it "must contain some history." On the 28th, Marx and Engels met at Ostend in Belgium, and a few days...
Compromise of 1850 Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Kansas–Nebraska Act OstendManifesto Caning of Charles Sumner Lincoln–Douglas debates 1860 presidential...
Compromise of 1850 Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Kansas–Nebraska Act OstendManifesto Caning of Charles Sumner Lincoln–Douglas debates 1860 presidential...
well. Southerners also anticipated annexing as slave states Cuba (see OstendManifesto), Mexico, and Central America (see Golden Circle (proposed country))...
of expanding both slavery and U.S. territory. The 1854 leak of the OstendManifesto, offering $130 million to Spain, caused a scandal among abolitionists...
for the acquisition of Cuba. A memorandum draft resulted, called the OstendManifesto, which proposed the purchase of Cuba from Spain, then in the midst...
Compromise of 1850 Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Kansas–Nebraska Act OstendManifesto Caning of Charles Sumner Lincoln–Douglas debates 1860 presidential...
Compromise of 1850 Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Kansas–Nebraska Act OstendManifesto Caning of Charles Sumner Lincoln–Douglas debates 1860 presidential...
period. Also relatively well-known are the proposals, including the OstendManifesto, to annex Cuba as a slave state, as well as the privately funded invasion...
Compromise of 1850 Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Kansas–Nebraska Act OstendManifesto Caning of Charles Sumner Lincoln–Douglas debates 1860 presidential...
Compromise of 1850 Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Kansas–Nebraska Act OstendManifesto Caning of Charles Sumner Lincoln–Douglas debates 1860 presidential...
Compromise of 1850 Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Kansas–Nebraska Act OstendManifesto Caning of Charles Sumner Lincoln–Douglas debates 1860 presidential...
Compromise of 1850 Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Kansas–Nebraska Act OstendManifesto Caning of Charles Sumner Lincoln–Douglas debates 1860 presidential...
continental territories of the United States, the party also opposed the OstendManifesto, which advocated the annexation of Cuba from Spain. In sum, the campaign's...
Compromise of 1850 Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Kansas–Nebraska Act OstendManifesto Caning of Charles Sumner Lincoln–Douglas debates 1860 presidential...
Global Information