Pierre Soulé | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 13thUnited States Minister toSpain | |
| In office April 7, 1853 – February 1, 1855 | |
| President | Franklin Pierce |
| Preceded by | Daniel M. Barringer |
| Succeeded by | Augustus C. Dodge |
| United States Senator fromLouisiana | |
| In office March 3, 1849 – April 11, 1853 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Johnson |
| Succeeded by | John Slidell |
| In office January 21, 1847 – March 3, 1847 | |
| Preceded by | Alexander Barrow |
| Succeeded by | Solomon W. Downs |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1801-08-31)August 31, 1801 |
| Died | March 26, 1870(1870-03-26) (aged 68) New Orleans,Louisiana, US |
| Resting place | St. Louis Cemetery No. 2 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Profession | Politician, Lawyer |
| Signature |  |
Pierre Soulé (August 31, 1801 – March 26, 1870) was a French-born American attorney, politician, and diplomat in the mid-19th century.[1] Serving as aU.S. senator fromLouisiana from 1849 to 1853, he was nominated that year asU.S. Minister to Spain, a post that he held until 1855.
He is likely best known for his role in writing the 1854Ostend Manifesto, part of an attempt by Southern slaveholders to gain support for the US to annexCuba to the United States. Some Southernplanters wanted to expand their territory to theCaribbean and intoCentral America. The Manifesto was roundly denounced, especially by anti-slavery elements, and Soulé was personally criticized for violating his diplomatic role.
Born and raised in southwestFrance, Soulé was exiled for revolutionary activities. He moved toGreat Britain and then theUnited States, where he settled inNew Orleans, became an attorney, and entered politics.
Pierre Soulé was born in 1801 inCastillon-en-Couserans, a village in the FrenchPyrénées. His father was a prominent justice of the peace, and he was born into an educated family. He studied at a Jesuit college inToulouse and at aBordeaux academy. An anti-royalist in favor of freedom of conscience and secularism, he was exiled as a youth in 1816 toNavarre.[2]
Soulé was later able to go to Paris to study law. After completing his studies, he passed the bar and began to practice law in the capital, Paris. He became involved in some secret societies working on civil rights. He published a newspaper,Le Nouveau nain jaune (The New Yellow Dwarf), whose title referred to a French fairy tale. Convicted of opposition to the government, he was sentenced to three years in prison but managed to escape.[2]
In 1825 Soulé fled France by going first toGreat Britain and then briefly toHaiti (formerly the French colony of Saint-Domingue). He was impressed by the new republic but had learned of the widespread massacres during theHaitian Revolution.
Soulé reached the U.S. at about age 25 and settled inNew Orleans,Louisiana, the center of another formerFrench colony. It still had a large ethnic French population, which commonly used theFrench language. There, he became a lawyer, married and had at least one son. After getting established, he became a naturalized citizen and founded a bank. However, there was a financial panic that disrupted the bank and so he returned to work about 1839 as an attorney for cotton planters and brokers.[2] He was a founding member ofThe Boston Club.[3][4]
Soulé joined the Democratic Party and began to become active in politics. In 1844 he was a delegate to the state constitutional convention, and in 1846 he won election to theLouisiana State Senate.
In 1847, Soulé served briefly in theUnited States Senate as aDemocrat elected by the state legislature to fill a vacancy in a special election. He was returned to the Senate for a full term, serving from 1849 to 1853.
He resigned to take an appointment asU.S. Minister to Spain, a post he held until 1855. Soulé contributed to the "tragicomic character of American diplomacy"[5] in Europe during this period in that "He wounded the French ambassador in a duel, handed down an unauthorized ultimatum, and tried to pick a war with Spain over theBlack Warrior affair. One critic observed that he was more of a matador than an ambassador."[6] During this period, Soulé became known for writing the 1854Ostend Manifesto, part of an attempt bySouthern slaveholders of theplanter class to gain support to annexCuba to the United States. Worried about being bounded byfree states to the north and west, some prominent Southerners wanted to expand their territory to theCaribbean and intoCentral America.Cuba still had legal slavery at the time. The Manifesto was roundly denounced in the U.S., especially by anti-slavery elements. Soulé was personally criticized for violating his role as adiplomat and Minister to Spain, whichstill controlled Cuba.[7]
In late 1852, while in Washington, D.C., Soulé had provided some support and assistance to the agent responsible for rescuingSolomon Northup, afree black fromSaratoga Springs, New York, who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery. Northup was held as a slave for twelve years by planters in theRed River region, in Louisiana.[8]
Soulé opposed Southernsecession before theAmerican Civil War. At the1860 Democratic National Convention, he supportedStephen A. Douglas and the Unionist wing of the party against secessionist delegates, and in the subsequent 1860 presidential election, he was one of the few prominent politicians from the Deep South to campaign for Douglas. However, once the war began, he supported his state of Louisiana within the Confederacy. In 1861, he supported organizing the Allen Rifles which was Company 1 of the26th Louisiana Infantry Regiment and gave an impassioned speech at a big barbecue inThibodaux inLafourche Parish.[9]
On May 18, 1861, Soulé was captured byfederal troops, charged with "plottingtreason against the United States government," and imprisoned inFort Warren,Massachusetts.[10] Soulé escaped from the prison and was able to return toConfederate territory.
After the war ended in 1865, he went into exile inHavana, Cuba. Soulé later returned to the U.S. and died inNew Orleans.
| U.S. Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from Louisiana January 21, 1847 – March 3, 1847 Served alongside:Henry Johnson | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 3) from Louisiana March 3, 1849 – April 11, 1853 Served alongside:Solomon W. Downs andJudah P. Benjamin | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Spain April 7, 1853 – February 1, 1855 | Succeeded by |
| Class 2 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
| Agriculture (1829–1857; 1863–1881) | | |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture and Forestry (1884–1977) | ||
| Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (1977–) | ||
| Ministers Plenipotentiary to Spain (1779–1825) | |
|---|---|
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain (1825–1913) | |
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Spain (1913–present) | |
