Edition of 1905.See alsoOstend Manifesto onWikipedia; and thedisclaimer.
OSTEND MANIFESTO. A dispatch drawnup at Ostend, October 9, 1854, and signed byJames Buchanan, John Y. Mason, and PierreSoulé, at that time the United States Ministersto Great Britain, France, and Spain respectively,declaring that the sale of Cuba would be asadvantageous and honorable to Spain as itspurchase would be to the United States, but if Spainrefused to sell, self-preservation required that itbe wrested from her by force. Encouraged by theacquisition of Texas, the pro-slavery leaders hadbeen affording ready assistance to filibusteringexpeditions directed against the islands of theSpanish West Indies, and especially Cuba. Theseexpeditions and the probable future action of theFederal Government in regard to the island createdanxiety in Europe, and in 1852 Great Britain andFrance addressed a joint note to the UnitedStates proposing a tripartite convention by whichthe three Powers should disclaim all intention toobtain possession of Cuba and should discountenancesuch attempts by any Power. Everett, thenSecretary of State, replied, refusing to accede tosuch an arrangement, while declaring that thiscountry would never question Spain's title to theisland. President Pierce in August, 1854,directed the American ministers resident at London,Paris, and Madrid to meet at some convenientpoint for discussion of the Cuban question.They met at Ostend, October 9th, and subsequentlyat Aix-la-Chapelle, though it was at theformer place that the memorandum known as theOstend Manifesto was prepared.
The declaration was not approved in theUnited States in the platforms of either party,and it was strongly condemned in Europe.Consult: Cluskey,Political Text-book (Philadelphia,1860); also Wilson,Rise and Fall of the SlavePower (Boston, 1872-77).
