History of the United States I / Unit 12 USH1 1715 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Ostend Manifesto
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The idea
In eighteen fifty-four American diplomats met at Ostend in Belgium and produced a secret memo, thought written by James Buchanan.
In practice
The claim that if Spain refused to sell Cuba, the United States was justified in taking it as a national security measure.
Where people slip
The contents leaked, northern outrage followed at what looked like a Slave Power scheme, and European powers were angry too.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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