John Slidell
Encyclopedia
John Slidell was an American
politician, lawyer and businessman. A native of New York
, Slidell moved to Louisiana
as a young man and became a staunch defender of southern rights as a U.S. Representative
and Senator
. He was the older brother of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie
, a US naval officer.
(then College) in 1810. In 1835, Slidell married the former Mathilde Deslonde, and they had three children, Alfred Slidell, Marie Rosine (later comtess de St. Roman), and Marguerite Mathilde (later baronness Frederic Emile d'Erlanger
).
. Though he lost an election to the United States House in 1828, he was elected in 1842 and served a term and a half from 1843–1845, as a Democrat. He served as minister plenipotentiary to Mexico from 1845-1846.
Prior to the Mexican-American War, Slidell was sent to Mexico
, by President James Knox Polk, to negotiate an agreement whereby the Rio Grande
would be the southern border of Texas
. He also was instructed to offer, among other alternatives, a maximum of $30 million for California
by Polk and his administration. Slidell hinted to Polk that the Mexican reluctance to negotiate might require a show of military force by the United States. Under the guidance of General Zachary Taylor
, U.S. troops were stationed at the U.S./Mexico border, ready to defend against Mexican attack. The Mexican government rejected Slidell's mission. After Mexican forces attacked at Matamoros the United States
declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846.
Slidell was elected to the Senate in 1853 and cast his lot with other pro-Southern congressmen to repeal the Missouri Compromise, acquire Cuba, and admit Kansas. In the 1860 campaign Slidell supported Democratic presidential candidate John C. Breckinridge
, but remained a pro-Union moderate until Abraham Lincoln
's election pushed the Southern states into seceding. At the Democratic Convention in Charleston, South Carolina
, in April 1860, Slidell plotted with "Fire-Eaters
" such as William Lowndes Yancey
of Alabama
to stymie the nomination of the popular Northern Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas
of Illinois
.
With the passage of the Louisiana ordinance of secession
, Slidell resigned from the U.S. Senate and headed home. In a dramatic farewell address, he threatened the boycott
of all northern manufacturing and predicted the dominance of southern ships on the seas. He argued that foreign countries would prevent the Union from blockading southern ports: "This will be war, . . . and we shall meet it with . . . efficient weapons." Despite the looming war, the historian
John D. Winters
reports that many Confederates
"still thought a peaceful solution could be found. Many believed the Yankee incapable of learning to use a gun or of mustering enough courage to fight; the emergency [they mistakenly thought] would soon dissipate."
Slidell soon accepted a diplomatic appointment to represent the Confederacy in France. John Slidell was one of the two CSA
diplomats involved in the Trent Affair
in November 1861. After having been appointed the Confederate States of America's commissioner to France
in September, 1861, he ran the blockade from Charleston, South Carolina, with James Murray Mason of Virginia
. They then set sail from Havana
on the British mail boat steamer RMS Trent
, but were intercepted by the U.S. Navy
while en route and taken into captivity at Fort Warren
in Boston.
After the resolution of the Trent Affair, the two diplomats set sail for England on January 1, 1862. From England Slidell at once went to Paris
, where in February 1862, he paid his first visit to the French minister of foreign affairs. His mission to gain recognition of the Confederate States by France
failed, as did his effort to negotiate a commercial agreement, for example that France might get control of Southern cotton if the blockade were broken. In both cases, France refused to move without the cooperation of England
. But he did succeed in negotiating a loan of $15,000,000 from French capitalists and in securing the ship “Stonewall” for the Confederate government.
, Isle of Wight
, England
, at age 78. He is interred in the Saint-Roman family private cemetery near Paris. He, Judah P. Benjamin
and A. Dudley Mann
were among the high-ranking Confederate officials buried abroad.
, a naval officer who commanded the USS Somers
on which a unique event occurred in 1842 off the coast of Africa during the Blockade of Africa
. In that incident, three crewmen were hanged after being convicted of mutiny
at sea. Mackenzie reversed the order of his middle and last names to honor a maternal uncle.
Another brother, Thomas Slidell, was chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
. He was also the brother-in-law of the American naval Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who was married to Slidell's sister, Jane. Perry is remembered for opening United States trade with Japan
in 1853.
in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
was named in his honor by his son-in-law Baron Frederick Emile d'Erlanger; the village of Slidell, Texas
is also named after him.
politician, lawyer and businessman. A native of New York
, Slidell moved to Louisiana
as a young man and became a staunch defender of southern rights as a U.S. Representative
and Senator
. He was the older brother of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie
, a US naval officer.
(then College) in 1810. In 1835, Slidell married the former Mathilde Deslonde, and they had three children, Alfred Slidell, Marie Rosine (later comtess de St. Roman), and Marguerite Mathilde (later baronness Frederic Emile d'Erlanger
).
. Though he lost an election to the United States House in 1828, he was elected in 1842 and served a term and a half from 1843–1845, as a Democrat. He served as minister plenipotentiary to Mexico from 1845-1846.
Prior to the Mexican-American War, Slidell was sent to Mexico
, by President James Knox Polk, to negotiate an agreement whereby the Rio Grande
would be the southern border of Texas
. He also was instructed to offer, among other alternatives, a maximum of $30 million for California
by Polk and his administration. Slidell hinted to Polk that the Mexican reluctance to negotiate might require a show of military force by the United States. Under the guidance of General Zachary Taylor
, U.S. troops were stationed at the U.S./Mexico border, ready to defend against Mexican attack. The Mexican government rejected Slidell's mission. After Mexican forces attacked at Matamoros the United States
declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846.
Slidell was elected to the Senate in 1853 and cast his lot with other pro-Southern congressmen to repeal the Missouri Compromise, acquire Cuba, and admit Kansas. In the 1860 campaign Slidell supported Democratic presidential candidate John C. Breckinridge
, but remained a pro-Union moderate until Abraham Lincoln
's election pushed the Southern states into seceding. At the Democratic Convention in Charleston, South Carolina
, in April 1860, Slidell plotted with "Fire-Eaters
" such as William Lowndes Yancey
of Alabama
to stymie the nomination of the popular Northern Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas
of Illinois
.
With the passage of the Louisiana ordinance of secession
, Slidell resigned from the U.S. Senate and headed home. In a dramatic farewell address, he threatened the boycott
of all northern manufacturing and predicted the dominance of southern ships on the seas. He argued that foreign countries would prevent the Union from blockading southern ports: "This will be war, . . . and we shall meet it with . . . efficient weapons." Despite the looming war, the historian
John D. Winters
reports that many Confederates
"still thought a peaceful solution could be found. Many believed the Yankee incapable of learning to use a gun or of mustering enough courage to fight; the emergency [they mistakenly thought] would soon dissipate."
Slidell soon accepted a diplomatic appointment to represent the Confederacy in France. John Slidell was one of the two CSA
diplomats involved in the Trent Affair
in November 1861. After having been appointed the Confederate States of America's commissioner to France
in September, 1861, he ran the blockade from Charleston, South Carolina, with James Murray Mason of Virginia
. They then set sail from Havana
on the British mail boat steamer RMS Trent
, but were intercepted by the U.S. Navy
while en route and taken into captivity at Fort Warren
in Boston.
After the resolution of the Trent Affair, the two diplomats set sail for England on January 1, 1862. From England Slidell at once went to Paris
, where in February 1862, he paid his first visit to the French minister of foreign affairs. His mission to gain recognition of the Confederate States by France
failed, as did his effort to negotiate a commercial agreement, for example that France might get control of Southern cotton if the blockade were broken. In both cases, France refused to move without the cooperation of England
. But he did succeed in negotiating a loan of $15,000,000 from French capitalists and in securing the ship “Stonewall” for the Confederate government.
, Isle of Wight
, England
, at age 78. He is interred in the Saint-Roman family private cemetery near Paris. He, Judah P. Benjamin
and A. Dudley Mann
were among the high-ranking Confederate officials buried abroad.
, a naval officer who commanded the USS Somers
on which a unique event occurred in 1842 off the coast of Africa during the Blockade of Africa
. In that incident, three crewmen were hanged after being convicted of mutiny
at sea. Mackenzie reversed the order of his middle and last names to honor a maternal uncle.
Another brother, Thomas Slidell, was chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
. He was also the brother-in-law of the American naval Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who was married to Slidell's sister, Jane. Perry is remembered for opening United States trade with Japan
in 1853.
in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
was named in his honor by his son-in-law Baron Frederick Emile d'Erlanger; the village of Slidell, Texas
is also named after him.
politician, lawyer and businessman. A native of New York
, Slidell moved to Louisiana
as a young man and became a staunch defender of southern rights as a U.S. Representative
and Senator
. He was the older brother of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie
, a US naval officer.
(then College) in 1810. In 1835, Slidell married the former Mathilde Deslonde, and they had three children, Alfred Slidell, Marie Rosine (later comtess de St. Roman), and Marguerite Mathilde (later baronness Frederic Emile d'Erlanger
).
. Though he lost an election to the United States House in 1828, he was elected in 1842 and served a term and a half from 1843–1845, as a Democrat. He served as minister plenipotentiary to Mexico from 1845-1846.
Prior to the Mexican-American War, Slidell was sent to Mexico
, by President James Knox Polk, to negotiate an agreement whereby the Rio Grande
would be the southern border of Texas
. He also was instructed to offer, among other alternatives, a maximum of $30 million for California
by Polk and his administration. Slidell hinted to Polk that the Mexican reluctance to negotiate might require a show of military force by the United States. Under the guidance of General Zachary Taylor
, U.S. troops were stationed at the U.S./Mexico border, ready to defend against Mexican attack. The Mexican government rejected Slidell's mission. After Mexican forces attacked at Matamoros the United States
declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846.
Slidell was elected to the Senate in 1853 and cast his lot with other pro-Southern congressmen to repeal the Missouri Compromise, acquire Cuba, and admit Kansas. In the 1860 campaign Slidell supported Democratic presidential candidate John C. Breckinridge
, but remained a pro-Union moderate until Abraham Lincoln
's election pushed the Southern states into seceding. At the Democratic Convention in Charleston, South Carolina
, in April 1860, Slidell plotted with "Fire-Eaters
" such as William Lowndes Yancey
of Alabama
to stymie the nomination of the popular Northern Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas
of Illinois
.
With the passage of the Louisiana ordinance of secession
, Slidell resigned from the U.S. Senate and headed home. In a dramatic farewell address, he threatened the boycott
of all northern manufacturing and predicted the dominance of southern ships on the seas. He argued that foreign countries would prevent the Union from blockading southern ports: "This will be war, . . . and we shall meet it with . . . efficient weapons." Despite the looming war, the historian
John D. Winters
reports that many Confederates
"still thought a peaceful solution could be found. Many believed the Yankee incapable of learning to use a gun or of mustering enough courage to fight; the emergency [they mistakenly thought] would soon dissipate."
Slidell soon accepted a diplomatic appointment to represent the Confederacy in France. John Slidell was one of the two CSA
diplomats involved in the Trent Affair
in November 1861. After having been appointed the Confederate States of America's commissioner to France
in September, 1861, he ran the blockade from Charleston, South Carolina, with James Murray Mason of Virginia
. They then set sail from Havana
on the British mail boat steamer RMS Trent
, but were intercepted by the U.S. Navy
while en route and taken into captivity at Fort Warren
in Boston.
After the resolution of the Trent Affair, the two diplomats set sail for England on January 1, 1862. From England Slidell at once went to Paris
, where in February 1862, he paid his first visit to the French minister of foreign affairs. His mission to gain recognition of the Confederate States by France
failed, as did his effort to negotiate a commercial agreement, for example that France might get control of Southern cotton if the blockade were broken. In both cases, France refused to move without the cooperation of England
. But he did succeed in negotiating a loan of $15,000,000 from French capitalists and in securing the ship “Stonewall” for the Confederate government.
, Isle of Wight
, England
, at age 78. He is interred in the Saint-Roman family private cemetery near Paris. He, Judah P. Benjamin
and A. Dudley Mann
were among the high-ranking Confederate officials buried abroad.
, a naval officer who commanded the USS Somers
on which a unique event occurred in 1842 off the coast of Africa during the Blockade of Africa
. In that incident, three crewmen were hanged after being convicted of mutiny
at sea. Mackenzie reversed the order of his middle and last names to honor a maternal uncle.
Another brother, Thomas Slidell, was chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
. He was also the brother-in-law of the American naval Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who was married to Slidell's sister, Jane. Perry is remembered for opening United States trade with Japan
in 1853.
in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
was named in his honor by his son-in-law Baron Frederick Emile d'Erlanger; the village of Slidell, Texas
is also named after him.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician, lawyer and businessman. A native of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Slidell moved to Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
as a young man and became a staunch defender of southern rights as a U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. He was the older brother of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie
Alexander Slidell Mackenzie
Alexander Slidell Mackenzie Born in New York City, Mackenzie was a U.S. Navy officer who served during the first half of the 19th century. He was an accomplished author and writer who wrote several contemporary essays and biographies of notable US naval figures of the early 19th century. He was...
, a US naval officer.
Early life
He was born to the merchant John Slidell and the former Margery Mackenzie, a Scot. He graduated from Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(then College) in 1810. In 1835, Slidell married the former Mathilde Deslonde, and they had three children, Alfred Slidell, Marie Rosine (later comtess de St. Roman), and Marguerite Mathilde (later baronness Frederic Emile d'Erlanger
Frederic Emile d'Erlanger
Frédéric Emile Baron d’Erlanger born as Friedrich Emil Erlanger, was a German banker and Consul.- Life :...
).
Merchant, lawyer, politician
Slidell was in the mercantile business in New York before he relocated to New Orleans. He practiced law in New Orleans from 1819-1843. He was the district attorney in New Orleans from 1829-1833. He also served in the state's House of RepresentativesLouisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
. Though he lost an election to the United States House in 1828, he was elected in 1842 and served a term and a half from 1843–1845, as a Democrat. He served as minister plenipotentiary to Mexico from 1845-1846.
Prior to the Mexican-American War, Slidell was sent to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, by President James Knox Polk, to negotiate an agreement whereby the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
would be the southern border of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He also was instructed to offer, among other alternatives, a maximum of $30 million for California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
by Polk and his administration. Slidell hinted to Polk that the Mexican reluctance to negotiate might require a show of military force by the United States. Under the guidance of General Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
, U.S. troops were stationed at the U.S./Mexico border, ready to defend against Mexican attack. The Mexican government rejected Slidell's mission. After Mexican forces attacked at Matamoros the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846.
Slidell was elected to the Senate in 1853 and cast his lot with other pro-Southern congressmen to repeal the Missouri Compromise, acquire Cuba, and admit Kansas. In the 1860 campaign Slidell supported Democratic presidential candidate John C. Breckinridge
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
, but remained a pro-Union moderate until Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's election pushed the Southern states into seceding. At the Democratic Convention in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, in April 1860, Slidell plotted with "Fire-Eaters
Fire-Eaters
In United States history, the term Fire-Eaters refers to a group of extremist pro-slavery politicians from the South who urged the separation of southern states into a new nation, which became known as the Confederate States of America.-Impact:...
" such as William Lowndes Yancey
William Lowndes Yancey
William Lowndes Yancey was a journalist, politician, orator, diplomat and an American leader of the Southern secession movement. A member of the group known as the Fire-Eaters, Yancey was one of the most effective agitators for secession and rhetorical defenders of slavery. An early critic of...
of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
to stymie the nomination of the popular Northern Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
Civil War
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
, Slidell resigned from the U.S. Senate and headed home. In a dramatic farewell address, he threatened the boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of all northern manufacturing and predicted the dominance of southern ships on the seas. He argued that foreign countries would prevent the Union from blockading southern ports: "This will be war, . . . and we shall meet it with . . . efficient weapons." Despite the looming war, the historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
John D. Winters
John D. Winters
John David Winters was a historian at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, best known for his definitive and award-winning study, The Civil War in Louisiana, still in print, published in 1963 and released in paperback in 1991.-Background:Winters was born to John David Winters, Sr...
reports that many Confederates
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
"still thought a peaceful solution could be found. Many believed the Yankee incapable of learning to use a gun or of mustering enough courage to fight; the emergency [they mistakenly thought] would soon dissipate."
Slidell soon accepted a diplomatic appointment to represent the Confederacy in France. John Slidell was one of the two CSA
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
diplomats involved in the Trent Affair
Trent affair
The Trent Affair, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War...
in November 1861. After having been appointed the Confederate States of America's commissioner to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in September, 1861, he ran the blockade from Charleston, South Carolina, with James Murray Mason of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. They then set sail from Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
on the British mail boat steamer RMS Trent
RMS Trent
RMS Trent was a British Royal Mail paddle steamer built in 1841 by William Pitcher of Northfleet for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She measured 1,856 gross tons and could carry 60 passengers....
, but were intercepted by the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
while en route and taken into captivity at Fort Warren
Fort Warren (Massachusetts)
Fort Warren is a historic fort on the Georges Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor. The fort is pentagonal, made with stone and granite, and was constructed from 1833–1861, completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War...
in Boston.
After the resolution of the Trent Affair, the two diplomats set sail for England on January 1, 1862. From England Slidell at once went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where in February 1862, he paid his first visit to the French minister of foreign affairs. His mission to gain recognition of the Confederate States by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
failed, as did his effort to negotiate a commercial agreement, for example that France might get control of Southern cotton if the blockade were broken. In both cases, France refused to move without the cooperation of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. But he did succeed in negotiating a loan of $15,000,000 from French capitalists and in securing the ship “Stonewall” for the Confederate government.
Later life
Slidell moved to Paris, France, after the Civil War. He died in CowesCowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, at age 78. He is interred in the Saint-Roman family private cemetery near Paris. He, Judah P. Benjamin
Judah P. Benjamin
Judah Philip Benjamin was an American politician and lawyer. Born a British subject in the West Indies, he moved to the United States with his parents and became a citizen. He later became a citizen of the Confederate States of America. After the collapse of the Confederacy, Benjamin moved to...
and A. Dudley Mann
Ambrose Dudley Mann
Ambrose Dudley Mann was the first United States Assistant Secretary of State and a commissioner for the Confederate States....
were among the high-ranking Confederate officials buried abroad.
Family
John Slidell was a brother of Alexander Slidell MackenzieAlexander Slidell Mackenzie
Alexander Slidell Mackenzie Born in New York City, Mackenzie was a U.S. Navy officer who served during the first half of the 19th century. He was an accomplished author and writer who wrote several contemporary essays and biographies of notable US naval figures of the early 19th century. He was...
, a naval officer who commanded the USS Somers
USS Somers (1842)
The second USS Somers was a brig in the United States Navy during the Mexican-American War, infamous for being the only U.S. Navy ship to undergo a mutiny which led to executions....
on which a unique event occurred in 1842 off the coast of Africa during the Blockade of Africa
Blockade of Africa
The Blockade of Africa began in 1807 when Britain outlawed the Atlantic slave trade, making it illegal for British ships to transport slaves. The Royal Navy immediately established a presence off Africa in order to enforce the ban, called the West Africa Squadron...
. In that incident, three crewmen were hanged after being convicted of mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
at sea. Mackenzie reversed the order of his middle and last names to honor a maternal uncle.
Another brother, Thomas Slidell, was chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
Louisiana Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans....
. He was also the brother-in-law of the American naval Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who was married to Slidell's sister, Jane. Perry is remembered for opening United States trade with Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1853.
Legacy
The city of SlidellSlidell, Louisiana
Slidell is a city situated on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 25,695 at the 2000 census. The Greater Slidell Community has a population of about 90,000...
in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
was named in his honor by his son-in-law Baron Frederick Emile d'Erlanger; the village of Slidell, Texas
Slidell, Texas
Slidell is an unincorporated community in Wise County, Texas, United States.The Slidell Independent School District serves area students.-External links:...
is also named after him.
External links
John Slidell (1793 July 9, 1871) was an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician, lawyer and businessman. A native of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Slidell moved to Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
as a young man and became a staunch defender of southern rights as a U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. He was the older brother of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie
Alexander Slidell Mackenzie
Alexander Slidell Mackenzie Born in New York City, Mackenzie was a U.S. Navy officer who served during the first half of the 19th century. He was an accomplished author and writer who wrote several contemporary essays and biographies of notable US naval figures of the early 19th century. He was...
, a US naval officer.
Early life
He was born to the merchant John Slidell and the former Margery Mackenzie, a Scot. He graduated from Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(then College) in 1810. In 1835, Slidell married the former Mathilde Deslonde, and they had three children, Alfred Slidell, Marie Rosine (later comtess de St. Roman), and Marguerite Mathilde (later baronness Frederic Emile d'Erlanger
Frederic Emile d'Erlanger
Frédéric Emile Baron d’Erlanger born as Friedrich Emil Erlanger, was a German banker and Consul.- Life :...
).
Merchant, lawyer, politician
Slidell was in the mercantile business in New York before he relocated to New Orleans. He practiced law in New Orleans from 1819-1843. He was the district attorney in New Orleans from 1829-1833. He also served in the state's House of RepresentativesLouisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
. Though he lost an election to the United States House in 1828, he was elected in 1842 and served a term and a half from 1843–1845, as a Democrat. He served as minister plenipotentiary to Mexico from 1845-1846.
Prior to the Mexican-American War, Slidell was sent to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, by President James Knox Polk, to negotiate an agreement whereby the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
would be the southern border of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He also was instructed to offer, among other alternatives, a maximum of $30 million for California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
by Polk and his administration. Slidell hinted to Polk that the Mexican reluctance to negotiate might require a show of military force by the United States. Under the guidance of General Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
, U.S. troops were stationed at the U.S./Mexico border, ready to defend against Mexican attack. The Mexican government rejected Slidell's mission. After Mexican forces attacked at Matamoros the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846.
Slidell was elected to the Senate in 1853 and cast his lot with other pro-Southern congressmen to repeal the Missouri Compromise, acquire Cuba, and admit Kansas. In the 1860 campaign Slidell supported Democratic presidential candidate John C. Breckinridge
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
, but remained a pro-Union moderate until Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's election pushed the Southern states into seceding. At the Democratic Convention in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, in April 1860, Slidell plotted with "Fire-Eaters
Fire-Eaters
In United States history, the term Fire-Eaters refers to a group of extremist pro-slavery politicians from the South who urged the separation of southern states into a new nation, which became known as the Confederate States of America.-Impact:...
" such as William Lowndes Yancey
William Lowndes Yancey
William Lowndes Yancey was a journalist, politician, orator, diplomat and an American leader of the Southern secession movement. A member of the group known as the Fire-Eaters, Yancey was one of the most effective agitators for secession and rhetorical defenders of slavery. An early critic of...
of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
to stymie the nomination of the popular Northern Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
Civil War
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
, Slidell resigned from the U.S. Senate and headed home. In a dramatic farewell address, he threatened the boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of all northern manufacturing and predicted the dominance of southern ships on the seas. He argued that foreign countries would prevent the Union from blockading southern ports: "This will be war, . . . and we shall meet it with . . . efficient weapons." Despite the looming war, the historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
John D. Winters
John D. Winters
John David Winters was a historian at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, best known for his definitive and award-winning study, The Civil War in Louisiana, still in print, published in 1963 and released in paperback in 1991.-Background:Winters was born to John David Winters, Sr...
reports that many Confederates
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
"still thought a peaceful solution could be found. Many believed the Yankee incapable of learning to use a gun or of mustering enough courage to fight; the emergency [they mistakenly thought] would soon dissipate."
Slidell soon accepted a diplomatic appointment to represent the Confederacy in France. John Slidell was one of the two CSA
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
diplomats involved in the Trent Affair
Trent affair
The Trent Affair, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War...
in November 1861. After having been appointed the Confederate States of America's commissioner to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in September, 1861, he ran the blockade from Charleston, South Carolina, with James Murray Mason of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. They then set sail from Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
on the British mail boat steamer RMS Trent
RMS Trent
RMS Trent was a British Royal Mail paddle steamer built in 1841 by William Pitcher of Northfleet for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She measured 1,856 gross tons and could carry 60 passengers....
, but were intercepted by the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
while en route and taken into captivity at Fort Warren
Fort Warren (Massachusetts)
Fort Warren is a historic fort on the Georges Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor. The fort is pentagonal, made with stone and granite, and was constructed from 1833–1861, completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War...
in Boston.
After the resolution of the Trent Affair, the two diplomats set sail for England on January 1, 1862. From England Slidell at once went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where in February 1862, he paid his first visit to the French minister of foreign affairs. His mission to gain recognition of the Confederate States by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
failed, as did his effort to negotiate a commercial agreement, for example that France might get control of Southern cotton if the blockade were broken. In both cases, France refused to move without the cooperation of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. But he did succeed in negotiating a loan of $15,000,000 from French capitalists and in securing the ship “Stonewall” for the Confederate government.
Later life
Slidell moved to Paris, France, after the Civil War. He died in CowesCowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, at age 78. He is interred in the Saint-Roman family private cemetery near Paris. He, Judah P. Benjamin
Judah P. Benjamin
Judah Philip Benjamin was an American politician and lawyer. Born a British subject in the West Indies, he moved to the United States with his parents and became a citizen. He later became a citizen of the Confederate States of America. After the collapse of the Confederacy, Benjamin moved to...
and A. Dudley Mann
Ambrose Dudley Mann
Ambrose Dudley Mann was the first United States Assistant Secretary of State and a commissioner for the Confederate States....
were among the high-ranking Confederate officials buried abroad.
Family
John Slidell was a brother of Alexander Slidell MackenzieAlexander Slidell Mackenzie
Alexander Slidell Mackenzie Born in New York City, Mackenzie was a U.S. Navy officer who served during the first half of the 19th century. He was an accomplished author and writer who wrote several contemporary essays and biographies of notable US naval figures of the early 19th century. He was...
, a naval officer who commanded the USS Somers
USS Somers (1842)
The second USS Somers was a brig in the United States Navy during the Mexican-American War, infamous for being the only U.S. Navy ship to undergo a mutiny which led to executions....
on which a unique event occurred in 1842 off the coast of Africa during the Blockade of Africa
Blockade of Africa
The Blockade of Africa began in 1807 when Britain outlawed the Atlantic slave trade, making it illegal for British ships to transport slaves. The Royal Navy immediately established a presence off Africa in order to enforce the ban, called the West Africa Squadron...
. In that incident, three crewmen were hanged after being convicted of mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
at sea. Mackenzie reversed the order of his middle and last names to honor a maternal uncle.
Another brother, Thomas Slidell, was chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
Louisiana Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans....
. He was also the brother-in-law of the American naval Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who was married to Slidell's sister, Jane. Perry is remembered for opening United States trade with Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1853.
Legacy
The city of SlidellSlidell, Louisiana
Slidell is a city situated on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 25,695 at the 2000 census. The Greater Slidell Community has a population of about 90,000...
in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
was named in his honor by his son-in-law Baron Frederick Emile d'Erlanger; the village of Slidell, Texas
Slidell, Texas
Slidell is an unincorporated community in Wise County, Texas, United States.The Slidell Independent School District serves area students.-External links:...
is also named after him.
External links
John Slidell (1793 July 9, 1871) was an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician, lawyer and businessman. A native of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Slidell moved to Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
as a young man and became a staunch defender of southern rights as a U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. He was the older brother of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie
Alexander Slidell Mackenzie
Alexander Slidell Mackenzie Born in New York City, Mackenzie was a U.S. Navy officer who served during the first half of the 19th century. He was an accomplished author and writer who wrote several contemporary essays and biographies of notable US naval figures of the early 19th century. He was...
, a US naval officer.
Early life
He was born to the merchant John Slidell and the former Margery Mackenzie, a Scot. He graduated from Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(then College) in 1810. In 1835, Slidell married the former Mathilde Deslonde, and they had three children, Alfred Slidell, Marie Rosine (later comtess de St. Roman), and Marguerite Mathilde (later baronness Frederic Emile d'Erlanger
Frederic Emile d'Erlanger
Frédéric Emile Baron d’Erlanger born as Friedrich Emil Erlanger, was a German banker and Consul.- Life :...
).
Merchant, lawyer, politician
Slidell was in the mercantile business in New York before he relocated to New Orleans. He practiced law in New Orleans from 1819-1843. He was the district attorney in New Orleans from 1829-1833. He also served in the state's House of RepresentativesLouisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
. Though he lost an election to the United States House in 1828, he was elected in 1842 and served a term and a half from 1843–1845, as a Democrat. He served as minister plenipotentiary to Mexico from 1845-1846.
Prior to the Mexican-American War, Slidell was sent to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, by President James Knox Polk, to negotiate an agreement whereby the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
would be the southern border of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He also was instructed to offer, among other alternatives, a maximum of $30 million for California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
by Polk and his administration. Slidell hinted to Polk that the Mexican reluctance to negotiate might require a show of military force by the United States. Under the guidance of General Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
, U.S. troops were stationed at the U.S./Mexico border, ready to defend against Mexican attack. The Mexican government rejected Slidell's mission. After Mexican forces attacked at Matamoros the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846.
Slidell was elected to the Senate in 1853 and cast his lot with other pro-Southern congressmen to repeal the Missouri Compromise, acquire Cuba, and admit Kansas. In the 1860 campaign Slidell supported Democratic presidential candidate John C. Breckinridge
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
, but remained a pro-Union moderate until Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's election pushed the Southern states into seceding. At the Democratic Convention in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, in April 1860, Slidell plotted with "Fire-Eaters
Fire-Eaters
In United States history, the term Fire-Eaters refers to a group of extremist pro-slavery politicians from the South who urged the separation of southern states into a new nation, which became known as the Confederate States of America.-Impact:...
" such as William Lowndes Yancey
William Lowndes Yancey
William Lowndes Yancey was a journalist, politician, orator, diplomat and an American leader of the Southern secession movement. A member of the group known as the Fire-Eaters, Yancey was one of the most effective agitators for secession and rhetorical defenders of slavery. An early critic of...
of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
to stymie the nomination of the popular Northern Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
Civil War
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
, Slidell resigned from the U.S. Senate and headed home. In a dramatic farewell address, he threatened the boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of all northern manufacturing and predicted the dominance of southern ships on the seas. He argued that foreign countries would prevent the Union from blockading southern ports: "This will be war, . . . and we shall meet it with . . . efficient weapons." Despite the looming war, the historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
John D. Winters
John D. Winters
John David Winters was a historian at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, best known for his definitive and award-winning study, The Civil War in Louisiana, still in print, published in 1963 and released in paperback in 1991.-Background:Winters was born to John David Winters, Sr...
reports that many Confederates
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
"still thought a peaceful solution could be found. Many believed the Yankee incapable of learning to use a gun or of mustering enough courage to fight; the emergency [they mistakenly thought] would soon dissipate."
Slidell soon accepted a diplomatic appointment to represent the Confederacy in France. John Slidell was one of the two CSA
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
diplomats involved in the Trent Affair
Trent affair
The Trent Affair, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War...
in November 1861. After having been appointed the Confederate States of America's commissioner to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in September, 1861, he ran the blockade from Charleston, South Carolina, with James Murray Mason of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. They then set sail from Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
on the British mail boat steamer RMS Trent
RMS Trent
RMS Trent was a British Royal Mail paddle steamer built in 1841 by William Pitcher of Northfleet for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She measured 1,856 gross tons and could carry 60 passengers....
, but were intercepted by the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
while en route and taken into captivity at Fort Warren
Fort Warren (Massachusetts)
Fort Warren is a historic fort on the Georges Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor. The fort is pentagonal, made with stone and granite, and was constructed from 1833–1861, completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War...
in Boston.
After the resolution of the Trent Affair, the two diplomats set sail for England on January 1, 1862. From England Slidell at once went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where in February 1862, he paid his first visit to the French minister of foreign affairs. His mission to gain recognition of the Confederate States by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
failed, as did his effort to negotiate a commercial agreement, for example that France might get control of Southern cotton if the blockade were broken. In both cases, France refused to move without the cooperation of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. But he did succeed in negotiating a loan of $15,000,000 from French capitalists and in securing the ship “Stonewall” for the Confederate government.
Later life
Slidell moved to Paris, France, after the Civil War. He died in CowesCowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, at age 78. He is interred in the Saint-Roman family private cemetery near Paris. He, Judah P. Benjamin
Judah P. Benjamin
Judah Philip Benjamin was an American politician and lawyer. Born a British subject in the West Indies, he moved to the United States with his parents and became a citizen. He later became a citizen of the Confederate States of America. After the collapse of the Confederacy, Benjamin moved to...
and A. Dudley Mann
Ambrose Dudley Mann
Ambrose Dudley Mann was the first United States Assistant Secretary of State and a commissioner for the Confederate States....
were among the high-ranking Confederate officials buried abroad.
Family
John Slidell was a brother of Alexander Slidell MackenzieAlexander Slidell Mackenzie
Alexander Slidell Mackenzie Born in New York City, Mackenzie was a U.S. Navy officer who served during the first half of the 19th century. He was an accomplished author and writer who wrote several contemporary essays and biographies of notable US naval figures of the early 19th century. He was...
, a naval officer who commanded the USS Somers
USS Somers (1842)
The second USS Somers was a brig in the United States Navy during the Mexican-American War, infamous for being the only U.S. Navy ship to undergo a mutiny which led to executions....
on which a unique event occurred in 1842 off the coast of Africa during the Blockade of Africa
Blockade of Africa
The Blockade of Africa began in 1807 when Britain outlawed the Atlantic slave trade, making it illegal for British ships to transport slaves. The Royal Navy immediately established a presence off Africa in order to enforce the ban, called the West Africa Squadron...
. In that incident, three crewmen were hanged after being convicted of mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
at sea. Mackenzie reversed the order of his middle and last names to honor a maternal uncle.
Another brother, Thomas Slidell, was chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
Louisiana Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans....
. He was also the brother-in-law of the American naval Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who was married to Slidell's sister, Jane. Perry is remembered for opening United States trade with Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1853.
Legacy
The city of SlidellSlidell, Louisiana
Slidell is a city situated on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 25,695 at the 2000 census. The Greater Slidell Community has a population of about 90,000...
in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
was named in his honor by his son-in-law Baron Frederick Emile d'Erlanger; the village of Slidell, Texas
Slidell, Texas
Slidell is an unincorporated community in Wise County, Texas, United States.The Slidell Independent School District serves area students.-External links:...
is also named after him.