John Slidell (1793 – July 26, 1871) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician, lawyer and businessman. Originally a native of
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Slidell moved to
LouisianaThe State of 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 divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
as a young man and became a staunch defender of southern rights as a
U.S. RepresentativeThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and
SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
.
He was born to the merchant John Slidell and the former Margery Mackenzie, a Scot. He graduated from
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
(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.
John Slidell (1793 – July 26, 1871) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician, lawyer and businessman. Originally a native of
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Slidell moved to
LouisianaThe State of 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 divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
as a young man and became a staunch defender of southern rights as a
U.S. RepresentativeThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and
SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
.
Early life
He was born to the merchant John Slidell and the former Margery Mackenzie, a Scot. He graduated from
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
(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). He died at age 78.
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 RepresentativesThe Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people...
. 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
MexicoThe 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 River would be the southern border of
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
. He also was instructed to offer, among other alternatives, a maximum of $30 million for
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
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 TaylorZachary Taylor was an American military leader and the 12th President of the United States.Known as "Old Rough and Ready," Taylor had a 40-year military career in the U.S. Army, serving in the War of 1812, Black Hawk War, and Second Seminole War before achieving fame leading U.S...
, U.S. troops were stationed at the U.S./Mexico border, ready defend against Mexican attack. The Mexican government rejected Slidell's mission. After Mexican forces attacked at Matamoros the
United StatesThe 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. BreckinridgeJohn 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 LincolnAbraham 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 its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery...
's election pushed the Southern states into seceding. At the Democratic Convention in
Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County. The city was founded as Charlestown or Charles Towne, Carolina in 1670, and moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of...
, in April 1860, Slidell plotted with "
Fire-EatersIn 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 YanceyWilliam 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
AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States of America. 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...
to stymie the nomination of the popular Northern Democratic Senator
Stephen A. DouglasStephen Arnold Douglas , son of Stephen Arnold Douglass and Sarah Fisk, was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the 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...
of
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
.
Civil War
Siding with the South during the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
, Slidell accepted a diplomatic appointment to represent the Confederacy in France. John Slidell was one of the two
CSAThe Confederate States of America was a separatist political entity existing between 1861 to 1865, established by eleven southern slave states of the United States of America, each of which had previously declared their secession from the United States...
diplomats involved in the
Trent AffairThe Trent Affair, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War. On November 8, 1861, the USS San Jacinto, commanded by Union Captain Charles Wilkes, intercepted the British mail packet Trent and removed two...
in November, 1861. After having been appointed the Confederate States of America's commissioner to
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
in September, 1861, he ran the blockade from Charleston, South Carolina, with James Murray Mason of
VirginiaThe 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" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
. They then set sail from
HavanaHavana is the capital city, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city is one of the 14 Cuban provinces. The city/province has 2.4 million inhabitants, and the urban area over 3.7 million, making Havana the largest city in both Cuba and the Caribbean region...
on the British mail boat steamer
RMS TrentRMS Trent was a British Royal Mail paddle steamer built in 1841 by William Pitcher of Northfleet for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She displaced 1,856 gross tons and could carry 60 passengers....
, but were intercepted by the
U.S. NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
while en route and taken into captivity at
Fort WarrenFort 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 Europe on January 1, 1862.
John Slidell was a brother of
Alexander Slidell MackenzieAlexander Slidell Mackenzie was a U.S. Navy officer who served during the first half of the 19th century. He was the brother ofU.S. Senator John Slidell, who was involved in the Civil War's "Trent Affair."...
, a naval officer who commanded the
USS SomersThe 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 AfricaIn 1807 Britain outlawed the slave trade, making it illegal for British ships to transport slaves. The British 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
mutinyMutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly-situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an existing authority...
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 CourtThe laws of Louisiana and the Supreme Court of Louisiana both have a rich history based in the colonial governments of France and Spain during the early eighteenth century...
. 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
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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.
Later life
Slidell moved to Paris, France, after the Civil War. He died in
CowesCowes, sometimes referred to as West Cowes, is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight, an island south of Southampton. 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 WightThe Isle of Wight is an English island and a county, located 3-5 miles from the south coast of the mainland, in the English Channel. It is separated from mainland England by the Solent and is situated south of the county of Hampshire...
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He is interred in the Saint-Roman family private cemetery near Paris. He,
Judah P. BenjaminJudah Philip Benjamin was an American politician and lawyer. He was born a British subject in the West Indies, became a citizen of the United States and then the Confederate States of America...
and
A. Dudley MannAmbrose 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.
Legacy
The city of
SlidellSlidell 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,
LouisianaThe State of 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 divided into 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, TexasSlidell 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.