French-born U.S. politician and diplomat from Louisiana
1801 CE
to 1870 CE
Pierre Soulé (August 31, 1801 – March 26, 1870) is a U.S. politician and diplomat from Louisiana during the mid-19th century.
He is best known for his role in writing the Ostend Manifesto, which is written in 1854 as part of an attempt to annex Cuba to the United States.
The Manifesto is roundly denounced, especially by anti-slavery elements, and Soulé himself comes under severe attack.
Soulé was born in Castillon-en-Couserans, a village in the French Pyrénées.
He is exiled from France for revolutionary activities, allowed to return, then imprisoned several years later for his continued opposition to the government.
In 1825, he escapes prison, and flees first to Great Britain, then to Haiti, and finally to the United States, where he settles down in New Orleans and became a lawyer.
In 1847, Soulé sits briefly in the United States Senate as a Democrat.
He returns to the Senate from 1849 to 1853.
He then resigns to take an appointment as U.S. Minister to Spain, a post he holds until 1855.
Soulé opposes Southern secession before the American Civil War, but supports his state, Louisiana, after the war begins.
In 1861, he supports the organization of the Allen Rifles and gives an impassioned speech at a big barbecue in Thibodaux in Lafourche Parish.
On May 18, 1861, Soulé is captured by Federal troops, charged with "plotting treason against the United States government," and imprisoned in Fort Warren, Massachusetts.
Soulé is able to escape back into Confederate territory.
After the war ends in 1865, he goes into exile in Havana.
He eventually returns, and he dies in New Orleans.
