Life of James Buchanan, Fifteenth President of the United States. v. 2 (of 2)Curtis, George Ticknor
History
Life of James Buchanan, Fifteenth President of the United States. v. 2 (of 2)
Curtis, George Ticknor
Buchanan, James, 1791-1868
The important domestic questions being now nearly all settled, the
foreign affairs of the Government, and especially the question of
Cuba, will occupy the most conspicuous place in your administration. I
believe Cuba can be acquired by cession upon honorable terms, and I
should not desire to acquire it in any other manner. The President who
shall accomplish this object will render his name illustrious, and
place it on the same level with that of his great predecessor, who
gave Louisiana to the Union. The best means of acquiring it, in my
opinion, is to enlist the active agency of the foreign creditors of
Spain, who have a direct interest in its cession to the United States.
The Rothschilds, the Barings, and other large capitalists now control,
to a great extent, the monarchies of continental Europe. Besides,
Queen Christina, who is very avaricious and exercises great influence
over her daughter, the queen of Spain, and her court, has very large
possessions in the island, the value of which would be greatly
enhanced by its cession to the United States. Should you desire to
acquire Cuba, the choice of suitable ministers to Spain, Naples,
England and France will be very important. Mr. Fillmore committed a
great outrage in publishing the Cuban correspondence. Had he, however,
not suppressed a material portion of my instructions to Mr. Saunders,
every candid man of all parties would have admitted, without
hesitation, that under the then existing circumstances it was the
imperative duty of Mr. Polk to offer to make the purchase. Indeed, I
think myself, it was too long delayed.
In my opinion, Mr. Clayton and Mr. Webster have involved our relations
with England in serious difficulties by departing from the Monroe
doctrine.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account