Slidell, John

Slidell, John

(slīdĕl`, slī`dəl), 1793–1871, American political leader and diplomat, b. New York City. He became a prominent lawyer and political figure in New Orleans and served as a Democrat in Congress (1843–45). In 1845, Slidell was appointed special U.S. envoy to Mexico to adjust the Texas boundary and to negotiate the purchase of California and New Mexico; the Mexican government, which had broken off diplomatic relations after the U.S. Congress had provided for the annexation of Texas, refused to receive him (see Mexican WarMexican War,
1846–48, armed conflict between the United States and Mexico. Causes

While the immediate cause of the war was the U.S. annexation of Texas (Dec., 1845), other factors had disturbed peaceful relations between the two republics.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Senator from Louisiana (1853–61), he was influential in securing the nomination and election of James Buchanan to the presidency (1856) and was a power in the administration. Slidell joined the Confederate cause early in 1861. Appointed Confederate commissioner to France the same year, he figured with James M. Mason in the Trent AffairTrent Affair,
incident in the diplomatic relations between the United States and Great Britain, which occurred during the American Civil War. On Nov. 8, 1861, the British mail packet Trent, carrying James M.
..... Click the link for more information. . Although cordially received in Paris, Slidell was unable to get official recognition or any material aid for the Confederacy from the French emperor, Napoleon III. After the Civil War, Slidell resided in France.

Bibliography

See L. M. Sears, John Slidell (1925); B. Willson, John Slidell and the Confederates in Paris (1932, repr. 1970).

Slidell, John

(1793–1871) U.S. senator, diplomat; born in New York City (brother of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie). A wealthy New Orleans lawyer and moderate Democrat, he was the political boss of Louisiana and the power behind the Buchanan administration as a U.S. senator (1853–61). His capture with James Mason by Union forces in November 1861 en route to a Confederate diplomatic mission to Europe on the Trent sparked an international crisis. Released on December 30, Slidell went to France but never did succeed in obtaining French support for the Confederacy. He stayed in Paris until 1871, then retired to England where he died.