The Ostend Manifesto was a secret document written after a meeting in Ostend, Belgium. The authors were three pro-slavery Democrats named James Buchanan, John Young Mason, and Pierre Soulé who all acted under the guidance of Secretary of State William L. Marcy The document offered Spain $120 million in exchange for the slave state of Cuba. The document also implied that if Spain refused the offer, the U.S. would declare war and take Cuba by force. This threat ultimately caused the document to be rejected by Marcy, and was never acted upon.  Although this document's intention was to be secret, it eventually got publicized. To the public, the Ostend Manifesto was seen as an attempt to expand slavery in favor of the South, and the North didn't approve. This created a rift between the two territories and led them closer to the American Civil War.