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The Young America movement was a political movement in the United States from the 1850s to the outbreak of the American Civil War. It was supported by newly elected President Franklin Pierce to divert attention from the issue of slavery. The movement's cause was to spread American democracy, ostensibly in order to overshadow slavery in the public debate. Democracy was to be promoted on the North American continent, and ultimately around the world, by all means necessary. In the context of the movement, Pierce unsuccessfully tried to aquire Cuba from Spain. Attempts to purchase the island failed, and when plans to take Cuba by force (known as the Ostend Manifesto) were leaked to the public, the president withrew from this effort.
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