Franklin Pierce's major foreign policy goal was to acquire Cuba. His administration drew up the infamous Ostend Manifesto, threatening war with Spain over the island. In 1853 former Mississippi Governor John A. Quitman planned to organize a force of 3,000-4,000 men that would invade Cuba, "liberate" it from Spanish rule, then establish a pro-US government. The end game was to annex Cuba as a pro-slavery territory. In 1854 Pierce dithered back and forth on whether or not to allow Quitman's filibuster, and in the end he blocked the expedition. He realized that allowing the filibuster would hurt the Democrats in an election year while they were also dealing with the fallout over Kansas-Nebraska. Further, the military expected the invasion to be a disaster. But what if Pierce, perhaps in a drunken stupor, had allowed Quitman to invade Cuba?