Chapter 7: A New Beginning

Themes:• Louisiana and the World Timeline (pp. 148-

149)• The Territorial Period (pp. 150-155)• Conspiracy, Rebellion, and a New Republic;

Statehood (pp. 156-158)• The War of 1812 (pp. 158-162) • The Early Antebellum Period; Antebellum

Improvement (pp. 163-165) • Economics; Slavery and Plantation Life (pp.

166-168)

Themes:• Society; The Arts; Education; Healthcare

(pp. 170-177)• Politics; The Mexican War; More Changes

in Government (pp. 178-182)• Review (p. 183)

I. The Territorial Period • Railroads, steamboats, and a rapidly

growing population helped the economy prosper.

GLEs: 64, 65, 66, 72, 73, 74, 76, 82

Territory of Orleans

A. The Territory of Orleans• After Congress ratified (approved) the LA

Purchase, the territory was split into two sections.

• The region that would become the state of LA was named the Territory of Orleans

B. Preparing the Territory • Claiborne had to direct the great changes

about to take place in the Territory of Orleans.• So the idea of religious freedom, tolerance of

those differences, and freedom of speech were new to the those living in Louisiana.

• Citizens had long been under the control of the colonial governments of either France or Spain.

• Now they had to learn to self-govern and participate in the running of the territory by voting, serving on juries, and even holding office.

C. Culture Clash• People fought over which countries

music was played when the Creoles and Americans came together.

• Prior to American rule, all living in Louisiana had to embrace the Catholic faith.

• Many Protestant churches were introduced to the area once the area became part of the United States.

Culture Clash

**Protestantism (Read more about it on page 153)

Protestant church

D. The Question of Statehood• Claiborne had to help Louisiana residents learn to

govern themselves and live in a democracy with free trade.

• Creoles were eager to have more control and wanted to elect their own governors, congressmen, and senators and pass their own laws.

• He worked hard to earn their trust, established land offices that recognized most landowners’ claims, and placed interpreters in the courts.

• Claiborne also appointed Creoles to important positions and did not interfere with French customs.

• Statehood was a major issues and caused much culture clash.

E. Structuring the New Government• Congress created a 13-member Legislative Council to advise the

governor.• The new government created 12 countries to house local

government. Each had a judge, sheriff, and a clerk appointed by Claiborne.

• Two years later, the legislature created 19 parishes to accompany the 12 counties.

• The parishes had judges and police juries, which replaced countries as the local governing bodies.

• Countries and parishes co-existed for 40 years until countries were abolished.

• The legislature evolved into a bicameral or two-house legislature. • White male landowners had the right to vote and elect members of

the House of Representatives• They also elected one non-voting congressman to represent the

territory in Washington D.C. • The upper house or Legislative council was reduced to five

members.

Counties of

Louisiana, 1805

F. The Neutral Strip• Created to avoid war with Spain over a

boundary dispute

• Neither country tried to control the land until a permanent boundary treaty could be worked out by the two governments.

• As a result, bandits and outlaws moved into the region.

The Neutral Strip

**Louisiana’s Police Juries (Read more about it on page 155)

• Each county was so large, the judge was allowed to appoint 12 men to serve as his advisors.

• They met once a year to discuss the needs of the country.• Eventually they were elected by voters and served as the parish

government, passing local laws and maintaining roads.• Today, Louisiana is the only state with parishes and police juries.

II. Conspiracy, Rebellion, and a New Republic

• Aaron Burr was Thomas Jefferson’s vice president.

• He killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel and Jefferson dropped him from the ticket in the next election.

GLEs: 65, 66, 69, 72, 73, 76

A. The Burr Conspiracy• He wanted to create his own country in the western

lands • Jefferson learned of his plans and ordered his

arrest.• Rumors spread into the Territory of Orleans and the

city of New Orleans heightened it’s defenses. • Burr was then arrested and charged with treason.• He was the first person ever tried for treason under

the U.S. Constitution. • Evidence was against him and the jury still found

him not guilty.

B. The West Florida Rebellion• Spain still owned this area, but most settlers were

Americans who received land grants.• They resented Spanish rule • Spain began stopping land grants, strictly regulating

trade, and not allowing Protestant churches.• They wrote a plan for the Spanish to give them

representative rule, but stay under Spanish control.• Spain secretly sent troops to put them down, but

word spread and they gathered their own troops.• West Florida won

C. The Republic of West Florida• Declared independence and created the Republic • They drafted and adopted a constitution• St. Francisville was the capital • Fulwar Skipwith was the governor • He lasted only 10 weeks. • They requested President James Madison to be

annexed by the US.• Madison had already set it into motion and ordered

Claiborne to take control of the region. • It became part of the Territory of Orleans (Florida

Parishes)

West Florida

D. The St. John the Baptist Parish Slave Rebellion

• Largest slave rebellion in our nation’s history • A black man named Charles Deslondes and

a slave named Jupiter formed the rebellion.• They marched towards New Orleans, looting

and burning plantations along the way. • Soldiers and militiamen were dispatched

and put down the revolt. • Creole’s began respecting the Americans for

their quick action.

**The First Lone Star Republic (Read more about it on page 157)

III. Statehood• In 1810 many in the Territory of Orleans

wanted Statehood.

• They had to have 60,000 citizens, ratify a constitution, and elect a state governor.

• The process began

A. The Constitution of 1812• 43 men (23 Creoles), wrote the constitution.• Copied from Kentucky’s constitution and did

not represent the common man

B. Bias in the Constitution• Only adult white men who owned land and

paid property taxes could vote.• This disenfranchised two thirds of the

population. • Voters did not elect the governor, their vote

narrowed it down to the top two and the legislature choose the governor.

• Governor’s could not serve consecutive terms

C. Louisiana Retains French Law• Louisiana followed the US Constitution in

regard to criminal matters. • In terms of civil matters, Louisiana continued

to follow the Napoleonic Code which was simple and clear.

• Louisiana was the only state that did not follow English common law.

D. Statehood at Last!• Constitution was ratified by the few white

men who could vote. • April 30, 1812, anniversary of LA Purchase,

the US admitted Louisiana as the 18th state.

IV. The War of 1812• The United States declared war on

England June 4, 1812.

• The move was taken because England encouraged Indians to attack settlers.

• Also, the British navy caught and forced U.S. sailors to serve aboard its ships.

GLEs: 65, 66, 69, 72, 73, 74

A. The Effects of War • England burned Washington D.C and

successfully blockaded New Orleans, causing supply shortages, unemployment, and a decline in trade.

B. Jean Lafitte• Governor Claiborne faced a dilemma.

• He needed help defeating the English, but did not want to work with Jean Lafitte, who he’d long tried to capture for his illegal smuggling operation.

**Jean Lafitte (Read more about it on page 159)

C. General Andrew Jackson Arrives• American Leader• He was weak from malaria and had one arm in

a sling. • His troops were a mix of frontiersmen, Indians,

Creoles, black militiamen, and pirates. • General Sir Edward Pakenham had large fleet

and 13,000 well-trained English soldiers. • Although better trained and equipped, the

English troops’ fighting style of marching should-to-shoulder in tight formation was not enough to match the Americans.

D. Building an Army• General Jackson’s call to arms brought a

wide variety of people together to defend Louisiana.

• After the battle, residents referred to Louisiana as their home rather than connecting back to Europe and their ancestral lands.

E. The Battle of New Orleans • 1814-1815 battles around New Orleans

raged• Jackson’s troops attacked from behind

cotton bales in a carefully chosen location between a swamp and the Mississippi River.

• Within minutes, 2,000 English were dead or wounded.

• The Americans lost just 15 soldiers.

The Battle for New Orleans

**A Young Man’s Courage (Read more about it on page 161)

F. Finally United• Battle of New Orleans brought Indians,

people of color, pirates, Creoles, Germans, Spanish, Irish, small farmers, and big planters together to defend the city.

• The citizens of Louisiana were finally united.

G. The Treaty of Ghent• The war was actually over 2 weeks before the

Battle of New Orleans. • The treaty was signed by the United States

and England. • The treaty stopped the fighting! • The War of 1812 was considered a victory for

the United States because England stopped encouraging Indians to attack and no longer impressed American sailors into its navy.

H. General Jackson, Hero or Villain? • Jackson was considered a hero for the Battle

of New Orleans.• Jackson also held the city under martial law

even after the battle was over!• He arrested all that opposed him.• Many did not like him• LA legislature ignored him when honoring the

army and their service.• 40 years later he was honored by renaming

the Place d’Armes, “Jackson Square”.

General Jackson’s statue in New Orleans’ French Quarter

**The General’s in a Pickle! (Read more about it on page 162)

V. The Early Antebellum Period

GLEs: 65, 66, 73, 74, 75, 78

A. The Adams Onis Treaty • Population of LA doubled within first 10

years of statehood.

• Through the treaty, the U.S. bought Florida from Spain, acquired the Neutral Strip, and a clear western boundary dividing the two nations was settled.

B. Andrew Jackson’s Indian Policy

• Jackson believed Indians were savages holding up American progress.

• Many tribes were forced to sign treaties, sell their land at highly reduced prices, and move to Indian Territory in modern-day Oklahoma.

• This opened much of northwest Louisiana to white settlers.

C. Henry Miller Shreve• Designed steamboats able to float in

shallow water

• His snag boats were used to clear logs and stumps from the water.

• These inventions improved navigation and trade and helped open new areas to settlement.

**Henry Shreve (Read more about it on page 164)

D. Pioneers and Immigrants• Pioneers moved into Piney Hills and

established small family farms. • Immigrants sailed into port of New Orleans

from Germany, Ireland, and other countries. • New Orleans was the largest city in the

South.

VI. Antebellum Improvements• Steamboats, snag boats, railroads,

telegraphs, levees, the cotton gin, strong banks, and improvements in education made life better for white living in Louisiana during the Antebellum Period.

A. Steamboats• Many were designed by Henry Miller Shreve• They could run on very little water, so they

could travel through shallow swamps.

Steamboat

B. Railroads, Telegraphs, and Levees

• Great new technologies made land transportation and communication easier.

• Levees protected towns from floods

**Tragedy on Last Island (Read more about it on page

165)

VII. Economics• New Orleans became the world’s 2nd

largest port.

• Banking, insurance, and manufacturing all flourished

• Louisiana had the best banks in the nation

• President Andrew Jackson established a US Mint in New Orleans.

GLEs: 73, 78, 79, 80

The U.S. Mint in New Orleans

A. Economic Depression• Panics of 1837 and 1857 were severe.

• Banks failed and sugar planters lost everything.

• State government reduced spending, and money for public serviced decreased.

B. King Cotton• Economy remained tied to agriculture.

• Cotton was very important

• Eli Whitney’s cotton gin made removing the seeds from the fibers more efficient, which reduced labor cost and made cotton farming profitable for the first time.

• Many planters became very rich and built large mansions in the river parishes.

Cotton Bale

**Dixie Land and the New Orleans Dix (Read more about it on page 167)

VIII. Slavery and Plantation Life• Most Louisianans neither lived in luxurious

homes nor owned slaves.

• Only 25% owned slaves

Farm Home

Greenwood Plantation

A. An Inhuman Practice• Slavery was legal during the Antebellum

period.• Plantation owner relied on the free labor. • Many slaves worked as cooks, house

servants, craftsmen, laundresses, midwives, and baby nurses.

• Most worked in the fields

B. Living Conditions• They varied• Some worked closely with their owners on

small farms• Some worked for overseers on large

plantations • Many lived in shack or “quarters”• Quality of life depended on the owner

**Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Read more about it on page 168)

IX. Society• Social activities came of age during the

Antebellum Period.

• The Cajuns adopted their saying, “Laissez les bons temps rouler!” or “Let the good times role!”

• Racial tolerance allowed everyone to participate in social events.

A. Mardi Gras Parades• Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday• It is a time of feasting and merrymaking that is

celebrated over several weeks• It concludes on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday

when Lent, the Catholic period of fasting, begins.• It was celebrated with small private parties closed to

the Protestants.• Citizens from Mobile, Alabama held a Mardi Gras

parade in New Orleans that over time became a traditions filled with floats, themes, costumes, masks, and fancy balls.

Mardi Gras

B. Congo Square• African slaves were allowed to congregate

at Congo Square on Sundays to dance, make music, meet with family members, and buy and sell goods.

• Whites gathered to watch the dancer and enjoy the music created by banjos, triangles, animal jawbones, and large drums.

• The sounds provided the roots for jazz, rhythm, and blues.

• Today it is Armstrong Park and remains a popular tourist attraction.

**The Cajun Trinity (Read more about it on page 172)

Gumbo and Jambalaya

Crawfish

Creole Meal

X. The Arts• Led the South in the fine arts during this

time

• Louisiana was open-minded and accepting of new ideas.

• John James Audubon, Andrew Jackson Grayson, and Louis Moreau Gottschalk were all famous artists

**John James Audubon (Read more about it on page 173)

John James Audubon

XI. Education• Little emphasis was placed on providing

public education

• Parents or tutors taught most white children and free people of color at home.

• Some attended Catholic private schools.

• Slave children were not allowed to have any education.

A. Louisiana’s First Colleges• The College of New Orleans was the first

public college in the state.• The Medical College of Louisiana was

established in New Orleans by the legislature and later became the University of Louisiana.

• Paul Tulane left $1 million for the establishment of a university, which later became Tulane University, a private college.

B. Louisiana State University• Only modern day public college that dates

back to Antebellum Period • It was a military academy in Pineville named

Louisiana Seminary of Learning and Military Academy.

• Destroyed during the Civil War, but was rebuilt and later moved to Baton Rouge.

• Changed its name to LSU

C. Private Schools• Fared better than public schools• The College of Jefferson and the College of

Franklin were opened during this period.• The Methodist church operated Centenary

College, which moved to Shreveport and became one of the nation’s best small private colleges.

XII. Healthcare• Was mostly left to individuals or private

organizations

• The state eventually established a few facilities to help.

A. Hospitals• First institution for the mentally ill• Charity hospital in New Orleans continued to

work hard

B. Death and Disease• Yellow fever and cholera epidemics were

the most common life threats during this time.

**Yellow Fever (Read more about it on page 177)• Carried by mosquitoes• Causes the victim’s liver to stop functioning and the

person’s flesh to take on a yellowish hue.• Worth epidemic took place in New Orleans in 1853-1854,

with a death toll of more than 11,000• The state used slaves and convicts to collect and bury

the dead.

**Marie Laveau (Read more about it on page 177)

XIII. Politics• Creoles soon learned about politics and

began participating.

GLEs: 65, 66, 72, 73, 76, 77, 78, 80

A. Hot Topics• Should the capital be moved? • Should the government improve funding for

education? • Should the government improve

transportation and communication to stimulate business and economic growth?

**On Guard! (Read more about it on page 178)

B. The Whigs• Typically upper-class, better educated, and

wealthier than the average citizen• Strong supporters of business, state funding

for construction of railroads and telegraphs.• Supported sugar tariff to protect the industry

from less expensive foreign competition.• They felt politics should be left to white men

who owned property.

C. Roman and White• Whig governors who controlled Louisiana

politics • Roman had many accomplishments • Increased number of banks• New Basin Canal was built• Pontchartrain Railroad was completed• More money was spent on public education• White was governor with depression hit and

the economy slowed

D. The Democrats and the Constitution of 1845

• Democrats returned to power when Alexander Mouton became governor • Democrats supported Andrew Jackson and were more likely poor farmers

or laborers who wanted all white men to participate in politics and vote in elections.

• Wanted constitutional restrictions on business and the capital moved to Baton Rouge

• New Constitution moved the capital to Baton Rouge• Abolished property qualifications for voting, and holding office so all white

men could participate in politics• It allowed voters to elect parish sheriffs and the governor directly • Increased the number of legislators• Abolished the old county system, leaving Louisiana with just parishes• Created a superintendent of education• Provided free public education for whites• Outlawed gambling and lotteries• Restrictions were placed on business• Legislature was prohibited from chartering banks or loaning money to

companies for internal improvements.

E. New Orleans Loses the Capital • Many thought it should not be the center for

the state’s commercial, social, AND political activities.

• Many thought politicians were enjoying the cities social life too much.

• Constitution of 1845 settled this by permanently moving the capital.

**James “Jim” Bowie (Read more about it on page 179)

XIV. The Mexican War• Both countries claimed south and west

Texas.

• Mexicans became angry when they lost Texas to the US.

A. Manifest Destiny• Philosophy or belief that the United States

should expand its borders as far as possible—all the way to California

• Mexico owned California

B. Louisiana’s Role • President Polk sent LA Congressman John Slidell to

Mexico to negotiate and avoid war.• Mission failed • General Zachary Taylor for LA took a small army to

Rio Grande. • Mexicans attached the army and war was declared.• Fort Jessup in New Orleans trained soldiers. • US won the war and signed a peach treaty that set

the Rio Grande as the boundary of Texas• Allowed US to buy California and the American

southwest

**Zachary Taylor (Read more about it on page 181)

XV. More Changes in Government

• Democratic Governor Isaac Johnson spent $100,000 to build a gothic castle as the new State Capitol

Old State Capitol

A. The Constitution of 1852• Elections, rather than appointments of more state

officials• Removed prohibitions on state borrowing• Made it illegal for the legislature to extend loans to

banks or other companies• Number of legislature in the House of

Representatives would be based on total population, like the senate.

• Since slaves were counted, this greatly increased the representation of slave owners in state government.

B. The Whigs Disappear• Party was split over the slavery issue • They disappeared and slave owners joined

the Democratic Party.

C. The End of Antebellum Government

• The era was ended with improvements in state’s school for the deaf, mute and blind, more railroads.

• Civil War was around the corner

Chapter Review