Louisiana

See also: National Parks and Monuments (table)National Parks and Monuments

National Parks
Name Type¹ Location Year authorized Size
acres (hectares)
Description
Acadia NP SE Maine 1919 48,419 (19,603) Mountain and coast scenery.
..... Click the link for more information.

Louisiana

(ləwē'zēăn`ə, lo͞oē'–), state in the S central United States. It is bounded by Mississippi, with the Mississippi River forming about half of the border (E), the Gulf of Mexico (S), Texas (W), and Arkansas (N).

Facts and Figures

Area, 48,523 sq mi (125,675 sq km). Pop. (2010) 4,533,372, a 1.4% increase since the 2000 census. Capital, Baton Rouge. Largest city, New Orleans. Statehood, Apr. 30, 1812 (18th state). Highest pt., Driskill Mt., 535 ft (163 m); lowest pt., New Orleans, 5 ft (2 m) below sea level. Nickname, Pelican State. Motto, Union, Justice and Confidence. State bird, Eastern brown pelican. State flower, magnolia. State tree, cypress. Abbr., La.; LA

Geography

A low country on the Gulf coastal plain and the Mississippi alluvial plain, Louisiana rises in uplands near Arkansas only to some 535 ft (163 m). The rainy coast country contains marshes and fertile delta lands; inland are rolling pine hills and prairies. The Mississippi dominates the many waterways, but there are other rivers (e.g., the Red River, the Ouachita, the Atchafalaya, and the Calcasieu) and the coast is threaded by many slow-moving bayous (e.g., the Teche, the Macon, and the Lafourche). There are lagoons such as Lake Ponchartrain, oxbow lakes made by Mississippi River cutoffs, and other lakes where the slow streams are clogged. A variety of recreational facilities makes the state an excellent vacationland; some of its lakes (e.g., Pontchartrain) have been highly developed as resort areas, and there is superb hunting and fishing throughout much of the region.

Economy

Louisiana's climate (subtropical in the south and temperate in the north) and rich alluvial soil make the state one of the nation's leading producers of sweet potatoes, rice, and sugarcane. Other major commodities are soybeans, cotton, and dairy products, and strawberries, corn, hay, pecans, and truck vegetables are produced in quantity. Fishing is a major industry; shrimp, menhaden, and oysters are principal catches. Louisiana is a leading fur-trapping state; its marshes (7,409 sq mi/19,189 sq km of the state's area is underwater) supply most of the country's muskrat furs. Pelts are also obtained from mink, nutria, coypus, opossums, otter, and raccoon.

The state has great mineral wealth. It leads the nation in the production of salt and sulfur, and it ranks high in the production of crude petroleum (of which many deposits are offshore), natural gas, and natural-gas liquids. Timber is plentiful; forests cover almost 50% of the land area. The state rapidly industrialized in the 1960s and 70s and has giant oil refineries, petrochemical plants, foundries, and lumber and paper mills. Other industries produce foods, transportation equipment, and electronic equipment. Four of the ten busiest U.S. ports—New Orleans, South Louisiana, Baton Rouge, and Plaquemines—line the lower Mississippi River.

Tourism is increasingly important to the state economy; New OrleansNew Orleans
, city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded 1718 by the sieur de Bienville, inc. 1805.
..... Click the link for more information. is the major attraction with its history, nightlife, and Old World charm. The largest city in Louisiana, it is especially noted for its picturesque French quarter, which has many celebrated restaurants, and for the Mardi Gras—perhaps the most famous festival in the United States—held annually since 1838.

Baton RougeBaton Rouge
[Fr.,=red stick], city (1990 pop. 219,531), state capital and seat of East Baton Rouge parish, SE La., on a bluff along the eastern bank of the Mississippi River; inc. 1817.
..... Click the link for more information. is the capital and the second largest city. Other major cities are ShreveportShreveport
, city (1990 pop. 198,525), seat of Caddo parish, NW La., on the Red River near the Tex. and Ark. lines; inc. 1839. The third largest city in the state, it is a regional oil and natural gas center, with important metal, cotton, and lumber manufactures.
..... Click the link for more information. , Lake CharlesLake Charles,
city (1990 pop. 70,580), seat of Calcasieu parish, SW La.; inc. 1867. It is located on Lake Charles at the mouth of the Calcasieu River in a rice, timber, oil, and natural gas region.
..... Click the link for more information. , KennerKenner,
city (1990 pop. 72,033), Jefferson parish, SE La., a suburb of New Orleans; inc. 1952. Kenner has grown since the 1970s into an area of moderate- to upper-income housing developments.
..... Click the link for more information. , and LafayetteLafayette
. 1 City (1990 pop. 23,501), Contra Costa co., NW Calif., a residential suburb in the San Francisco–Oakland area; settled 1848, inc. 1968. The city is a horse raising and agricultural trading center, especially for walnuts; there is also light
..... Click the link for more information. . Louisiana is rich in tradition and legend. Four different groups have contributed to its unique heritage: the Creoles, descendants of the original Spanish and French colonists; the Cajuns, whose French ancestors were expelled from Acadia (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) by the British in 1755; the American cotton planters; and the African Americans who worked to create much of Louisiana's wealth and whose music, especially, has swept the world. Along the rivers and bayous overhung with Spanish moss, some old mansions remain, recalling the elegance and splendor of antebellum days. Plantation tours from Baton Rouge and Natchitoches are popular, while the Cajun country west of New Orleans also attracts visitors—most particularly to the area around St. Martinville and Lafayette.

Government, Politics, and Higher Education

Louisiana has had 11 constitutions since it was admitted to the union in 1812. Its present constitution (1975) replaced the constitution of 1921, which had been amended more than 500 times. The state's executive branch is headed by a governor elected for a four-year term and allowed one reelection. Louisiana's bicameral legislature has a senate with 39 members and a house of representatives with 105 members, all elected for four-year terms. Louisiana is the only state to call its counties parishes, a holdover from the Spanish religious divisions. The state elects two senators and six representatives to the U.S. Congress and has eight electoral votes.

Almost solidly Democratic between 1877 and the 1990s, Louisiana has had a more turbulent political climate in recent years; in 1990 former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke made a strong showing as an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. In 1987, Edwin E. Edwards was defeated in his reelection bid by a conservative Democrat (who later switched to the Republican party), Buddy Roemer. Before Roemer's conversion, all but one of Louisiana's governors since 1877 had been Democratic. In the 1991 gubernatorial election, Roemer finished behind Edwards and Duke, who faced each other in a runoff, which Edwards won. He retired in 1995 and was succeeded by conservative Republican Mike Foster, who was reelected in 1999. Kathleen Blanco, a conservative Democrat, became the first woman to be elected governor in 2003. Politically damaged by the post-Katrina turmoil she did not run in 2007, and Bobby Jindal, a Republican and the son of Indian immigrants, was elected governor, becoming the first nonwhite to win the post. He was reelected in 2011. In 2015 a Democrat, John Bel Edwards, won the governorship.

Among the state's more prominent institutions of higher learning are Tulane Univ., the Univ. of New Orleans, Dillard Univ., Southern Univ., and Loyola Univ., all at New Orleans; Louisiana State Univ. and Agricultural and Mechanical College, mainly at Baton Rouge; the Univ. of Louisiana at Lafayette; Grambling State Univ., at Grambling; and Louisiana Tech Univ., at Ruston.

History

Early Louisiana

Louisiana has a long and varied history. The region was possibly visited by Cabeza de Vaca and his fellow survivors of a Spanish expedition of 1528, and it was certainly seen by some of De Soto's men (1541–42). In 1682, La Salle reached the mouth of the Mississippi and claimed for France all of the land drained by that river and its tributaries, naming it Louisiana after Louis XIV. Europeans did not permanently settle there until 1699, when Pierre le Moyne, sieur d'Iberville, founded a settlement near Biloxi. This settlement became the seat of government for Louisiana, an enormous territory embracing the entire Mississippi drainage basin.

In 1702, Iberville's brother, the sieur de Bienville, was appointed governor and moved the territorial government to Fort Louis on the Mobile River. This colony was later moved (1710) to the present site of Mobile (Alabama), and Mobile became the capital of Louisiana. French missionaries and fur traders explored some of the vast territory, and Natchitoches (the oldest settlement within the present boundaries of the state of Louisiana) grew from a French military and trading post established (c.1714) to protect the Red River area from the Spanish.

In order to increase the value of the colony, France granted (1712) a monopoly of commercial privileges, which in 1717 passed to a company organized by John Law. The promise of riches under Law's Mississippi SchemeMississippi Scheme,
plan formulated by John Law for the colonization and commercial exploitation of the Mississippi valley and other French colonial areas. In 1717 the French merchant Antoine Crozat transferred his monopoly of commercial privileges in Louisiana to Law, who, with
..... Click the link for more information. brought many settlers to Louisiana, and a large number of them remained even after his scheme had collapsed. New Orleans was founded in 1718, and in 1723 the capital was transferred there. Large numbers of Africans were brought in as slaves, and the Code Noir, adopted in 1724, provided for the rigid control of their lives and the protection of the whites.

Spanish Louisiana

The last conflict (1754–63) of the French and Indian WarsFrench and Indian Wars,
1689–1763, the name given by American historians to the North American colonial wars between Great Britain and France in the late 17th and the 18th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. was ending disastrously for the French, and in order to keep the entire Louisiana territory from falling into the hands of the British, the French secretly ceded (by the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1762) the area W of the Mississippi and the "Isle of Orleans" to Spain. By the Treaty of Paris (1763; see Paris, Treaty ofParis, Treaty of,
any of several important treaties, signed at or near Paris, France. The Treaty of 1763

The Treaty of Paris of Feb. 10, 1763, was signed by Great Britain, France, and Spain.
..... Click the link for more information. ), Great Britain gained control of all Louisiana E of the Mississippi except the "Isle of Orleans"; these changes were announced in 1764.

The French colonists resisted the new Spanish rule, but were subdued and finally Spanish mercantilistic monopoly of trade was instituted. During the Spanish years agriculture flourished with the cultivation of rice and sugarcane, and New Orleans grew as a major port and trading center. The Spanish government welcomed thousands of Acadians (see AcadiaAcadia
, Fr. Acadie, region and former French colony, E Canada, encompassing modern Nova Scotia but also New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and coastal areas of E Maine. After an abortive 1604 settlement of St.
..... Click the link for more information. ), known there as Cajuns, and they settled what came to be known as the Cajun country. During the American Revolution, New Orleans was a center for Spanish aid to the colonies. After Spain declared war on Great Britain in 1779, Louisiana's governor, Bernardo de Gálvez, became an active ally of the revolutionists, capturing Baton Rouge and Natchez (1779), Mobile (1780), and Pensacola (1781).

After the war Louisiana's control of the great inland trade route, the Mississippi, led to heated controversy with the Americans. In the secret Treaty of San IldefonsoSan Ildefonso, Treaty of,
any of several treaties signed at the royal residence of San Ildefonso, Spain. 1 The Treaty of San Ildefonso of 1796 was an alliance of France with Spain against Great Britain in the French Revolutionary Wars.
..... Click the link for more information. (1800), Napoleon I forced the retrocession of the territory to France. Revelation of this treaty caused profound concern in the United States. President Jefferson attempted to purchase the "Isle of Orleans" from France. To the surprise of the American representatives in France, Napoleon decided to sell all of Louisiana to the United States (see Louisiana PurchaseLouisiana Purchase,
1803, American acquisition from France of the formerly Spanish region of Louisiana. Reasons for the Purchase

The revelation in 1801 of the secret agreement of 1800, whereby Spain retroceded Louisiana to France, aroused uneasiness in the United
..... Click the link for more information. ).

Statehood

The United States took possession in 1803, and in 1804 the territory was divided into two parts. The southern part, which was called the Territory of Orleans, was admitted to the Union in 1812 as the state of Louisiana. In 1811 a brief slave uprising upriver from New Orleans was brutally crushed. Settlement (1819) of the West Florida ControversyWest Florida Controversy,
conflict between Spain and the United States concerning possession of Florida. By the Treaty of Paris of 1763, Britain received Florida from Spain, and from France that portion of Louisiana lying between the Mississippi and Perdido rivers (exclusive of
..... Click the link for more information. gave Louisiana the area between the Mississippi and Pearl rivers, which formerly had been part of Florida. After statehood French and Spanish influence remained, not only in the Creole and Cajun societies but also in the civil law (based on French and Spanish codes) and in the division of the state into parishes rather than counties. In the early years of the 19th cent. the diverse people of Louisiana—the French, the Spanish, the Germans, and Isleños brought by Gálvez from the Canary Islands—united behind Andrew Jackson to defeat (1815) the British at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. (The battle site is contained in Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve; see National Parks and MonumentsNational Parks and Monuments

National Parks
Name Type¹ Location Year authorized Size
acres (hectares)
Description
Acadia NP SE Maine 1919 48,419 (19,603) Mountain and coast scenery.
..... Click the link for more information. , table.)

With settlers pouring in from other Southern states, great sugar and cotton plantations developed rapidly in the fertile lowlands, and the less productive uplands were also settled. The state capital was moved several times, finally to Baton Rouge in 1849. The advent of steam propulsion on the Mississippi (the first steamboat to navigate the river arrived in New Orleans in 1812) was a boon to the state's economy; by 1840, New Orleans was the nation's second largest port. Plantation owners, with their large landholdings and many slaves (more than half the population) dominated politics and largely controlled the state.

The Civil War and Its Aftermath

On Jan. 26, 1861, Louisiana seceded from the Union and six weeks later joined the Confederacy. The fall of New Orleans to David G. Farragut in 1862 prefaced the detested military occupation under Gen. B. F. Butler. Occupied Louisiana was a proving ground for Lincoln's moderate restoration program, but after Lincoln's assassination radical Republicans seized control and Louisiana suffered greatly during ReconstructionReconstruction,
1865–77, in U.S. history, the period of readjustment following the Civil War. At the end of the Civil War, the defeated South was a ruined land. The physical destruction wrought by the invading Union forces was enormous, and the old social and economic
..... Click the link for more information. . The Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan
, designation mainly given to two distinct secret societies that played a part in American history, although other less important groups have also used the name.
..... Click the link for more information. was particularly active from 1866 to 1871. In the election of 1872 the radical Republican candidate for governor lost but was installed with the help of federal troops. Reconstruction in Louisiana finally ended with the disputed presidential election of 1876, when Louisiana's electoral votes were "traded" to the Republicans (whose candidate was Rutherford B. Hayes) in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops from the state. Francis R. T. Nicholls, a Democrat, became governor of Louisiana, and white control of the state was reestablished.

Economic recovery was slow. The disrupted plantation system was largely replaced by farm tenancy and sharecropping. The decline of steamboat traffic was offset somewhat by new railroad building and the opening of the Mississippi River for oceangoing vessels from New Orleans to the sea (a feat accomplished by James B. Eads). Mississippi floods constituted a serious problem, and levee building increased after the flood of 1882; it was only after the disastrous flood of 1927, however, that the federal government undertook a vast control system. The water resources development program encompasses flood control, navigation, drainage, and irrigation.

The pattern of Louisiana's economy was changed by the discovery of oil and natural gas in the early 1900s, and industries began to grow on the basis of cheap fuel and cheap labor. Medical advances helped to curb the yellow-fever epidemics that had periodically disrupted the state.

Huey Long and His Legacy

Industrial growth and the continuing woes of the tenant farmers did not alter control of the state by "Bourbon" Democrats, but in 1928 a virtual revolution occurred when Huey P. LongLong, Huey Pierce,
1893–1935, American political leader, b. Winnfield, La.; brother of Earl Long. Originally a farm boy, he was an extremely successful traveling salesman before studying law at Tulane Univ.
..... Click the link for more information. was elected governor. His almost dictatorial rule, detested by liberals across the nation, brought material progress at the cost of widespread official corruption. Long withstood all outside pressures, including the opposition of President F. D. Roosevelt's administration. After his assassination in 1935 (he had resigned the governorship in 1931 to become a U.S. Senator but had retained control over the state), his political heirs made their peace with the New Deal, and federal funds, withheld during Long's last years, poured into the state.

In 1948, Huey's brother, Earl Long, invoking the memory of his dead brother (still regarded by many as a savior and a martyr), gained the governorship. In addition, Huey's son Russell was elected to the U.S. Senate and served for 38 years until he retired in 1986. In 1956, Earl Long was again elected governor, but his second term was marked by scandal and controversy.

Civil Rights, Disasters, and Diversification

About one third of Louisianans are African American, and their struggle for civil rights has been long and bitter. The move toward integrationintegration,
in U.S. history, the goal of an organized movement to break down the barriers of discrimination and segregation separating African Americans from the rest of American society.
..... Click the link for more information. following the 1954 Supreme Court ruling against racial segregation in public schools was difficult, and continuing resistance to social change is reflected in the careers of David Duke and others.

Hurricanes and flooding are recurrent dangers for the state. In 1965, Hurricane Betsy killed 74 and caused property damage in excess of $1 billion. In 1969, Hurricane Camille was even more destructive, ravaging Louisiana and neighboring states and killing 256 people. In Apr., 1973, the Mississippi River rose to its highest level recorded in Louisiana and, with its tributaries, flooded more than 10% of the state.

Louisiana enjoyed an oil boom in the early 1980s but then suffered following the 1986 collapse of oil prices. The state's unemployment rate rose to the highest in the nation, and economic distress grew. The slump placed a great burden on the tourist industry and led to increased efforts to diversify the economy. The state's recent environmental woes have largely arisen from the fact that natural erosion, oil exploitation, and river control projects have severely degraded its freshwater marshlands, especially in the delta of the Mississippi.

In 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated parts of the state, especially around New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast; as a result, it was estimated that some 240,000 people subsequently left Louisiana, largely from New Orleans and due to flooding, and the state and the city have only gradually regained those losses. A blowout of a deep offshore oil well in 2010 led to the largest oil spill in U.S. history and polluted portions of the state's E Gulf Coast, in most cases affecting areas that had been hit hard by Katrina. Flooding was a significant problem in 2016, in parts of S Louisiana, especially in parishes around Baton Rouge, this time due to slow-moving rains.

Bibliography

Louisiana's distinctive life and customs have been portrayed in the works of G. W. Cable, L. Hearn, C. E. A. Gayarré, and G. King. See also J. D. Winters, The Civil War in Louisiana (1963); S. H. Lockett, Louisiana As It Is (1969); P. H. Howard, Political Tendencies in Louisiana (1971); P. Lewis, New Orleans (1976); C. E. O'Neill, Louisiana: A History (1984); E. A. Davis, Louisiana (1985); C. Word, Ghosts Along the Bayou (1988); F. B. Kniffen and S. B. Hilliard, Louisiana: Its Land and People (1988).

Louisiana State Information

Phone: (225) 342-6600
www.louisiana.gov

Area (sq mi):: 51839.70 (land 43561.85; water 8277.85) Population per square mile: 103.80
Population 2005: 4,523,628 State rank: 0 Population change: 2000-20005 1.20%; 1990-2000 5.90% Population 2000: 4,468,976 (White 62.50%; Black or African American 32.50%; Hispanic or Latino 2.40%; Asian 1.20%; Other 2.40%). Foreign born: 2.60%. Median age: 34.00
Income 2000: per capita $16,912; median household $32,566; Population below poverty level: 19.60% Personal per capita income (2000-2003): $23,078-$26,312
Unemployment (2004): 5.70% Unemployment change (from 2000): 0.70% Median travel time to work: 25.70 minutes Working outside county of residence: 28.70%

List of Louisiana counties:

Acadia Parish

Allen Parish

Ascension Parish

Assumption Parish

Avoyelles Parish

Beauregard Parish

Bienville Parish

Bossier Parish

Caddo Parish

Calcasieu Parish

Caldwell Parish

Cameron Parish

Catahoula Parish

Claiborne Parish

Concordia Parish

DeSoto Parish

East Baton Rouge Parish

East Carroll Parish

East Feliciana Parish

Evangeline Parish

Franklin Parish

Grant Parish

Iberia Parish

Iberville Parish

Jackson Parish

Jefferson Davis Parish

Jefferson Parish

Lafayette Consolidated Government

Lafourche Parish

LaSalle Parish

Lincoln Parish

Livingston Parish

Madison Parish

Morehouse Parish

Natchitoches Parish

Orleans Parish

Ouachita Parish

Plaquemines Parish

Pointe Coupee Parish

Rapides Parish

Red River Parish

Richland Parish

Sabine Parish

Saint Bernard Parish

Saint Charles Parish

Saint Helena Parish

Saint James Parish

Saint John the Baptist Parish

Saint Landry Parish

Saint Martin Parish

Saint Mary Parish

Saint Tammany Parish

Tangipahoa Parish

Tensas Parish

Terrebonne Parish

Union Parish

Vermilion Parish

Vernon Parish

Washington Parish

Webster Parish

West Baton Rouge Parish

West Carroll Parish

West Feliciana Parish

Winn Parish

Louisiana Parks

US National Parks
Cane River Creole National Historical Park
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park
Poverty Point National Monument
Urban Parks
Audubon Park
City Park

State Parks

Audubon State Historic Site
Bayou Segnette State Park
Centenary State Historic Site
Chemin-A-Haut State Park
Chicot State Park
Cypremort Point State Park
Fairview-Riverside State Park
Fontainebleau State Park
Fort Jesup State Historic Site
Fort Pike State Historic Site
Fort Saint Jean Baptiste State Historic Site
Grand Isle State Park
Jimmie Davis State Park

Lake Bistineau State Park
Lake Bruin State Park
Lake Claiborne State Park
Lake D'Arbonne State Park
Lake Fausse Pointe State Park
Locust Grove State Historic Site
Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site
Los Adaes State Historic Site
Louisiana State Arboretum
Mansfield State Historic Site
Marksville State Historic Site
North Toledo Bend State Park
Palmetto Island State Park

Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site
Port Hudson State Historic Site
Poverty Point Reservoir State Park
Poverty Point State Historic Site
Rebel State Historic Site
Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site
Saint Bernard State Park
Sam Houston Jones State Park
South Toledo Bend State Park
Tickfaw State Park
Winter Quarters State Historic Site

National Wildlife Refuges

Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge
Bayou Cocodrie National Wildlife Refuge
Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge
Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge
Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge
Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge
Breton National Wildlife Refuge

Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge
Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge
Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge
D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge
Delta National Wildlife Refuge
Grand Cote National Wildlife Refuge
Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuge
Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge

Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuge
Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge
Sabine National Wildlife Refuge
Shell Keys National Wildlife Refuge
Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge
Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge

National Scenic Byways
Creole Nature Trail
National Heritage Areas
Cane River National Heritage Area
National Forests
Kisatchie National Forest

Louisiana

a state in the southern USA, situated on the coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico. Area, 125,700 sq km. Of the state’s 3.6 million inhabitants (1970), 66 percent live in urban areas and 30 percent are Negroes. The capital is Baton Rouge, and the largest city and principal port is New Orleans. The coastal region is a swampy lowland whose eastern edge is occupied by the valley and broad delta of the Mississippi River. The northwestern part of the state is hilly (elevations to 163 m) and is watered by the Red River, a navigable tributary of the Mississippi. The climate is subtropical and humid, with average monthly temperatures ranging from 12° to 27.5°C and an annual precipitation of about 1,500 mm. Pine and deciduous forests predominate, and cypress trees grow in the swamps.

Louisiana is ati industrial and agricultural state with a well-developed mining and mineral industry. In terms of the number of persons employed in mineral extraction (51,000 in 1970) and of the value of its output, Louisiana ranks second only to Texas among the states of the USA. In 1970 petroleum extraction totaled 126 million tons, more than one-fourth of the USA’s entire output, and about 280 billion cu m of natural gas were produced, exceeding one-third of the nation’s total output. The state’s large refining and chemical industry is centered in Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, and New Orleans. Steam power plants, with a rated capacity of more than 8 gigawatts in 1970, have permitted the development of such energy-consuming industries as aluminum smelting, using raw materials from the West Indies, and petrochemicals (synthetic rubber, plastics). Other important industries are woodworking, papermaking (using local raw materials), and food processing (sugar, vegetable oils, tropical fruits). The state also has shipyards (New Orleans), motor-vehicle assembly plants, and metalworking and defense industries. Manufacturing employed a total of 175,000 persons in 1970. Crops account for 60 percent of the commercial agricultural output; the principal crops are rice, cotton, and sugarcane. In 1970 there were 1.8 million head of cattle, including 170,000 dairy cows, and 260,000 hogs. Fishing is of major importance.

V. M. GOKHMAN

The state of Louisiana was formed in 1812. The slave system became highly developed, and Louisiana joined the other rebel slaveholding states during the Civil War (1861-65). After the formal abolition of slavery, Negroes in Louisiana and other southern states continued to be cruelly oppressed. Racial discrimination persists.

Louisiana

Eighteenth state; admitted on April 30, 1812 (seceded in 1861 and was readmitted on June 25, 1868)

State capital: Baton Rouge Nicknames: The Pelican State; The Bayou State; Fisher

man’s Paradise; Child of the Mississippi; Sugar State State motto: Union, Justice, and Confidence State amphibian: Green tree frog (Hyla cinerea) State bird: Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) State colors: Blue, white, and gold State crustacean: Crawfish State dog: Louisiana Catahoula leopard dog State drink: Milk State environmental song: “The Gifts of Earth” State flower: Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora); wildflower:

Louisiana iris (Giganticaerulea) State fossil: Petrified palm wood State freshwater fish: White perch (pomoxis annularis) State gem: Agate State insect: Honeybee (Apis mellifera) State mammal: Louisiana black bear State march song: “Louisiana My Home Sweet Home” State musical instrument: Diatonic (“Cajun”) accordion State painting: “Louisiana” State reptile: Alligator State songs: “Give Me Louisiana”; “You Are My Sunshine” State tree: Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum)

More about state symbols at:

www.sos.louisiana.gov/tabid/217/Default.aspx

More about the state at:

doa.louisiana.gov/about_history.htm
http://www.louisianapurchase2003.com

SOURCES:

AmerBkDays-2000, p. 329
AnnivHol-2000, p. 71

STATE OFFICES:

State web site:
www.louisiana.gov

Office of the Governor
PO Box 94004
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
225-342-7015
fax: 225-342-7099
www.gov.state.la.us

Secretary of State
PO Box 94125
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
225-922-1000
fax: 225-922-0002
www.sec.state.la.us

Louisiana State Library
701 N 4th St
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
225-342-4915
fax: 225-219-4725
www.state.lib.la.us

Legal Holidays:

Good Friday

Apr 22, 2011; Apr 6, 2012; Mar 29, 2013; Apr 18, 2014; Apr 3, 2015; Mar 25, 2016; Apr 14, 2017; Mar 30, 2018; Apr 19, 2019; Apr 10, 2020; Apr 2, 2021; Apr 15, 2022; Apr 7, 2023

Louisiana

a state of the southern US, on the Gulf of Mexico: originally a French colony; bought by the US in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase; chiefly low-lying. Capital: Baton Rouge. Pop.: 4 496 334 (2003 est.). Area: 116 368 sq. km (44 930 sq. miles)

Louisiana

Related to Louisiana: Louisiana Purchase, Missouri, Mississippi, New Orleans, Pennsylvania, Louisiana State University

LOUISIANA. The name of one of the new states of the United States of America. This state was admitted into the Union by the act of congress, entitled "An act for the admission of the state of Louisiana into the Union, and to extend the laws of the United States to the said state," approved April 8, 1812, 2 Story's L. U. S. 1224; the preamble of which recites and the first section enacts as follows, namely:
2. Whereas the representatives of the people of all that part of the territory or country ceded, under the name of "Louisiana," by the treaty made at Paris, on the thirtieth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and three, between the United States and France, contained within the following limits; that is to say: beginning at the mouth of the river Sabine; thence, by a line to be drawn along the middle of said river, including all islands to the thirty-second degree of latitude; thence, due north, to the northernmost part of the thirty-third degree of north latitude, thence, along the said parallel of latitude, to the river Mississippi; thence, down the said river, to the river Iberville; and from thence, along the middle of the said river, and lakes Maurepas and Ponchartrain, to the gulf of Mexico; thence, bounded by the said gulf, to the place of beginning; including all islands within three leagues of the coast; did, on the twenty-second day of January, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, form for themselves a constitution and state government, and give to the said state the name of the state of Louisiana, in pursuance of an act of congress, entitled "An act to enable the people of the territory of Orleans to form a constitution and state government, and for the admission of the said state into the Union, on an equal footing with the original states, and for other purposes: And the said constitution having been transmitted to congress, and by them being hereby approved; therefore,
3.-1. Be it enacted, &c. That the said state shall be one, and is hereby declared to be one of the United States of America and admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original states, in all respects whatever, by the name and title of the state of Louisiana: Provided, That it shall be taken as a condition upon which the said state is incorporated in the Union, that the river Mississippi, and the navigable rivers and waters leading into the same, and into the Gulf of Mexico, shall be common highways, and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of the said state as to the inhabitants of other states, and the territories of the United States, without any tax, duty, impost, or toll, therefor, imposed by the said state; and that the above condition, and also all other the conditions and terms contained in the third section of the act, the title whereof is hereinbefore recited, shall be considered, deemed, and taken, fundamental conditions and terms, upon which the said state is incorporated in the Union. See 11 M. R. 309.
4. By the present constitution of the state of Louisiana, which was adopted in 1845; the powers of the government of the state of Louisiana, are divided into three distinct departments, each of them confined to a separate body of magistracy, to wit: The legislative to one, the executive to another, and the judicial to a third. Title I.
5.-1st. The legislative power is vested in a general assembly, which consists of a senate and house of representatives.
6.-1. The senate will be considered with reference to the qualification of the electors; the qualification of the members the length of time for which they are elected and the time of their election. 1. In all elections by the people, every free white male, who has been two years a citizen of the United States, who has attained the age of twenty-one years, and resided in the state two consecutive years next preceding the election, and the last year thereof in the parish in which he offers to vote, shall have the right of voting: Provided, That no person shall be deprived of the right of voting, who, at the time of the adoption of this constitution, was entitled to that right under the constitution of 1812. Absence from the state for more than ninety consecutive days, shall interrupt the acquisition of the residence required in the preceding section, unless the person absenting himself shall be a housekeeper, or shall occupy a tenement for carrying on business, and his dwelling house or tenements for carrying on business, be actually occupied during his absence, by his family or servants, or some portion thereof, or by some one employed by him. No soldier, seaman, or marine in the army or navy of the United States, no pauper, no person under interdiction, nor under conviction of any crime punishable by hard labor, shall be entitled to vote at any election in this state. 2. No person shall be a senator, who, at the time of his election, has not been a citizen of the United States ten years, and who has not attained the age of twenty-seven years and resided in the state four years next preceding his election, and the last year thereof, in the district in which he may be chosen. The number of senators shall be thirty-two. 3. The members of the senate shall be chosen for the term of four years. 4. Their election takes place on the first Monday in November, every two years, so that one half of their number are elected every two years, and a perpetual rotation thereby kept up.
7.-2. The house of representatives will be treated of in the same manner as that of the senate. 1. The electors are qualified in the same manner as those of the senate. 2. No person shall be a representative, who, at the time of his election, is not a free white male, and has not been for three years a citizen of the United States, and has not attained the age of twenty-one years, and resided in the state for three years next preceding the election, and the last year thereof in the parish for which he may be chosen. The number of representatives shall not be more than one hundred, nor less than seventy. 3. They are chosen every two years. 4. Their election is on the first Monday in November, every two years. Title II.
8.-2d. The supreme executive power of the state shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the governor of the state of Louisiana. He is elected by the qualified electors at the time and place of voting for representatives; the person having the greatest number of votes, shall be declared elected. But if two or more persons shall be equal in the highest number of votes polled, one of them shall immediately be chosen governor by the joint vote of the members of the general assembly. 2. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor, who shall not have attained the age of thirty-five years, been fifteen years a citizen of the United States, and a resident within the state for the same space of time next preceding his election. 3. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, but shall be ineligible for the succeeding four years after its termination. 4. His principal functions are as follows: He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this state, and of the militia thereof, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. From time to time give to the general assembly information respecting the situation of the state, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem expedient. Shall have power to grant reprieves for all offences against the state. With the consent of the senate, have power to grant pardons and remit fines and forfeitures, after conviction, except in cases of impeachment. In cases of treason, may grant reprieves until the end of the next session of the general assembly, in which the pardoning power shall be vested. Shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint all officers established by this constitution, whose mode of appointment is not otherwise prescribed by the constitution, nor by the legislature. Have power to fill vacancies during the recess of the senate, provided he appoint no one whom the senate have rejected for the same office. May, on extraordinary occasions convene the general assembly at the seat of government, or at a different place, if that should have become dangerous from an enemy or from an epidemic; and in case of disagreement between the two houses as to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he may think proper, not exceeding four months. He shall have the veto power. Title III.
9.-3d. The judicial power is vested by title IV of the constitution, as follows:
10.-1. The judicial power shall be vested in a supreme court, in district courts, and injustices of the peace.
11.-2. The supreme court, except in cases hereinafter provided, shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which jurisdiction shall extend to all cases when the matter in dispute shall exceed three hundred dollars, and to all cases in which the constitutionality or legality of any tax, toll, or impost of any kind or nature soever, shall be in contestation, whatever may be the amount thereof; and likewise to all fines, forfeitures, and penalties imposed by municipal corporations, and in criminal cases on questions of law alone, whenever the punishment of death or hard labor may be inflicted, or when a fine exceeding three hundred dollars is actually imposed.
12.-3. The supreme court shall be composed of one chief justice, and of three associate justices, a majority of whom shall constitute a quorum. The chief justice shall receive a salary of six thousand dollars, and each of the associate judges a salary of five thousand five hundred dollars annually. The court shall appoint its own clerks. The judges shall be appointed for the term of eight years.
13.-4. When the first appointments are made under this constitution, the chief justice shall be appointed for eight years, one of the associate judges for six years, one for four years, and one for two years and in the event of the death, resignation, or removal of any of said judges before the expiration of the period for which he was appointed, his successor shall be appointed only for the remainder of his term; so that the term of service of no two of said judges shall expire at the same time.
14.-5. The supreme court shall hold its sessions in New Orleans, from the first Monday of the month of November, to the end of the month of June, inclusive. The legislature shall have power to fix the sessions elsewhere during the rest of the year; until otherwise provided, the sessions shall be held as heretofore.
15.-6. The supreme court, and each of the judges thereof, shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus, at the instance of all persons in actual custody under process, in all cases in which they may have appellate jurisdiction.
16.-7. In all cases in which the judges shall be equally divided in opinion, the judgment appealed from shall stand affirmed; in which case each of the judges shall give his separate opinions in writing.
17.-8. All judges, by virtue of their office, shall be conservators of the peace throughout the state. The style of all processes shall be, "The State of Louisiana." All prosecutions, shall be carried on in the name and by the authority of the state of Louisiana, and conclude, against the peace and dignity of the same.
18.-9. The judges of all the courts within this state shall, as often as it may be possible so to do, in every definite judgment, refer to the particular law in virtue of which such judgment may be rendered, and in all cases adduce the reasons on which their judgment is founded.
19.-10. No court or judge shall make any allowance by way of fee or compensation in any suit or proceedings, except for the payment of such fees to ministerial officers as may be established by law.
20.-11. No duties or functions shall ever be attached by law to the supreme or district courts, or to the several judges thereof, but such as are judicial; and the said judges are prohibited from receiving any fees of office or other compensation than their salaries for any civil duties performed by them.
21.-12. The judges of all courts shall be liable to impeachment; but for any reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground for impeachment, the governor shall remove any of them on the address of three-fourths of the members present of each house of the general assembly. In every such case the cause or causes for which such removal may be required, shall be stated at length in the address, and inserted in the journal of each house.
22.-13. The first legislature assembled under this constitution shall divide the state into judicial districts, which shall remain unchanged for six years, and be subject to reorganization every sixth year thereafter. The number of districts shall not be less than twelve, nor more than twenty. For each district one judge, learned in the law, shall be appointed, except in the districts in which the cities of New Orleans and Lafayette are situated, in which the legislature may establish as many district courts as the public interest may require.
23.-14. Each of the said judges shall receive a salary to be fixed by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during his term of office, and shall never be less than two thousand five hundred dollars annually. He must be a citizen of the United States, over the age of thirty years, and have resided in the state for six years next preceding his appointment, and have practised law therein for the space of five years.
24.-15. The judges of the district courts shall hold their offices for the term of six years. The judges first appointed shall be divided by lot into three classes, as nearly equal as can be, and the term of office of the judges of the first class shall expire at the end of two years, of the second class at the end of four years, and of the third class at the end of six years.
25.-16. The district courts shall have original jurisdiction in all civil cases when the amount in dispute exceeds fifty dollars, exclusive of interest. In all criminal cases, and in all matters connected with successions, their jurisdiction shall be unlimited.
26.-17. The jurisdiction of justices of the peace shall never exceed, in civil cases, the sum of one hundred dollars, exclusive of interest, subject to appeal to the district court in such cases as shall be provided for by law. They shall be elected by the qualified voters of each parish for the term of two years, and shall have such criminal jurisdiction as shall be provided for by law.

Louisiana

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Louisiana

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noun a state in southern United States on the Gulf of Mexico

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