An examination of the people, places and events that shaped this fascinating period, which culminated in Louisiana's admission to the United States as the 18th state.
Created by hnoc on Oct 14, 2009
Last updated: 03/12/10 at 03:14 AM
Tags: Louisiana history New Orleans Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana is admitted into the United States as its eighteenth member.
18-star American Flag
ca. 1812; silk and cotton
courtesy of the Louisiana State Museum
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Delegates at the state constitutional convention sign Louisiana’s first constitution.
Constitution or Form of Government of the State of Louisiana
New Orleans: Jo. Bar. Baird, 1812
61-51-L.1
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Captain Amos Stoddard’s Sketches, Historical and Descriptive, of Louisiana is published. Sketches, Historical and Descriptive, of Louisiana by Amos Stoddard; Philadelphia: Mathew Carey, 1812 76-709-RL gift of Mr. Ralph M. Pons
The steamboat New Orleans arrives in its namesake city. Its voyage helps launch steam power’s century-long domination of America’s waterways.
Steamboat New Orleans
1911; relief halftone
by the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, publisher
1974.25.33.84
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Members of the constitutional convention, headed by Julien Poydras, convene to draft a state constitution.
Territory of Orleans [detail]
from A History of Louisiana, volume III
by Alcée Fortier; New York: Goupil & Co., 1904
73-38-L
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President James Madison signs legislation authorizing Governor Claiborne to organize a constitutional convention. James Madison 1816; oil on canvas by John Vanderlyn courtesy of the White House Historical Association (White House Collection)
Slaves on the German Coast plantation of Manuel Andry rebel, killing Andry’s son. The rebels are joined by slaves from neighboring plantations and maroons as they make their way down river toward New Orleans. Panic ensues and Claiborne activates a military force led by Colonel Wade Hampton to quell the uprising. Before Hampton’s force arrives, the rebellion is put down by a local planters’ posse headed by Manuel Andry.
Louisiana Gazette and New-Orleans Daily Advertiser
New Orleans: John Mowry, January 11, 1811
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The Republic of West Florida is annexed by the United States to the territory of Orleans. Bonnie Blue Flag
An unofficial American force captures the Spanish fort at Baton Rouge and declares independence for the Republic of West Florida.
The city of New Orleans purchases the plantation owned by Claude Tremé for $40,000. The plantation is subdivided and sold as lots.
Plan of the City and Suburbs of New Orleans from an Actual Survey Made by J. Tanesse in 1815
April 29, 1817; engraving
by Jacques Tanesse, surveyor; Rollinson, engraver; Charles Del Vecchio and Pierre Maspero, publishers
1971.4
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The court decision Adelle v. Beauregard¸ passed down by the Superior Court of the territory of Orleans, states that people of color are considered free unless proven otherwise. Free people of color are no longer required to carry documents proving their status.
Congress allows for an exclusion to the 1808 federal prohibition of the slave trade, permitting St. Domingue refugees arriving in the United States via Cuba to land their slaves. Claiborne does not receive word of the exclusion until early August, two weeks after he had already allowed refugee slaveholders to bring their slaves into the territory.
Havana governor Sebastian Kindelan issues an edict forcing refugees from St. Domingue settled in Cuba to leave. Kindelan’s expulsion act sets off the largest wave of immigration to New Orleans in the city’s history. More than 9,000 St. Domingue refugees and their slaves flee from Cuba to New Orleans between 1809 and 1810.
Voyage de la Louisiane, fait par ordre du Roy en l’année mil sept cent vingt
by Antoine François Laval; Paris: J. Mariette, 1728
72-50-L
bequest of General L. Kemper Williams
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James Madison begins his first term as President of the United States.
Congress repeals the unpopular Embargo Act.
Territorial Louisiana adopts a new civil code. The 1808 code, compiled by Louis Moreau-Lislet and James Brown, draws from a variety of legal sources, including the recently issued Napoleonic Code.
A Digest of the Civil Laws Now in Force in the Territory of Orleans
New Orleans: Bradford & Anderson, 1808
76-496-RL
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The Théâtre de la Rue St. Philippe (formerly the Variétés Amusantes) opens in New Orleans. St. Phillip Theater [detail] from Plan of the City and Suburbs of New Orleans from an Actual Survey made by J. Tanesse in 1815 April 29, 1817; engraving by Jacques Tanesse, surveyor; Rollinson, engraver; Charles Del Vecchio and Pierre Maspero, publishers 1971.4
Federal Marshal Le Breton D’Orgenois evicts Livingston from the batture under orders from the Jefferson administration. Jefferson claims the batture is public land owned by the federal government and uses the 1807 Squatters Act as the basis for Livingston’s eviction.
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The U.S. abolishes the international slave trade. This act prohibits the sale or introduction of non-domestic slaves to the United States and its territories.
Sales of Estates, Pictures, and Slaves in the Rotunda, New Orleans
1842
by W. H. Brooke
1981.147
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In response to British and French harassment of American merchant ships at sea, Congress passes the Embargo Act of 1807. The unpopular act prohibits international export and restricts imports from Great Britain.
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Governor Claiborne orders gunboats to Lake Pontchartrain and partially blockades Bayou Manchac to prevent smuggling.
Corsair Alligator
1813; watercolor
by C. Roussel, painter
1939.7
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Governor Claiborne receives an embarrassing, but not fatal, wound to his thigh during a duel with long-time rival Daniel Clark.
Dueling pistol
ca. 1850; Damascus steel, wood, silver
1978.175.5
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The Superior Court of the territory of Orleans reaches a unanimous decision in the case of John Gravier v. The Mayor, Aldermen, and Inhabitants of the City of New Orleans, finding in favor of Gravier’s claim to batture lands in Faubourg Ste. Marie. Gravier cedes one-third interest in his batture claim to his lawyer, Edward Livingston
Petition of John Gravier
early 19th century
70-70-L.10
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The legislature divides the territory of Orleans into 19 parishes.
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After authorities in Washington uncover a conspiracy to turn over part of the Louisiana Purchase territory to Britain or Spain, former vice president Aaron Burr is brought to trial in federal court on charges of treason.
Aaron Burr
1903; Goupil gravure
by Goupil and Company, publisher
1991.34.27
gift of Mr. Thomas Lennox
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Governor Claiborne forces Père Antoine de Sedella to sign an oath of allegiance to the United States. Le Père Antoine de Sedella 1821; aquatint engraving by Edmund Brewster, printmaker 1982.43
Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike leads a second expedition, this time through the southwestern reaches of the Purchase territory.
Exploratory Travels through the Western Territories of North America
by Zebulon Montgomery Pike and Thomas Rees; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1811
73-29-L
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Bernard de Marginy commissions Nicolas de Finiels and Barthélémy Lafon to subdivide his plantation. The product of the subdivision is Faubourg Marigny.
Plan de l’Habitation de Sieur Jn. Bte. de Marigny
September 15, 1806
by Barthélémy Lafon, surveyor
1980.96
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Barthélémy Lafon produces the first official map of the territory of Orleans.
Carte générale du Territoire d'Orléans comprenant aussi la Floride Occidentale et une portion du Territoire du Mississipi
1806; engraving
by Barthélémy Lafon
1971.52
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After establishing a corporation earlier in the year, the first Episcopal church service in New Orleans is held in the Cabildo.
Plan of the City and Suburbs of New Orleans from an Actual Survey Made by J. Tanesse in 1815
April 29, 1817; engraving
by Jacques Tanesse, surveyor; Rollinson, engraver; Charles Del Vecchio and Pierre Maspero, publishers
1971.4 detail
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President Jefferson appoints Dr. John Sibley as Indian agent. Sibley is assigned to the northwest portion of Orleans Territory.
Sauvages du Mississipi
1821; lithograph
by Edouard de Montulé, draftsman and artist; Brocas, publisher
1974.25.10.159
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Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike sets out from St. Louis on his first expedition exploring the Louisiana Territory.
Exploratory Travels through the Western Territories of North America
by Zebulon Montgomery Pike and Thomas Rees; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1811
73-29-L
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The Legislative Council excludes free men of color from the territory’s militia law, barring them from serving in the territorial militia.
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The city of New Orleans is incorporated. Its population stands at 3,551 whites, 1,556 free people of color, 3,105 slaves, and 253 “other free persons” (an ambiguous term typically ascribed to Indians) for a total population of 8,465, not including military personnel and transient traders.
Sunday in New Orleans
August 18, 1866; wood engraving
by Alfred Rudolph Waud, delineator
1951.68
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Governor Claiborne appoints members to the Legislative Council of the Territory of Orleans. Julien Poydras serves as council president.
Julien Poydras
© 1903; Goupil gravure
by Goupil and Company, publisher
1991.34.28 i
gift of Mr. Thomas Lennox
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Captain Amos Stoddard begins his extensive travels through the territories of Orleans and Louisiana
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President Thomas Jefferson officially appoints William C. C. Claiborne Governor of Orleans Territory.
William C. C. Claiborne
ca. 1805; oil on ivory
by Ambrose Duval
1975.142
gift of Mrs. Alfred Grima and Omer Villeré Claiborne
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Brothers Nathan and Samuel Kemper engage in a failed attempt to overthrow the colonial government and capture Baton Rouge in Spanish West Florida.
Plan of the Fort of Baton Rouge
1814; ink and watercolor
by Barthélémy Lafon, draftsman and artist
1970.2.16 i,ii,
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The Corps of Discovery, a 43-member expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, departs from St. Louis to explore the new territory.
Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean
by Meriwether Lewis; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1815
(detail) 73-991-L
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The United States divides the Louisiana Purchase territory into the territory of Orleans, whose outline roughly adheres to that of the present state of Louisiana minus the Florida Parishes, and the territory of Louisiana
Governor Claiborne and a team of New Orleans businessmen help establish the Louisiana Bank.
Letter from the President and the directors of the Louisiana Bank to John-Francis Merieult
July 5, 1807
2008.0100.27 detail
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French Colonial Prefect Pierre Clément Laussat formally transfers the Louisiana Purchase territory from France to the United States. Governor of the Mississippi Territory William C. C. Claiborne and General James Wilkinson receive the territory on behalf of the United States.
Scene of Transfer of Louisiana from France to the United States in the Place d'Arms at New Orleans
ca. 1903; lithograph by Goupil and Company, publisher
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of Mr. Thomas Lennox (1991.34.25)
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French Colonial Prefect Pierre Clément Laussat appoints Jean Etienne de Boré the first mayor of New Orleans. His appointment is later confirmed by American officials.
President Thomas Jefferson commissions William C. C. Claiborne and General James Wilkinson as agents of the United States, granting them “full power and authority…to take possession and occupy the territory ceded by France to the United States.”
Commission for William C. C. Claiborne granting him temporary powers as general governor and intendant of the province of Louisiana
October 31, 1803
by Thomas Jefferson, author
78-115-L
gift of Claiborne Perrilliat
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The U.S. Congress ratifies the Louisiana Purchase Treaty.
15 star American flag
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Representatives from France and the United States sign and backdate the Louisiana Purchase Treaty to April 30, 1803.
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