LOUISIANA 



3520 



LOUISIANA 



many of its provisions were incorporated into 

 the laws of Louisiana (see CODE NAPOLEON). 

 The United States government did not inter- 

 fere, for it has always been its policy to leave 

 to the people the task of making or changing 

 their laws, as long as these do not conflict with 

 the Federal Constitution or with the funda- 

 mental legal customs of the country. This ex- 

 plains why to-day the laws of Louisiana contain 

 elements of both Roman and English law. Its 

 civil law is almost entirely based on the French 

 system, and is different from that in use in the 

 other states, while its criminal, commercial and 

 corporation laws are based on the English sys- 

 tem. 



Other Constitutional Provisions. Louisiana 

 possesses a conservation commission that is 

 charged with protecting the natural resources of 

 the state. It adopted in 1906 a primary elec- 

 tion law for the direct nomination of all state, 

 parochial and municipal officers. An employ- 

 ers' liability law providing for the compulsory 

 compensation of workmen in case of accidents 

 was voted in 1914. Several acts dealing with 

 the liquor traffic have been passed. It is an 

 offense to sell or give away cocaine. Gambling 

 on horse racing is prohibited. A period of ten 

 hours constitutes a legal day's work. It is un- 

 lawful to employ children under fourteen years 

 of age, while night work for boys under sixteen 

 and girls under eighteen is also forbidden. 



History. Louisiana is one cf the regions of 

 the United States that was visited quite early 

 by explorers. In 1519 Alvarez de Pineda, a 

 Spanish explorer, entered the mouth of the Mis- 

 sissippi and spent some time on its banks, and 

 in 1541 the region was visited by De Soto. In 

 1682, La Salle descended the Mississippi River 

 to its mouth, took possession of the entire coun- 

 try, and named it Louisiana, in honor of his 

 king, Louis XIV of France. The first perma- 

 nent settlem'ent was made in 1699 by d'Iberville 

 at Biloxi. In 1718 the Company of the West, 

 organized by John Law, obtained the exclusive 

 privilege of trade in Louisiana. New Orleans, 

 which had been founded in the same year by 

 Bienville, the governor of the colony, was made 

 the capital in 1722. In 1733 the province came 

 under the direct administration of the Crown. 

 By the treaty of Paris, concluded in 1763, France 

 ceded to Spain all that portion that lay west of 

 the Mississippi, together with the city of New 

 Orleans and the island on which it stood. By 

 the same treaty it ceded to Great Britain all 

 the rest of its possessions in America. The peo- 

 ple of the province were not satisfied with this 



change, but eventually Spain established its 

 rule. In 1800 Napoleon obtained back from 

 Spain the ceded territory, and in 1803 he sold 

 the province to tne United States for $15,000,- 

 000 (see LOUISIANA PURCHASE). In 1804 the re- 

 gion west of the Mississippi was organized as 

 the Territory of Orleans. 



Progress as a State. In 1812, April 30, the 

 Territory of Orleans, increased by the region 

 east of the Mississippi and comprising the pres- 

 ent area was admitted as the fifth new state of 

 the Union after the original thirteen, under the 

 name of Louisiana. In the War of 1812 New 

 Orleans was attacked by the English and was 

 bravely defended by about 5,000 men under 

 General Andrew Jackson. In 1852 the capital 

 was moved from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. 



Louisiana passed the ordinance of secession 

 on December 23, 1860, and in 1861 it ratified 

 the Confederate Constitution. New Orleans was 

 occupied by Union forces in May, 1862, and a 

 military government was established. The state 

 suffered severely from the cessation of its com- 

 merce. During the period of reconstruction 

 Louisiana was the scene of long-continued strife, 

 and bloodshed was frequent. Military occupa- 

 tion came to an end in 1868, after Louisiana 

 had adopted a constitution enfranchising the 

 negroes, and after it had ratified the Fourteenth 

 Amendment to the Federal Constitution. The 

 great mass of the white population was slow to 

 reconcile itself to the new conditions. 



By what was known as the "grandfather 

 clause" in the constitution of 1898, and by the 

 conditions required to exercise, the privilege of 

 voting laid down in the constitution of 1913, 

 which are described above (see SUFFRAGE), 

 political predominance of the whites has 

 assured. 



In 1884 the New Orleans Exposition was hel 

 to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the 

 first shipment of cotton from New Orleans. 

 Since the beginning of the twentieth century 

 the progress of the state in material wealth, edu- 

 cational conditions, and social legislation has 

 been steady and rapid. O.B. 



Consult Thompson's The Story of Louisiana; 

 Cox's Explorations of Louisiana; Phelps' Louis 

 ana, in American Commonwealths' Series. 



Related Subjects. The following articles in 

 these volumes will be of interest in connect 

 with a study of Louisiana : 



Alexandria 

 Baton Rouge 

 Lake Charles 



CITIES 



Monroe 

 New Orleans 

 Shreveport 



