Louisiana's Path to Statehood: A Struggle for Identity and Independence

1. Chapter 8 Section 3 Statehood

2. Becoming a state • To establish a territory as a state you must have 60,000 people • 1809 the territory had reached that number • The territorial legislature sent a request for statehood to Congress • Governor Claiborne did not want this yet because he felt the Creoles were not ready for citizenship • He wanted more Americans to move into Louisiana before the territory became a state • 1811 Congress finally voted to admit Louisiana as the 18th state • Statehood bill was signed by James Madison on February 16, 1811 • Official date for statehood was set for April 30, 1812

3. Louisiana’s First Constitution • Before it could become a state, Louisiana had to write a constitution • Used Kentucky as a model • The constitution said the legislature would select the governor from the two leading candidates in the popular election. • The governor had 1 four year term with extensive power to appoint other officials • Only white male property owners could vote or hold an office • Julien Poydras was the president of the constitutional convention • First governor to be elected was William C. C. Claiborne

4. Early Problems • Language and cultural barriers in creased the distrust between the Creoles and the newly arrived Americans • Claiborne had to settle a problem with the Caddo • Tribe tried to continue their agricultural lifestyle after statehood was granted, but white settlers began taking and claiming the Caddo land • The tribe eventually just most to Texas • Smuggling was rampant in Louisiana-still tolerated after it was instituted during the French Colonial period • Largest band of smugglers operated from a base along the gulf coast at Barataria

5. Privateers • PIRATES! • Based at Barataria on the Gulf Coast • Preyed on the Spanish and British ships with the full backing of countries that were at war with Spain of Great Britain • Most Privateers sailed under the flag of Cartegana (Columbia), which was then a Spanish province • Jean Lafitte led the Barataians (privateers/pirates) • Claiborne tried to stop Lafittes operations and his illegal smuggling of slaves • Offered a $500 reward for Lafitte’s capture and later raised it o $5000 after Lafitte, himself, created stories and circulated them throughout New Orleans

6. Louisiana and the War of 1912 • “The Second War for Independence” • British angered the Americans by using the tactic of Impressment of American sailors, forcing them to sail and fight for the British Military • The United States declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812

7. Protecting New Orleans • After the British defeated Napoleon in 1814, they then could have their total attention on the war with the United States • Governor Claiborne prepared for an attack on New Orleans • If the British succeeded in taking New Orleans, they would gain access to the entire Mississippi Valley

8. Protecting New Orleans • Fall of 1814, British warships entered the Gulf of Mexico and blockaded New Orleans • British positioned their ships to isolate the city and prevent any ships from entering or leaving the port • US sent Major General Andrew Jackson to defend the city

9. Jackson in New Orleans • His troops included regular army, Kentucky Sharpshooters, local militia and the Choctaw • Said to his troops, ”Nationalities no longer count. We are all Americans” • Jean Lafitte, the privateer, even offered to help fight with the Americans after refusing the British • In return he got some of his men released from jail

10. The beginning of the battle • December 1814, the British fleet approached the city through Lake Borgne, where the first battle occurred • Only the small British ships were able to maneuver the shallow waters and outmaneuver and defeat all American gunboats • Once landed, the British were surprised by Jackson with a night attack, slowing their approach on New Orleans

11. The battle wears on • British were led by General Edward Pakenham • American and British forces met on January 8, 1815 on the plains of Chalmette, just south of New Orleans

12. The armies meet • On that foggy morning , the battle lasted less than an hour • Jackson and his 5000 assorted troops soundly defeated 8000 professional British soldiers • More than 2000 British soldiers were killed while only 8 of Jackson’s men died in battle that day

14. The irony of war • The generals did not know that the war was already over • December 24 ,1814 a treaty was signed ending the war of 1812 • The Treaty of Ghent (Belgium) did not arrive in the United States until weeks later • If the news had reached the armies at New Orleans, the battle could have been avoided all together • It was not in vain-the British had been forcefully shown that the Americas were willing to take on the world’s mightiest nation and fight it to a draw • If the Americans had been defeated , the British might have stopped the peace process • If the British had won they might have given Louisiana back to the Spanish allies

15. A new feeling of independence • 4th of July was different in 1815 in Louisiana • Citizens felt a sense of belonging… as Americans • The battle brought the people with cultural, ethnic and religious differences together • Jackson is honored in New Orleans in Place de Armes with a statue, now called Jackson Square • Completed in 1856, Jackson laid the statue’s cornerstone