Government, Politics & Law
Pierre Caliste Landry
Born enslaved in Ascension Parish, Pierre Caliste Landry became the first Black mayor in the United States in 1868.
Antebellum Period
Antebellum Period Index
Government, Politics & Law
Pierre Clément de Laussat
As the highest French civilian official in Louisiana, Pierre Clement de Laussat ceded control of the territory to the United States as a result of the Louisiana Purchase.
Business & Industry
Plantation Slavery in Antebellum Louisiana
Enslaved people endured brutal conditions on sugarcane and cotton plantations during the antebellum period.
7.10 j., l. Plantation Slavery in Antebellum Louisiana
During the antebellum period, Louisiana relied on the forced labor of enslaved people to work sugar and cotton plantations.
Literature
Poetry
Louisiana poetry ranges from early francophone works to contemporary compositions.
C.11 k. Police Juries
This distinct form of government exists in more than half of Louisiana’s parishes.
Architecture
Pontalba Buildings
Baroness Pontalba's buildings on Jackson Square changed the haphazard design into a viable public area.
Architecture
Presbytere
Along with the Cabildo and St. Louis Cathedral, the Presbytere figures as a major component in New Orleans' Jackson Square.
Religion & Spirituality
Protestantism in Louisiana
Several Protestant denominations are present in Louisiana with Southern Baptist and Methodist as the most dominant.
Literature
Rachel O'Connor
A pioneer planter in what is now West Feliciana Parish, Rachel O'Connor wrote more than one hundred letters describing antebellum plantation life in southern Louisiana.
Foodways
Red Beans and Rice
Traditionally served on Mondays in New Orleans, red beans and rice is an economical dish that has become a staple throughout Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.
Geography
Red River Raft
The Great Raft was a thousand-year-old logjam in the Red River that prevented transportation downriver to New Orleans.
