- In 1902 the governor of Louisiana gave the first official description of the great seal. The seal …
The state of Louisiana has a rich cultural heritage. It was originally a Spanish and French colony, and it had a century of settled life before it became part of the United States. The French explorer La Salle chose the name Louisiana in honor of King Louis XIV of France. The capital is Baton Rouge. GeographyLouisiana is located in the southern part of the United States. It is bordered by the state of Mississippi, the Mississippi River, and the Pearl River to the east; by Arkansas to the north; by Texas and the Sabine River to the west; and by the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Louisiana is one of the flattest states in the nation, and much of the area around the Gulf coast is below sea level. The state has an area of 47,752 square miles (123,678 square kilometers), including thousands of miles of swampland in the Mississippi Delta. Waterways known as bayous pass through this area. Louisiana has a humid climate that is hot in the summer and mild in the winter. Hurricanes coming out of the Gulf have often battered the coastal areas. One of the worst was Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Plants and Animals - Spanish moss hangs from bald cypress trees in Lake Palourde in southern Louisiana.
Louisiana's fertile soil supports many kinds of vegetation. Much of Louisiana contains forests, and oak trees grow throughout the state. The state tree is the bald cypress. Magnolias are one of the most common flowers found in the state. Louisiana has many different kinds of birds. Louisiana's nickname is the Pelican State, and brown pelicans were once plentiful along the coast by the Gulf of Mexico. Now very few can be found, but efforts are being made to save them. Alligators, muskrats, gray squirrels, and deer are plentiful in Louisiana. The coastal and swamp areas are full of fish and marine life. People and CultureLouisiana's history as a Spanish and French colony, an American territory, and a state of the Old South has given it a population mixture quite different from other states. Descendants of the early French and Spanish colonists are called Creoles. Many of them are of mixed ancestry. During the French and Indian War (1756–63), French-speaking people from what is now the Canadian province of Nova Scotia came to Louisiana. The region they came from was called Acadia. Their descendants are known as Cajuns. Many Cajuns live in their own communities and speak their own language, a combination of French and other languages. White settlers came from the southeastern states in the 19th century. Many of them brought black slaves. Also in the 19th century, many immigrants arrived from Europe. CitiesMost Louisianians live in cities. The largest city is New Orleans, which is known as a shipping and commercial center as well as a tourist area. In 2005 the city was badly damaged by flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina, but it soon began to rebuild. Baton Rouge, the state's capital, is Louisiana's second-largest city. Other major cities are Lafayette in the south-central part of the state and Shreveport in the northwest. RecreationNew Orleans is the main tourist attraction in Louisiana. Every year people flock to the city to celebrate Mardi Gras. Visitors to New Orleans enjoy sampling Cajun and Creole food, listening to jazz at clubs, visiting museums and galleries, and attending the theater, symphony, or opera. A large stadium known as the Superdome is home to the New Orleans Saints, a professional football team. The Superdome also hosts college football's annual Sugar Bowl. Louisiana has many public parks and gardens and the state is ideal for hunting and fishing. Many tourists visit the old plantation homes along the Mississippi River. EducationChurch-related schools for children began in the 1720s. The modern system of education, however, did not begin until passage of a general school act in 1877. Major state-supported institutions of higher learning include Louisiana State University (with its main campus at Baton Rouge), the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and the University of New Orleans. Tulane University in New Orleans is one of the state's best private schools. EconomyLouisiana is among the nation's leading producers of oil, natural gas, and salt. The state's main industries include chemical manufacturing and oil refining. The chemical industry is concentrated along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Lumber and wood products and transportation equipment are other chief industrial products in the state. Shipbuilding is an important activity as well. Agriculture plays a role in Louisiana's economy, though it is not nearly as important as it once was. Soybeans are the state's main crop. Other major farm products include cattle, cotton, rice, poultry, and dairy products. The state's fishing industry is among the nation's strongest. HistoryNative AmericansThousands of years before Europeans arrived, Native Americans lived in the region that was to become Louisiana. It is estimated that there were 15,000 Indians in the area when Europeans began settling there during the 1700s. The Caddo tribe was the largest. Louisiana Purchase and StatehoodAlthough the Spanish were the earliest Europeans to explore the area, it was the French who first settled there. Serious French colonization of the territory began in 1702. In 1803 the United States, under the leadership of United States President Thomas Jefferson, bought Louisiana and other land from the French emperor Napoleon. This deal was known as the Louisiana Purchase, and it was the most significant land acquisition made by the United States. After the land was divided into various territories, Louisiana joined the Union as its 18th state in 1812. American Civil War and Race RelationsCotton and sugarcane production grew during the 19th century. A wealthy plantation society developed that depended on the labor of black slaves. In 1861 Louisiana withdrew from the Union to join other Southern states in forming the Confederacy. Federal troops captured both New Orleans and Baton Rouge the following year during the American Civil War (1861–65). Louisiana was let back into the Union in 1868. A system of official discrimination known as segregation was put in place at about the turn of the 20th century. In the 1930s and 1940s blacks in Louisiana began challenging segregation laws. The legal end of segregation and the protection of voting rights for blacks in the 1960s left Louisiana a more open, equal state. By the 21st century African Americans made up about a third of the state's population. Population (2000 census), 4,468,976. |