The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-30
lie State of Louisiana
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN

| Senate on the charge of having treason
able correspondence with Louisiana
Spaniards.
Napoleon arose and oversha dowed
/ Europe. He, too, dreamed OF an Amer
ican empire and induced Charles ". OF
| Spain to cede him Louisiana in the year
! 1900, Jefferson wanted Louisiana, he
/ wanted the Mississippi, be wanted the
great valley, and he bought it from
! Napoleon. Congress listened for weeks
TO the speeches of those who said the
! lie, but ii voted the money, On De
cenber 20, 1903, the French flag was
| taken down and the stars and stripes
few over New Orleans.
| Now it appeared that Louisiana was
to rest. 1t was American soil and
part of an American nation. But there
was still another dreamer who looked
npon New Orleans as the future cap
| Aaron Burr, Vice-President OF the
United States when Louisiana became
American territory. Burr and his Ill
fatcd conspiracy for a Mississippi val
lev empire, make the last chapter In
the series of unsuccessful efforts to ex-
ploit Louisiana as an independent en-
pire. The great Napoleon, whose bu-
proved to be the only successful i'm
perialist in Louisiana, for he said when
he turned the territory over to the
United States that he had given Eng
land rival for the mastery among ma
tions.
William C. C. Claiborne, a young Yir-
ginian, was sent by President Jeffer-
son TO be the first Governor OF Louis
lana Territory. New Orleans then had
about 5000 people and the whole vast
territory had about $4,000, not counting
the Indians Next year the great terri
tory was divided and the southern por-
tion became the Territory Of Orleans,
Claiborne was also first Governor or Or
leans. Eight years thereafter Che peo-
pie adopted a constitution and were ad-
mitted to the Union. They elected
Claiborne the first Governor of Louis,
lana Claiborne was only % years old
when he first assumed the territorial
government in 1903, and on account Of
his youth, he may be pardoned lor haV~
ing attempted to Americanlze the
French all at once. He established a
Court of Pleas such as he had known N
Virginia. The lawyers were. greatly
dissatisfied with the strange FIRMS OF
law, and especially opposed to the intro
duction of the English language. A
compromise was effected and James
Brown and Morcau Lislet were ap.
pointed to draw up civil code. This,
as revised in 1925, under the title of the
"Civil Code of Louisiana" is that ad-
mixture of the Roman civil law and the
English common law of which Louls-
lana lawyers are so proud today, Inc
French language is still the speech in
parts of New Orleans and some rural
parishes, French customs are still Iol"
| lowed and always will obtain, but Louis
lana is as thoroughly American as Mas"
sachusetts or Virginia.
Within three years after it became a
| State the battle of New Orleans was
| fought, in which Andrew Jackson gave
the English veterans Of the Napoleonic
wars the most complete drubbing an
| American army has ever given for
| eign foe. Jean LafItte and his Bara-
tarians, who had been called pirates, but
who refused to aid the English against
Americans, fought bravely in that bat
! tie and put an end TO charges AGAINST
| Louisiana S patriotism.
| New Orleans advanced rapidly after
| the invention of the steamboat, ami al
one time, before railroads made the
rivers Of secondary Importance, was the
rival of New York as the business me-
!
war came, Louisiana, with the other
Southern States, seeded and joined the
Confederacy. To the lost cause she
gave Judah p. Benjamin, the bright
particular star of Jefferson DAVIS 8 cab
met, and to the Confederate army she
gave p. G.. T, Beauregard, BraXton
Bragg, Leonidas Polk and Richard Tay.
lor.
Louisiana suffered more, perhaps
than any other Southern State during
the period of reconstruction, and it was
not until 1877 that home government
was again established. Since that time
Louisiana has devoted herself to com.
merce and the arts Of peace. Her day
of political adventure are over, and she
is enjoying the prosperity which Of
right belongs to an American State.
Lights That Failed Will be the
topic Of Mr.. Haskin's letter tomorrow