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Louisiana

The home of today's Cajuns, Louisiana is a land of diversity with a truly unique culture, and a state that is struggling with modernization. While every Cajun that we know loves Louisiana in some way, most of us also have plenty of problems with the state. Sure, Louisiana is ridiculously hot and humid, but that is not what most of us complain about. The Louisiana that so many detest is the one that is full of corruption, poverty, inadequate infrastructure, and racial tensions that far surpass any other state's. Then again, many of us love Louisiana. Why? Louisiana is the home of the Cajuns for starters! Additionally, Louisiana has some of the most beautiful land in the world within it's bayous, marshes, and other wetlands. Louisiana is not called Sportsman's Paradise for no reason!

The History Of Louisiana

A great starting place for the history of Louisiana is an explanation of how this state got her name. Long before Louisiana was ever a state, it was a territory. In fact, it was a vast territory that was isolated from its owners by thousands of miles. France had sent two explorers (Rene-Robert Cavelier and Sieur de la Salle) to the Americas in search of new land. These two explorers claimed all of the land that was drained by the Mississippi River for France in 1682. Since they were subjects of France, and the king was footing the bill, they named their new land La Louisiane which means "Land of Louis". You may have guessed by now that the king of France's name was Louis, and in fact he was Louis XIV whom was the king of France from 1643 to 1715.

Parts of Louisiana were owned by both France and Spain at times. France had control over much of Louisiana for most of it's early history, but Spain managed to win control over parts of it on many occasions. In fact, it was while Spain controlled much of Louisiana that was east of the Mississippi River that the Cajun settlers from Acadia settled the land. In 1800 France bought all of the Louisiana territory from Spain, and then in 1803 President Thomas Jefferson decided to purchase all of the Louisiana territory from France for a total of $23,213,568, including interest ($3,000,000 in gold was paid as a deposit, and the rest was financed with bonds). This became known as the Louisiana Purchase, and it was the most important acquisition of land that the U.S. has ever made. While the purchase of Louisiana is understandable because of its immense size at the time, the truth was that President Jefferson wanted the Louisiana territory for New Orleans alone. He knew that the U.S. needed access to the Port of New Orleans to grow, and he was wary of France and Spain being able to block access to the New Orleans port.

How much land did the U.S. get when it purchased Louisiana? A lot! The Louisiana Purchase added some 828,000 square miles to the United States. This represents just over 23% of the land that the U.S. owns today. To put the Louisiana Purchase into better perspective, consider that the territory known as Louisiana covers: all of Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska; parts of North Dakota, Louisiana, Minnesota, South Dakota, New Mexico, Texas, Montana, Colorado, and Wyoming! For less than just three cents per acre, the United States had doubled its land back then overnight! Now that it what I would call a good deal.

Obviously, the state that we now know of as Louisiana is a small portion of the original territory. Only nine years after the Louisiana Purchase, the United States accepted Louisiana as a state in its present size. While the other parts of the Louisiana territory were useful in expanding west towards California and the Pacific Ocean, the area that we call Louisiana today was seen as crucial because of its access to the Gulf of Mexico via the Port of New Orleans.

Louisiana Geography Demographics, Climate, etc.

The Louisiana geography places its southern border along with Gulf of Mexico. To the west it is bordered by Texas. Our neighbor on the eastern side is Mississippi, and to the north we are facing Arkansas. Louisiana's geography includes over over 20,000 square miles of swamps and coast lands. The northern portion of Louisiana is made up of prairies and woodlands. The elevation of Louisiana ranges from sea level in areas near New Orleans, to 60 feet in the northern portions of the state. The highest elevation in the state, the Driskill Mountains, is only 535 feet above sea level. The Mississippi River flows through Louisiana for a distance of 600 miles, and empties into the Gulf of Mexico just south of New Orleans. Besides the Mississippi, other significant rivers in the state includes: Red River, Ouachita River, Peal, Sabine, Calcasieu, Vermillion, Teche, Mermentau, Atchafalaya, Lafourche, Boeuf, Courtableau, D'Arbonne, Tensas, Macon, Amite, Tchefuncte, Tickfaw, Natalbany. Generally speaking, Louisiana is covered with water, which hels to make it one of the most productive wetlands in the world.

The climate in Louisiana can be truthfully described as hot and humid for much of the year. It is officially listed as a subtropical climate, but you could hardly call it anything less than tropical in the summer months. Most of us in Louisiana know that there are two seasons: a summer that is miserable, and a short winter that feels pretty good. The humidity in Louisiana is brutal, especially in the southern regions. The way I describe the humidity in Louisiana to others is that it feels about the same as sitting in a sauna. You can't escape it, even in the shade. As far as the "official" analysis of the Louisiana climate goes, the average temperatures are as follows:

The Louisiana demographics shows that the state has 4,500,000 citizens. The largest cities are New Orleans, Baton Rouge (the capitol), Shreveport, and Lake Charles. The population of the metropolitan New Orleans area is 1,300,000. The population of the greater Baton Rouge region is about 775,000. The population of the metro Shreveport region is approximately 375,000, and about 200,000 people live in the Lake Charles area. The percentages of race in Louisiana are approximately as follows: white (64%), black (34%), Asian (1.5%). Approximately 5% of the population in Louisiana speaks Cajun French.

Some interesting facts about Louisiana are:

• The state flower of Louisiana is the magnolia, one of the sweetest smelling flowers there is.
• The state bird of Louisiana is the brown pelican. Brown pelicans are very common around the coastline and marshes to the south.
• Louisiana has parishes, not counties like other states. We have 64 parishes in the state.
• With some 51,843 square miles, Louisiana is the 31st largest state.
• The major industries in Louisiana are agriculture (primarily rice, cotton, sugar cane,and soybeans), oil and natural gas production and refining, and fishing.
• The lowest elevation in Louisiana is in New Orleans where it is eight feet below sea level.
• The state nickname for Louisiana is the "Sportsman's Paradise".
• The state song for Louisiana is "You Are My Sunshine" that was made famous by Governor Jimmie Davis in 1940.
• The state mammal is the Louisiana black bear.
• The state reptile of Louisiana is, of course, the alligator.
• Our state insect is the honeybee (love those little things!).
• Guess what the state crustacean of Louisiana is? You guessed it- the crawfish!
• The state tree of Louisiana is the bald cypress, which once covered most of the state but has been cut down in most areas.
• The town of Jean Lafitte, Louisiana was once a hideaway for pirates!
• The longest bridge over water in the world is the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. It is 24 miles long, and you can't see land from the center!
• The largest steel constructed room that is unobstructed by posts is the Superdome in New Orleans.

Louisiana Colleges & Universities

While Louisiana hasn't always been known as a state to head to for a fine education, times are changing. The state has been pouring money into its colleges and universities in recent years. Here are some basic facts about several of Louisiana's larger educational institutions:

Louisiana State University (LSU)- LSU is an expansive system with campuses, offices, and research centers spread throughout the state. LSU even runs the charity hospital (Earl K. Long Hospital) in Baton Rouge. The major institutions in the LSU system are the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, LSU Agricultural Center, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Paul M. Hebert law Center, University of New Orleans, Louisiana State University in Shreveport, LSU in Eunice, LSU in Alexandria, LSU Health Science Center in New Orleans, LSU Health Science Center in Shreveport, and the LSU Health Care Services Division. Louisiana State University has approximately 31,000 students in its enrollment. the annual budget of LSU is approximately $306,000,000. LSU is the flagship university in Louisiana, and is the home of the LSU football team which has won the national championship twice in this decade.

Baton Rouge Community College- This small but rapidly growing community college is located, of course, in Baton Rouge. BRCC began as a two year college in only 1995, and now has over 6,000 students enrolled in their programs.

Grambling State University- This black college was started in 1901, and is located in Grambling, Louisiana in Lincoln Parish. Grambling offers more than 800 courses, and 68 degree programs.

Louisiana Tech University-Located in the small town of Ruston, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech University serves an important education purpose in the northern parts of our state. The college was founded in 1894 and has approximately 10,600 students enrolled. Tuition at Louisiana Tech University is $3,948 per semester for state residents, and $7,743 for out-of-state students.

Louisiana Technical College- As the name implies, Louisiana Technical College is a technical school with campuses all over Louisiana. Their first campus was created in Bogalusa in 1930, and there are now 40 campuses across the state. The Louisiana Technical College awards Associate Degrees in 38 different programs from carpentry to computers.

Loyola University New Orleans- Located in New Orleans, Loyola is a private university that was founded in 1870. Loyola offers some 71 undergraduate majors, 85 masters, and 31 doctoral degrees. Annual tuition at Loyola is $27,200. It has a total enrollment of 15,000, and Loyola is consistently ranked as one of the top colleges in the country.

McNeese State University- Located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, McNeese State University was founded in 1939. It boasts a student enrollment of nearly 9,000, and McNeese has some 68 buildings located on over 500 acres.

Nicholls State University- Nicholls is located in the southern area of Louisiana in Thibodaux. Nicholls was founded in 1948, and rests on a campus with over 200 acres of land nestled near Bayou Lafourche. Nicholls has 45 undergraduate programs, and seven masters. Nearly 8,000 students are enrolled at Nicholls.

Northwestern State University of Louisiana- Northwestern is located in one of the most scenic and historic areas of Louisiana- Natchitoches. If nothing else, I highly recommend that everyone visits the campus just to look at the city. It really is beautiful, and it feels like you have stepped back 100 years in time. Northwestern was founded in 1884, and has more than 50 degree programs. The school has approximately 10,000 students enrolled in it.

Our Lady of the Lake College- Located in Baton Rouge, Our lady of the Lake College (OLOL) is a private school that specializes in nursing and other health related fields. Over 2,000 students are enrolled in its programs.

Southeastern Louisiana University- Known as one of the top partying schools in the U.S., Southeastern is located in Hammond, Louisiana. Southeastern was founded in 1925, and it is the third largest college in Louisiana with over 16,000 students enrolled. Located almost exactly in the middle of both New Orleans and baton Rouge, Southeastern draws from students living in both of the major cities in Louisiana.

Southern University- Another black college in Louisiana, Southern is located in Baton Rouge. Southern began in New Orleans in 1880, and it offers degrees in 58 areas.

Tulane University- Tulane is a private school that was founded in 1834. As with Loyola, Tulane is considered to be one of the top colleges in the country. With its campus in New Orleans, Tulane has over 10,000 students enrolled, with nearly 4,000 of those in graduate or professional programs. Tuition for the undergraduate program is $36,610 per year.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette-With a campus of over 1,400 acres in Lafayette, Louisiana, ULL has over 260 campus buildings. ULL even has a 30 acre pond to study crawfish farming and catfish! ULL is considered to be a true Cajun college because it rests in the middle of Acadiana. ULL offers 80 undergraduate degree programs, 29 masters degrees, and several doctoral degrees. Enrollment at ULL is greater than 16,000 students.

Xavier University of Louisiana- Another black college in Louisiana, Xavier is located in New Orleans.

Louisiana Legal System

The Louisiana legal system is truly unique in the United States. While every other state in the country practices under a common law system that was adopted from the English, Louisiana's legal system was borrowed from the French (whom borrowed it from the Romans originally). The civil law used in Louisiana varies from the common law that other states use because all of the laws in Louisiana are supposed to be contained in the Civil Code. Basically speaking, under the common law all laws are basically decided by the judges. So Judge A would decide the case before him by studying the rulings of Judges B and C. This is called precedent, and it is the foundation of the common law. To understand how an issue should be decided under the common law, one should look to see how other courts decided similar issues in the past. In the civil law system used in Louisiana, one should be able to understand how the issue should be settled by looking towards the Louisiana Civil Code.

It would not be correct to say that Louisiana is a purely a civil legal regime. It is considered to be a mixed system. In a purely civil law system, one would simply read what the code has to say on any area. While this was once true in Louisiana, the common law has invaded many areas so that one must know what the Louisiana Civil Code says, as well as what courts have decided on particulars (the common law aspect). The Louisiana Civil Code is still used to a large extent in areas such as property law, contract law, business structure law, civil procedure, family law, and some parts of criminal law. Even in these areas, however, one must now understand prescedent in Louisiana.

An advantage of the Louisiana civil law system is that it is created by the people through its governing body. For instance, the Louisiana Civil Code which has been in existence since 1804 was created by the Louisiana Legislature. This means that a large body of elected persons decides what the law should be, and they must vote as a body on any reforms made to it. In the common law system, the judges make their laws, and thus the law is created by a small number of people.

Lawyers in Louisiana face many cases that are not so common in other states. For instance, Louisiana has a high number of chemical plants and refineries (which gives a section of the state the name "cancer alley") which yields many personal injury and toxic torts cases. Louisiana also has a high number of people that work in the offshore oil development and exploration fields in the Gulf of mexico, and this leads to a large number of admiralty or maritime lawsuits. Since many ships and large buildings were created in Louisiana using asbestos not so long ago, Louisiana lawyers also face many cases of mesothelioma cases. Additionally, the horrible hurricanes that hit Louisiana in 2005 (Katrina and Rita) devastated the state, and has left us with large class action lawsuits dealing with personal injuries, property damages, insurance discrimination, and a host of others. Additionally, these turbulent conditions have created a rise in cases of reported misconduct being handled by the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board.

Louisiana Food, Music, Festivals

Louisiana is famous for its food. People from around the world flock to the state to enjoy our Creole and Cajun Food. Dishes from Louisiana such as jambalaya, gumbo, and boiled crawfish are now being served everywhere around the world, and for good reason! No food can compare to food from Louisiana! Whether it is a spicy dish such as blackened fish, or a sweet dessert such as beignets, people want to eat what those of us in Louisiana have grown up eating all of our lives. After taking a trip up north recently, I can't say I blame them either.

The music that we love and enjoy in Louisiana is known around the world as well. Louisiana has produced some of the most unique music and musicians that have ever come from the U.S. We have our wonderful Cajun music with musicians such as Wayne Toups leading the way. We also have the funky Zydeco music with its blend of Cajun and New Orleans. Louisiana was instrumental in creating jazz music, with wonderful musicians such as Louis Armstrong (the New Orleans airport was named after him). We also produce some of the greatest country music singers in the world such as Hank Williams Jr. Of course the blues would not be what it is today without Louisiana, and we have produced some great blues musicians such as Fats Domino. Last, but not least, Louisiana has made an impression on rock and roll with musicians such as Jerry Lee Lewis.

Louisiana loves festivals! We seem to celebrate a festival at least once a week somewhere in Louisiana.