Louisiana

Cont...

Louisiana

• The Louisiana Purchase was huge. It totaled 828,000 square miles and all or part of what would later become 15 different states.
• President Jefferson organized expeditions to explore the new land.
• The most famous expedition was that of Lewis and Clark. They traveled up the Missouri River and eventually went all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
• The Louisiana Purchase would have cost $233 million in 2011 dollars. That's around 42 cents per acre.

• Tourism is also a large part of Louisiana's economy. New Orleans is especially popular due to its history and the French Quarter. That location has many famous restaurants, architecture and is the home of the Mardi Gras festival which has been held there since 1838.
• Mardi Gras, or “Fat Tuesday,” refers to the day before Ash Wednesday, an annual Christian holy day. Ash Wednesday signifies the start of Lent, a 40-day observance that concludes with Easter. Traditionally, Lent is seen as a time for fasting and reflecting, making Mardi Gras—and the entire Carnival period, which commences after Christmas— a”last hurrah” before the solemn season.

The Bayou

• A bayou is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area, and can either be an extremely slow-moving stream or river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), or a marshy lake or wetland.
• Louisiana’s bayous are home to some of the most unique ecosystems and societies on the planet.
• For centuries, native tribes, immigrants and ancient creatures have coexisted in these vast wetlands.
• The bayous play a major role in Louisiana’s economy, as a source of natural resources and a destination for tourists.

Once an endangered species, American alligators have now recovered; more than a million reside in the boggy swamps, rivers, lakes and bayous of the Southeast. Found mainly in Louisiana and Florida, the male alligator grows up to 15 feet long, weighs about 1,000 pounds and can live up to 50 years.

People of Louisiana

The bobcat's place in the bayou ecosystem shows how adaptable this wildcat is. About twice as big as a house cat, it can leap on its prey of birds and small mammals with a 10-foot pounce. Bobcats walk the bayou as a reliable water and food source.

• The population of Louisiana is dominated by Creole and Cajun peoples of French ancestry.
• Cajuns in Louisiana are descended from French colonists from Acadia in what were the present-day Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Cajuns are mainly settled in southern Louisiana and as a result, French is a common language in the region.
• Creole is the name given to people born to French settlers in Louisiana when it was still a colony of France.

Since bayous move slowly while swamps are stagnant pools, bayous have more oxygen in the water to provide a proper home for more than 100 species of fish.The bayou also hosts the only poisonous water snake in the U.S.: the water moccasin, also called a "cottonmouth" snake.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the state of Louisiana and to the motto for which it stands: A state, under God, united in purpose and ideals, confident that justice shall prevail for all of those abiding here."

Brief History:

• With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States acquired a large area of land from the French.
• It was the single largest purchase of land ever by the United States and doubled the size of the country.
• The United States had been growing rapidly.
• In search of new land to plant crops and raise livestock, people had been expanding to the west past the Appalachian Mountains and into the Northwest Territory.

• Thomas Jefferson wanted to buy the settlement of New Orleans from the French. It was a major seaport that was fed from the Mississippi River, making it important to many American businesses.
• At first Napoleon refused to sell. He had hopes of creating a massive empire that included the Americas. However, soon Napoleon began to have troubles in Europe and he needed money desperately.
• In 1803, Napoleon offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory to the United States for $15 million.

Quick Facts:

• Capital: Baton Rouge
• Population: 4,659,978 (Source: 2017 U.S. Census)
• Major Cities: New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Metairie, Lafayette, Lake Charles
• Louisiana is named after King Louis XIV.
• The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is 24 miles long, making it the longest bridge over water in the world.
• New Orleans is known as the Jazz Capital of the world.