The District of Louisiana, or Louisiana District, was an official and temporary

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

government designation for the portion of the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...

that had not been organized into the

Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Louisiana. History In 180 ...

or "Orleans Territory" (the portion of the

south of the 33rd parallel, which is now the

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

–

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

state line). The district officially existed from March 10, 1804, until July 4, 1805, when it was incorporated as the Louisiana Territory. The area north of present-day

was commonly referred to as Upper Louisiana. The United States District of Louisiana had two incarnations: first, as a federally administered

military district Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...

(March 10, 1804 - September 30, 1804); then as an organized territory (October 1, 1804 - July 4, 1805) under the jurisdiction of the

Indiana Territory The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by a congressional act that President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, ...

. A similarly named "Louisiana District" had also previously been an administrative division under

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and

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rule.

Military district of Louisiana (1804)

In legislation enacted October 31, 1803,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

made provisions for a temporary government of the territory purchased from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The president was authorized to use military forces to maintain order, although the local civil government was to continue as it had under French and Spanish rule. This military rule was in effect from March 10, 1804 —the official date of transfer from French hands (known as Three Flags Day) —until September 30, 1804. At this time, the district was further divided into five administrative divisions or districts: New Madrid, Cape Girardeau, Ste. Genevieve, St. Charles, and St. Louis. Amos Stoddard served during this time as district commandant.

Civilian district of Louisiana (1804-1805)

On March 26, 1804, Congress enacted legislation effective October 1, 1804, that extended the authority of the governor and judges of the

to provide temporary jurisdiction over the District of Louisiana. Later that year, Indiana territorial governor

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

and territorial judges Davis, Griffin, and Vandenberg held court in the district capital of St. Louis and enacted laws for the region. On July 4, 1805, the District of Louisiana was re-designated as the Louisiana Territory (1805-1812), when it acquired its own territorial government, modeled on that of the Indiana Territory.

Inhabitants' concerns

Under the terms of the act establishing the temporary government, the governor and judges of the Indiana Territory were to meet twice a year in St. Louis. However, the settlers west of the Mississippi River complained strongly about the arrangement. Opposition was indicated by: *Protests of policies not recognizing the previous Spanish land grants (including property belonging to

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

); *Objections to policies evicting settlers from land in anticipation of areas to be given to American Indians —who were to be relocated west of the Mississippi River; *Disapproval over the implementation of

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

when the land had been governed previously by civil law; *Arguments over the introduction of new taxes; *Dissatisfaction over the lack of provisions for schooling the French-speaking majority; *Heated debate over fears that

Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...

provisions prohibiting slave ownership would be implemented in areas where slavery had historically been allowed; *Concerns that the Indiana territorial

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attache ...

, was more than 180 miles away from district capital, St. Louis. Upset citizens of the Louisiana District met in St. Louis in September 1804 to sign a declaration formally protesting the annexation. Among the signers were

Auguste Chouteau René-Auguste Chouteau, Jr. (September 7, 1749, or September 26, 1750 – February 24, 1829Beckwith, 8.), also known as Auguste Chouteau, was the founder of St. Louis, Missouri, a successful fur trader and a politician. He and his partner had a ...

. A notable event during this period was the signing of the Treaty of St. Louis, in which the Sac and Fox Indian tribes ceded northeastern

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, northern

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

, and southern

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

to the United States. Resentment over this treaty was to cause the tribes to side with the British during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

in raids along the

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, and

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

s and was to spur the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", cross ...

in 1832. On March 3, 1805, Congress enacted legislation organizing the District of Louisiana into the Louisiana Territory, effective July 4, 1805. The territorial government was organized similarly to that of the Indiana Territory."An Act further providing for the government of the district of Louisiana"
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louisiana, District of Former regions and territories of the United States District of Louisiana District of Louisiana Former organized territories of the United States

Military district of Louisiana (1804)

Civilian district of Louisiana (1804-1805)

Inhabitants' concerns

See also

References

External links