Alexandre Mouton (November 19, 1804 – February 12, 1885) was a

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

and the 11th Governor of Louisiana.

Early life

He was born in Attakapas district (now Lafayette Parish) into a wealthy plantation-owning

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

family. He pursued classical studies and graduated from Georgetown College. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1825, and commenced practice in Lafayette Parish. He married Zelia Rousseau, the granddaughter of Governor

Jacques Dupré Jacques Dupré (February 12, 1773 – September 14, 1846) was an Louisiana Creole people, Louisiana Creole politician who served as a Louisiana State Representative, State Senator and as the acting Governor of Louisiana from January 14, 1830 to ...

, in 1826; they had 5 children before her death in 1837, one of whom died in infancy. In 1842, he married Emma Kitchell Gardner; this marriage produced eight children, six of whom survived to adulthood.

Political career

From 1827 to 1832 was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, serving as speaker in 1831 - 1832. He was a presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1828, 1832, and 1836, and was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1830 to the Twenty-second Congress. In 1836 he was again a member of the State house of representatives. Mouton was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Alexander Porter, was reelected to the full term, and served from January 12, 1837, until his resignation on March 1, 1842. While in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Agriculture (Twenty-sixth Congress). From 1843 to 1846, Mouton was governor of Louisiana. As governor, Mouton reduced expenditures and liquidated state assets to balance the budget and meet bond obligations without raising taxes. He sold state-owned steamboats, equipment and slaves used to remove the Red River Raft in 1834 under Governor Roman. As governor, he opposed all expenditures for internal improvements. He leased out state penitentiary labor and equipment. He supported the call for a constitutional convention, removal of property qualifications for suffrage and office holding, and the election of all local officials and most judges.

Civil War

He was president of the State

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convention in 1861 and an unsuccessful candidate to the Confederate Senate. Actively involved in railroads, he was president of the Southwestern Railroad Convention. He was an active supporter of the Confederacy, devoting a large amount of his wealth to the cause. His son Alfred Mouton became a general and died at the Battle of Mansfield. His daughter married Confederate Major General Franklin Gardner, whose older sister became his own second wife.

Death

He died near Vermillionville (now Lafayette) in 1885. He is buried in the cemetery at St. John's Cathedral.

References

Congressional Bioguide's Guide to Research Collections for Alexander MoutonNational Governors Association

External links

Painting of Governor Mouton's homeState of Louisiana - BiographyCemetery Memorial
by La-Cemeteries {{DEFAULTSORT:Mouton, Alexandre 1804 births 1885 deaths Cajun people Democratic Party governors of Louisiana Speakers of the Louisiana House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives 1828 United States presidential electors 1832 United States presidential electors 1836 United States presidential electors American Roman Catholics Georgetown University alumni Democratic Party United States senators from Louisiana Louisiana Jacksonians 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature