Louisiana: The Pelican State

Louisiana: The Pelican State — page 1 — INTRODUCTION Let the good times roll is a phrase you may hear shouted along the streets of New Orleans Louisiana’s most colorful city during Mardi Gras Of course you may also hear laissez les bon temps rouller which means the same thing but in French Louisiana is one of the most unique states in the United States Its history links it to the French whose influence is still highly visible Its land is shaped by the mightiest river in North America the Mississippi Its people are a mix of cultures that come together every year for Mardi Gras the biggest party in the country 4 LOUISIANA Colorful floats line the streets during New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration QUICK FACTS The state capital of Louisiana is Baton Rouge which is located on the Mississippi River Louisiana is nicknamed the Pelican State because of the pelicans that live along the Gulf coast The state bird is the Eastern brown pelican The magnolia is Louisiana’s state flower At one time citizens of Louisiana tried to designate the iris as the state flower and name the magnolia as the state tree but they were unsuccessful Neighboring Mississippi also has the magnolia as its state flower Louisiana’s state tree is the bald cypress It grows in swampy areas The name Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday On the Christian calendar this is the day before the 40-day period of fasting called Lent which lasts until Easter

Louisiana: The Pelican State — page 2 — The Mississippi River which flows through Louisiana is one of the busiest waterways in the world QUICK FACTS Louisiana has two state songs Give Me Louisiana and You Are My Sunshine Louisiana became the 18th state to enter the Union on April 30 1812 The state insect is the honeybee INTRODUCTION 5 Louisiana lies in the part of the United States known as the Deep South It shares its borders with Arkansas Mississippi and Texas To the south lies the Gulf of Mexico As the place where the Mississippi River empties into the gulf Louisiana’s southern coast is one of the busiest commercial areas in the country Getting to Louisiana from the north is as easy as following the Mississippi River south or driving south along Highway 61 which starts at the Canadian border Running east-west Interstate 20 cuts across the northern half of Louisiana and Interstate 10 a national coast-to-coast expressway cuts through the southern half of the state Highway 61 and Interstate 10 take travelers into the southern port city of New Orleans phur R Louisiana Location Map ARKANSAS R e d R i v e r Bossier City Shreveport ew 20 bin e R hita R c a u O 20 Monroe Boeuf R M i s s i s s i p p i R POVERTY POINT NATʼL MON Jackson 20 Big Black R 55 P e a l R 49 R ed River Toledo Bend Res S A X E T Res r e v i R s e h c e N Sobine River mont 10 Port Arthur Lake Charles Calcasieu L Gulf of Mexico Alexandria MISSISSIPPI Baton Rouge A t Lafayette c h Mississippi River f a a 59 Pearl River 55 12 L Maurepas 12 55 L Kenner t n Po 10 r t r i a a n h c Metairie New Orleans l a y a B a s i n Capital Baton Rouge Population 4,468,976 Interstate highways Mi 0 35 70 0 56 113 Km Scale Size 47,719 square miles Highest peak Driskill Mountain 535 feet

Louisiana: The Pelican State — page 3 — 6 LOUISIANA In the 1800s harvesting sugarcane was labor-intensive work Mechanical harvesting was introduced in Louisiana in the 1940s QUICK FACTS Louisiana’s state gem is agate Louisiana was named in honor of King Louis XIV of France the country that laid claim to the territory in 1682 The state flag depicts a pelican and its young in a nest against a blue background Below the nest is a white ribbon displaying the state motto Union Justice Confidence Louisiana’s favorable location at the mouth of the Mississippi River has made it highly desirable property throughout its history First inhabited by Native Americans Louisiana was explored by the Spanish in the 1500s and claimed by the French in 1682 For nearly four decades in the late 1700s Louisiana was ruled by Spain only to be returned to France in 1800 The United States bought the land in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 but the state’s early history remains evident in the many French and Spanish names on its map Louisiana also has a strong French and Spanish heritage in its population customs and architecture During the mid-1800s Louisiana developed into a rich agricultural area Fertile soil and slave labor allowed sugarcane and cotton plantations to flourish In 1861 before the outbreak of the Civil War Louisiana withdrew from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America It was readmitted to the Union in 1868 after drawing up a new constitution granting equal rights to its black population For many years thereafter the economy struggled but the state made progress in the 1900s with the development of its rich mineral resources and manufacturing industries Tourists enjoy the Old World charm of New Orleans which is known for its distinctive combination of Spanish and French architecture

Louisiana: The Pelican State — page 4 — INTRODUCTION 7 Louisiana has produced celebrated artists writers musicians and actors Some of these celebrities include jazz musician Louis Armstrong writer Truman Capote musician Fats Domino gospel singer Mahalia Jackson and rock performer Jerry Lee Lewis Good food is important to Louisianians and is a large part of their culture In fact some of the state’s biggest celebrities are chefs such as Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Legasse When Louis Armstrong was young he played trumpet in dance bands on Mississippi riverboats The popular Louisiana dish called gumbo takes its name from a Bantu word for okra one of its main ingredients QUICK FACTS The battle of New Orleans made future president Andrew Jackson a hero The battle was fought in January 1815 weeks after Great Britain and the United States had signed a peace treaty to end the War of 1812 News of the war’s end did not reach Louisiana in time to prevent the battle Milk is the official drink of Louisiana The state musical instrument is the accordion Accordions are played in Cajun music

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