| Great Seal of the State of Louisiana | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Versions | |
 Historical coat of arms (1876) | |
| Armiger | State of Louisiana |
| Adopted | 2006 |
| Motto | Union, Justice, Confidence |
| Earlier version(s) | 1812, 1902 |
The Seal of Louisiana is the official government emblem of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Originally devised in 1812, the latest version was enacted in 2006.
Following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the area that would later comprise the State of Louisiana was established as the Territory of Orleans. President Thomas Jefferson appointed William C. C. Claiborne as governor and he was authorized by the territory's legislative council to design an official government seal. He produced a seal depicting an eagle holding a laurel wreath with fifteen stars to represent the states of the Union. When Louisiana became a state in 1812, the seal was changed to a pelican on its nest, plucking at its breast to draw blood to feed its young, a device known as the "pelican in her piety". Why the seal was changed from an eagle to a pelican is unknown, but it might have to honor the state's Catholic heritage. [1] Claiborne had married into a Catholic Louisiana family and had helped to incorporate Catholics into the political mainstream, during a time of intense anti-Catholicism elsewhere in the US. [2]
During the Civil War, with Louisiana divided, the Confederate and Union governors both used pelican seals: one with the head turned to the left, the other to the right and one with a nest full of chicks and one with just four chicks. [3] In the Union portion of the state, the moto "Justice, Union and Confidence" was changed to "Union, Justice and Confidence". [4]
On April 30, 1902, a standardized description of Great Seal of the State of Louisiana was provided by Gov. W. W. Heard to Secretary of State John T. Michel, who was charged with ensuring all state departments used the seal as he described it: "A Pelican, with its head turned to the left, in a nest with three young; the Pelican, following the tradition, in act of tearing its breast to fed its young; around the edge of the Seal to be inscribed 'State of Louisiana.' Over the head of the Pelican to be inscribed 'Union, Justice,' etc.; under the nest of the Pelican to be inscribed 'Confidence.'" Michel noted that this was the first order to legitimize the state's seal. [3]
During the 19th century it was traditional in Louisiana flags and the state seal for the "pelican in her piety" to have three drops of blood on her chest. [5] However, in later years the tradition (on both the state flag and seal) had been haphazardly followed, which was noticed by an eighth-grader at Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma who brought this to the attention of his state legislator. [5] The issue was resolved in April 2006, when the Louisiana State Legislature passed a bill (House Bill 833/Act 92) [6] which requires three drops of blood to be depicted on the pelican used in both the state's flag and seal.
West Baton Rouge Parish is one of the sixty-four parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Established in 1807, its parish seat is Port Allen. With a 2020 census population of 27,199 residents, West Baton Rouge Parish is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.
West Florida was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former Spanish Florida, along with lands taken from French Louisiana; Pensacola became West Florida's capital. The colony included about two thirds of what is now the Florida Panhandle, as well as parts of the modern U.S. states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
The flag of Louisiana consists of a rectangular field of blue with the arms of Louisiana, a pelican vulning herself, in white in the center, with a ribbon beneath, also in white, containing in blue the state motto: "Union Justice Confidence". The flag was officially adopted July 1, 1912, and is often referred to as the Pelican flag.
William Charles Cole Claiborne was an American politician and military officer who served as the governor of Louisiana from April 30, 1812 to December 16, 1816. He was also possibly the youngest member of the United States Congress in the history of the United States, although reliable sources differ about his age.
John Bennett Johnston Jr. is a retired American attorney, politician, and later lobbyist from Louisiana. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member the United States Senate from 1972 to 1997.
The Florida Parishes, on the east side of the Mississippi River—an area also known as the Northshore or Northlake region—are eight parishes in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana.
The Louisiana School for the Deaf is a state school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Louisiana, located in Baton Rouge, the state capital. It was established in 1852 as a joint school for blind students. In 1860, its first purpose-built facility was completed and admired as an elegant monument to philanthropy. The schools were divided in 1898, and in 1908, Louisiana School for the Deaf was renamed.
The Republic of West Florida, officially the State of Florida, was a short-lived republic in the western region of Spanish West Florida for just over 2+1⁄2 months during 1810. It was annexed and occupied by the United States later in 1810; it subsequently became part of Eastern Louisiana.
The Louisiana State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Louisiana and is located in downtown Baton Rouge. The capitol houses the chambers for the Louisiana State Legislature, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as the office of the Governor of Louisiana. At 450 feet (137 m) tall and with 34 stories, it is the tallest skyscraper in Baton Rouge, the seventh tallest building in Louisiana, and tallest capitol in the United States. It is located on a 27-acre (110,000 m2) tract, which includes the capitol gardens. The Louisiana State Capitol is often thought of as "Huey Long's monument" due to the influence of the former Governor and U.S. Senator in getting the capitol built. The building's construction was completed in 1931. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982.
Samuel Houston Jones was an American lawyer and 46th Governor of Louisiana for the term from 1940 to 1944. He defeated the renowned Earl Kemp Long in the 1940 Democratic runoff primary election. Eight years later, Long then in a reversal of 1940 defeated Jones in the 1948 party primary.
William Wright Heard was the 32nd Governor of Louisiana from 1900 to 1904. His governorship saw the start of the Louisiana's oil and gas industry.
The Louisiana State Police is the state police agency of Louisiana, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state, headquartered in Baton Rouge. It falls under the authority of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. It is officially known in that organization as the Office of State Police.
Catholic High School is a private, Catholic college-preparatory day school run by the United States Province of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was founded in 1894 as St. Vincent's Academy. It offers grades eight through twelve.
The flag of Baton Rouge contains a red field with a small shield and cursive text reading "Baton Rouge". The current flag was adopted in 1995 by the city council, replacing an older flag that had been in use since 1968.
The Pentagon Barracks, also known as the Old United States Barracks, is a complex of buildings located at the corner of State Capitol Drive and River Road in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the grounds of the state capitol. The site was used by the Spanish, French, British, Confederate States Army, and United States Army and was part of the short-lived Republic of West Florida. During its use as a military post the site has been visited by such notable figures as Zachary Taylor, Lafayette, Robert E. Lee, George Custer, Jefferson Davis, and Abraham Lincoln.
The foundation of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, dates to 1721, at the site of a bâton rouge or "red stick" Muscogee boundary marker. It became the state capital of Louisiana in 1849.
Louisiana Highway 161 (LA 161) is a state highway located in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. It runs 4.29 miles (6.90 km) in a southwest to northeast direction from LA 2 Alt. in Gordon to the Arkansas state line.
Louisiana State Route 1 was one of the 98 original state highways that were established in 1924. It was signed for the Jefferson Highway, an auto trail that ran from New Orleans to Winnipeg. LA 1 curved through the entire state, spanning from Shreveport through Alexandria and Baton Rouge to New Orleans, ending south of Pointe a la Hache. It was renumbered for the most part as US 71 and US 171.
