Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2007 - (Page 64)

Editorial cartoon lampooning the “Secession Movement” as an ill-fated political movement. for a secession convention. Moore requested authorization to call a special election for one purpose, to select delegates for a statewide convention. This convention would decide Louisiana’s future, either as a state in the Union or as an independent entity. The legislature was caught up in the fervor to do something, and the charismatic Moore seized the opportunity. He got every- THE SOUTH WAS ABUZZ WITH THE PROMISES OF INDEPENDENCE FROM THE FIRE-EATERS, AND NO ONE REALLY BELIEVED THERE WOULD BE A PROTRACTED WAR OVER SOUTHERN SECESSION. clerk of court would track all votes cast, and each vote would be properly allocated to the correct district. Today, with the aid of computers and in the bright light of media scrutiny, this is usually a rapid and reliable process. In 1861, with the fate of the state in the hands of these officials, things were neither that simple nor that rapid. Moore called for the convention to convene on January 23. From the time Moore signed the bill into law on December 12, to the convention date there was less than a ence was given to status of the larger senatorial districts. Delegates were simply that, delegates with no authority beyond the issue: to remain in the Union or leave. On the surface it sounds simple, but the system required two separate tallies, one for house districts and another for senatorial districts. If properly conducted, each registrar of voters and month for potential candidates to campaign. The political parties and political clubs typically selected candidates at rallies in each parish. Voters in all districts had at least two tickets from which to chose, and in some, as many as four. The basic choices were either to elect a delegate who would vote for immediate secession or negotiating states rights before deciding to secede. The pro-radical press, led by the Baton Rouge Daily Advocate and the New Orleans Daily Delta, increased their coverage of events from across the South, especially after South Carolina withdrew from the United States on December 20. They created an aura of suspicion toward anyone wanting to negotiate with the federal government after that date. New Orleans was not a hotbed of secession. Although Breckinridge, the prosecession presidential candidate, carried Louisiana with a minority vote, he ran a distant third in the Crescent City. The sheer size of the electorate in New Orleans meant that those delegates would comprise almost 20 percent of the total. Electioneering, which always been considered something of a major sport in the state, reached new heights as the three segments attempted to thing he either requested or demanded, although some of them were flawed. The election for delegates was set for January 7, 1861. To keep things as simple as possible, the delegates were to be chosen from currently existing House of Representative and Senate district lines, thus the total number of delegates would be equal to both houses of the legislature. A candidate could run within a house or senate district seat as a delegate, thus a voter in any parish could vote for as many as two individuals. No prefer- rally their supporters and sway the opinions of the undecided voters. The voter turnout was very large on election day, and, as anticipated, the urban areas reported first and the rural areas required much more time. The following day, both the Daily Delta and the Daily Picayune reported an overwhelming victory for the radical Secessionists in Orleans Parish, posting 20 of 25 seats for the radicals. The Picayune conceded defeat on the part of the cooperationists on January 10. The Baton Rouge Daily Advocate predicted that the 64 LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES\Fall 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2007

Contents Friends & Letters Editor’s Column Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Big Charity: A History of New Orleans’ Public Hospital Historic New Orleans Collection Making Groceries: A History of New Orleans Markets New Orleans’ Faubourg Tremé: Rooted in Tradition Jazz Notes Louisiana Association of Museums Chinatown New Orleans Louisiana Foodways A Question of Secession Louisiana Architecture Louisiana State Museum The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish Terra Incognita Bookstand Sound Advice Forum

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2007

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