New Orleans: A Historic City

It has been the city’s heart and soul, positioned around Jackson Square. New Orleans began as a French Colony; then, governed by Spanish Rule and then back to France just before the Louisiana Purchase. The architecture is French, Spanish and Creole, the colors are Caribbean, and the laissez-faire lifestyle is a New Orleans marque.

The Feast of All Saints, written by Anne Rice: A historical fiction based story about the New Orleans society of free men of color (Gens de couleur libres), before the civil war living within the laws of the white men that surround them. Between 1810 and the Civil War, there lived in New Orleans a strange, Varying mixtures of the black race and French ethnics (half breeds, quadroons, and octoroons, mostly), they had a special place--or non-place--in Louisiana society. Even before the civil war, New Orleans has been a mixture of cultures and ethnics. They could own property (including slaves), but they could not vote; they had

New Orleans, LA is important because it was originally a French settlement but with the Louisiana purchase it was given to the U.S. It ended up being the wealthiest city in the U.S. with a huge port. It was also a place with free African Americans, up until the reconstruction era.

New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville. Forty-five years later, in 1763, France signed treaties ceding Louisiana to Spain to whom it remained for the next forty years. Due to Mexican, Cuban and Spanish influence, the race rules in New Orleans were more liberal, allowing for a class of free people of color. In 1803 Louisiana was sold back to the French, who then twenty days later sold it to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase. New Orleans had become the largest city in the Confederacy by the start of the Civil War in 1861.

New Orleans is a city in southern Louisiana, located on the Mississippi River. Most of the city is situated on the east bank, between the river and Lake Pontchartrain to the north. Because it was built on a great turn of the river, it is known as the Crescent City.

The area of New Orleans, Louisiana was one of the places that was strongly influence by Haiti. The City of New Orleans has the richest culture compare to others Urban area in the United States. Haitian life and elements is found in the tradition of voodoo. Which is still a part of the Culture in New Orleans today. Elements of the Haitian language was contributed to the Creole language. Which people speak in New Orleans and areas around it.

Billions of years ago, an asteroid destroyed nearly the entirety of life on Earth, wiping out various species of dinosaurs, fish, and other animals. However, life managed to survive the apocalyptic setting and evolution bested natural disaster in the same struggle fought today. Every natural disaster tests human and environmental abilities to recuperate from damage and turn desolation into a thriving ecosystem, which requires a pointed effort on the part of humans. Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, and recreated an environment that forced the instinct to flourish to battle with unpredictability once more, as the question of rebuilding the city became prominent. Though many oppose efforts to rehabilitate the regions devoted by the

32 | spring 2016 get involved www. kappa.org | 33 For more than two centuries, coffee has been a fundamental part of the culinary and social culture of New Orleans. It’s not just the city’s penchant for chicory café au lait served alongside warm beignets.

The benefits as explained above will be the lifeblood of New Orleans. These sectors include tourism, port operations, wages, and taxes. I feel that examining these areas will give us a better look at the microeconomics of New Orleans and allows us to better estimate the benefits of a recovery effort.

The port of New Orleans was controlled by France. France eventually gave over the rights to Spain. Spain didn’t want a vast majority of new settlers coming into the land, so Spain closed New Orleans and the lower part of the Mississippi to any foreigners. Spain eventually gave the rights of navigation and exploration of the land and New Orleans Port over to the Americans. France soon gained a new leader by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon was a powerful tiny man who took over a vast majority of land in Europe. Spain gave the Louisiana territory to Napoleon, because of the gigantic size of the property.

Growing up in a city known as the big melting pot, or big gumbo; New Orleans, La has many different cultures and is a very diverse city. Personally, I love the mixed culture of people from different background, beliefs, and way of living. At the same time, this intangible mixture can cause a lot of trouble and disagreements. From inside school grounds, to outside, cultures clash. During this month of August everyone is reminded of Hurricane Katrina and I cannot help, but to think about how during that experience so much trouble was going on between the different cultures in the city. Through that experience I also saw the entire city bind together and unify during the historic New Orleans and Atlanta Monday night football game. During that

One of the most unique things about New Orleans particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries where this image is derived from was race and racism. People were excluded or included, considered inferior or superior based on the race they belonged to. To this end, Indians, and African Americans were classified on the lower end of the race totem pole while whites were seen as superior. Furthermore, one’s stance in society or occupation was determined by their race. The whites were majorly businessmen and land owners presiding over big farms that they owned. The blacks and the Indians were mostly peasants ‘owned’ by the white people and forced to work on the farms of the white people against their will owing to the fact that they were imported from their original residences as slaves (Appleby, Eileen and Neva 18). It is, therefore, clear that race and racism played a significant role in helping define New Orleans as we know it today. Bringing racism to the fore provides a platform upon which it can be alleviated to help

New Orleans was originally founded on high ground overlooking the Mississippi River, above sea level. Also surrounded by Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne, New Orleans was susceptible to hurricanes that would come up the coast into the Gulf. Originally New Orleans was naturally protected by “coastal swamps that helped absorb the energy of storm surges before they reached dry land.” (Stillman 228) At this point Americans were more concerned with the floods that happened annually from the Mississippi River. In the early days, settlers built a mile long levee to block overflows from the mighty Mississippi while landowners constructed their own levees.

Mardi Gras City. Crescent City. The Big Easy. Jazz City. The Party City. The only city that can be identify by its history and people still know the name, New Orleans. New Orleans is the kind of city that can be toured 100 times and learn something new. New Orleans is not a tourist area because of entertainment it bring to people, but the rich history. New Orleans is a city that was own by the French and the Spanish. The various culture that can from immigrants brought New Orleans to where it is today.

New Orleans Landrieu says “is truly a city of many nations, a melting pot, a bubbling cauldron of many cultures” there is no other place like this city that so uniquely portrays the American motto of “out if many we are one” he believes. As unique as that city maybe it has its dark past as well the city Of New Orleans