|
|
1877 |
|||||||||||
| South America & Caribbean:Events of this year in this region influencing Louisiana. | |||||||||||
| North America:Events in North America this year influencing Louisiana. | |||||||||||
| Europe: Events in Europe this year influencing Louisiana. | |||||||||||
|
January 1877
January 8, 1877 Both Francis T. Nicholls and Stephen B. Packard take an oath of office as governor. Despite their loss at the polls the Republicans, still controlling Reconstruction, give an oath of office to Stephen Packard at the old State House, surrounded by Federal Troops. Nicholls takes his oath of office at the Odd Fellows Hall as two governors and two legislatures try to function simultaneously. Inaugurated as a fiscally conservative Democrat, Nicholls inherits an infamous crew of supporters: His State Treasurer, Edward A Burke is the biggest crook in Louisiana history. Samuel L. James operates the brutal convict lease system for a tremendous profit. His original contract was granted by the Republicans, but James shifts political gears under the Democrats. Lt. Governor Louis Alfred Wiltz is a willing tool of the Lottery, spreading corruption through the administration. |
February 1877
As frigid rains spoil Mardi Gras parades and revelry, the election returning board is still trying to position itself for its stake in the deadlocked presidential and gubernatorial elections. Henry J. Deutschmann is the artist credited with designing the first floats of the Rex Organization. The returning board consists of four native-born Republicans and is headed by James Madison Wells, who was governor immediately after the Civil War. The other white man on the board is Thomas C. Anderson, while the two blacks are Louis M. Kenner and Gadane Cassanave. |
March 1877
On March 1, Congressman Levy stood on the floor of the U. S. House and asked that the delay of the electorial commission accept a compromise that would put Hayes in the White House and Nichols in the Louisiana governor’s mansion. The compromise, a curious concoction cooked up by the powerful Louisiana State Returning Board, a special national Electorial Commission, Congressmen William M. Levy, E. John Ellis and Randall L. Gibson, as well as Nicholls spokesman and democratic party chief Major Burke, included the removal of the last vestiges of Federal occupation armies and the return of home rule. The Hayes administration further enhanced the peace with a policy called the New Departure, which promised regional railroad and waterway project funding. |
April 1877
April 24 Federal troops march out of New Orleans, ending fifteen years of Federal occupation. Revelers spark a Carnival atmosphere as citizens of all stripes join in the celebration. Francis T. Nicholls appoints blacks and other Republicans to state offices and is criticized by Wiltz and other Democrats. |
May 1877
|
June 1877
|
July 1877
July 5 An order to arrest the four members of the State Returning Board is issued. James Madison Wells, Thomas C. Anderson, Gadane Casanave and Louis M. Kenner will be released on bail. |
August 1877
|
September 1877
|
October 1877
|
November 1877
|
December 1877
|
| Judge Felix Pierre Poché attains national prominence as a founder of the American Bar Association. He kept a diary of his Civil War experiences, which has become a valuable source book for scholars. The Poché Plantation house is located on the East Bank near Convent. The house will be restored in 1982 by Dr. and Mrs. John Fraiche of New Orleans. It features 14 foot ceilings, large dormer windows and original faux-bois (painted false wood grain) wainscoting in the dining room. Admission is available for a fee. | The Daily City Item begins publication as an afternoon newspaper. It is founded by 12 journeymen printers. Daniel Dennett is an agricultural columnist and reformer for the Daily Picayune, one of the few to be published during the post-Reconstruction period. He suggests a plan for peaceful division of large plantations to accommodate tenant farming and champions education for children on smaller farms. |
||||||||||
Go to the year 1879 | Go to the year 1879 | ||||||||||