| 5/2/1803 | The Louisiana Purchase is signed. [The Treaty was antedated to April 30.] | Sublette | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 8/7/1803 | News arrives in New Orleans that Louisiana has been ceded to the United States. | Faber | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 12/20/1803 | The transfer ceremony of Louisiana from France to the United States takes place in the Cabildo at the Place d’Armes. William C. C. Claiborne is later named as the first U.S. territorial governor. | Powell | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 1/1/1804 | The Republic of Haiti is formed after a decades-long rebellion by former slaves | Faber | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 3/12/1804 | A "Citizens Committee" (Bore, Destrehan, Poydras, and others) is formed by the most wealthy residents of the territory that is now a U.S. possession. The group ultimately decides to draft a memorandum to Congress voicing their objections to the rumored elements of the new government for the territory. | Faber | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 3/26/1804 | The Breckinridge Bill passes in Congress. The bill establishes the government structure for the territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. The Act prohibits self-government and bans international and domestic slave trade. | Faber | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 4/1/1804 | A group of free men of color plan a public meeting to draft their own memorandum to Congress, in opposition to the Citizens Committee (planters) memorandum. Afraid of a violent reaction by whites, Claiborne is able to dissuade the group from proceeding with their plans. [Month and day estimated.] | Faber | Book | Click Here | African American | - |
| 7/1/1804 | Learning of a possible prohibition of slave imports, a group of planters presents a memorandum to the U.S. government asking for self-rule with regard to slavery. [See also Hood.] | Seck | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 10/1/1804 | In accordance with the Breckinridge Bill, Congress prohibits the importation of slaves to the territory as of this date. | Seck | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| -/-/1805 | The College of Orleans, the first institution of higher learning in the city, is established by refugees from Saint-Domingue. The college does not open until six years later, however. | Dessens | Book | Click Here | African American | Education |
| 2/17/1805 | The City of New Orleans is incorporated. | Claiborne | Legislation | Click Here | - | - |
| 1/1/1806 | Territorial Governor W.C.C. Claiborne presents medals to Houma Nation chiefs. [Month and date not known.] | Select Committee on Indian Affairs | Transcript | Click Here | Indigenous | |
| 6/7/1806 | The territorial legislature enacts legislation dealing with "Crimes and Offenses" that imposes severe measures on the slave population. The code restricts the rights of free people of color. The Code also specifies the geographic areas for slave recreation such as Congo Square. (See also Faber and Powell.) | LeBreton | Dissertation | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 3/2/1807 | The federal 1808 Transatlantic Slave Trade Act is signed into law by President Jefferson. The law bans the importation of slaves and will become effective on Jan 1, 1808. | | Legislation | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 3/31/1807 | The First Legislature of the Territory of Orleans divides the territory into the initial 7 parishes. | | Legislation | Click Here | | |
| 1/1/1808 | Importation of slaves is prohibited on this date. Congress passes an exception to this law, in June of 1809, for slaves imported by those who had fled Saint Domingue to Cuba. [See also Powell.] | Dessens | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 3/31/1808 | The Territorial Legislature adopts the civil code prepared by Moreau Lislet and James Brown. Some believe the code was actually based on the French Code, not the Spanish Code the legislature had expected. | Hood | Paper | Click Here | Legal | |
| 5/12/1809 | Three dozen ships arrive in New Orleans over the next few months bringing over 9,000 people from Saint-Domingue, doubling the population. The refugees are split evenly between whites and slaves. [See also Clark.] | Dessens | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| -/-/1810 | According to the Census Bureau, in 1810, Louisiana is comprised of whites 34,311, free people of color 7,585, and enslaved 34,660. [Louisiana is not yet a state on this date.] | - | Report | Click Here | Race | |
| 1/8/1811 | Slaves led by Charles Deslondes, take up arms in one of the largest slave rebellions in U.S. history. Known as the German Coast uprising, slaves begin their rebellion at the Andry plantation upriver from New Orleans. As the group gains numbers (up to 500) they march towards New Orleans in the hope of starting a larger rebellion. | Thrasher | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 1/10/1811 | The German Coast uprising is defeated. Many of the enslaved are executed in the aftermath and their decapitated heads are displayed at plantations and on posts along the Mississippi River. | Thrasher | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 4/25/1811 | The U.S. Congress passes legislation to compensate German coast owners for slaves killed and executed "on account of the late insurrection in this territory." The act pays each planter $300 per slave killed as a result of the rebellion. | Rasmussen | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 1/10/1812 | The first steamboat ("New Orleans") arrives in New Orleans. | Kelman | Book | Click Here | Commerce | - |
| 4/12/1812 | The U.S. Congress defines the boundaries for the new state of Louisiana. | | Legislation | Click Here | | |
| 4/30/1812 | Louisiana is granted statehood. | Common Fact | Other | Click Here | - | - |
| 6/18/1812 | The United States declares war on Great Britain. (The War of 1812) The war began over trade restrictions, British support of Native Americans against the United States, and British interference with U.S. ships as a result of the ongoing war between Britain and France. | Trautsch | Paper | Click Here | - | - |
| 12/18/1814 | Gen. Andrew Jackson speaks to the citizens New Orleans at the Place d’Armes. Through his French-speaking interpreter Edward Livingston, Jackson rallies the formerly French citizens against the British near the end of the War of 1812. | Faber | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 1/8/1815 | The battle of New Orleans is fought in Chalmette as Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson's forces (aided by the pirate brothers Lafitte) prevent the British from seizing New Orleans. | Faber | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 7/1/1817 | The Louisiana Supreme Court rules that unless specifically repealed, Spanish law that existed in the territory prior to the Louisiana purchase was still in effect. | Groner | Paper | Click Here | | |
| 2/23/1819 | The North Side Skull and Bone Gang marches for the first time. The African American masking group is created in area that later became Treme. The group dresses as skeletons, parades early on Fat Tuesday morning, and reminds people of their mortality. | | Video | Click Here | African American | Culture |
| -/-/1820 | Edward Livingston reaches a legal settlement regarding the batture (a sometimes-flooded area of land next to the Mississippi River). Livingston and the municipal authorities had been litigating his right to river-front land for several years before the settlement. | Faber | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| -/-/1820 | According to the Census for 1820, the population of Louisiana is comprised of whites 73,867; free people of color 10,476, and enslaved 69,064. | - | Report | Click Here | Race | |
| 4/12/1824 | The legislature authorizes the printing (and in effect) passes the revised Civil Code making revisions to the code passed on 1808. | Hood | Paper | Click Here | Legal | |
| 1/9/1828 | The Legislature passes a new Civil Code that expressly repeals any remnants of Spanish law. | | Legislation | Click Here | | |
| -/-/1830 | According to the Census for 1830, the population of Louisiana is comprised of whites 89,441, free people of color 16,710, and enslaved 109,588. | - | Report | Click Here | Race | |
| 1/1/1832 | The Elkin Club is established as the first social club in New Orleans by John Slidell and other businessmen. It is located on Bayou St. John on the former site of the Spanish Fort Hotel. | Landry | Book | Click Here | Culture | |
| 11/6/1832 | A cholera epidemic kills over 5,000 people in New Orleans | Stern | Book | Click Here | Epidemic | Healthcare |
| 1/1/1834 | The first installation of Norbert Rillieux's sugar evaporator is completed in Louisiana. Rillieux was a free man of color and his invention improved the production of sugar, greatly expanding the industry throughout the world. | Weldon | Article | Click Here | African American | Commerce |
| -/-/1835 | New Orleans persuades the state legislature to address the city’s drainage problem. The New Orleans Draining Company is founded and is one of the first city-sponsored efforts to address the problem. | Colten | Book | Click Here | Geography | - |
| -/-/1835 | The Medical College of Louisiana (now Tulane University School of Medicine) is opened by 3 physicians. | McQueeney | Book | Click Here | Healthcare | Race |
| -/-/1836 | New Orleans splits into three different cities due to the rivalry between the Americans, French, and Creoles. | Landau | Book | Click Here | Culture | - |
| -/-/1837 | The St. Charles and St. Louis hotels would open this year and next. The hotels became sites for major slave auctions. | McCulla | Book | Click Here | Race | Slavery |
| 1/25/1837 | The Picayune publishes Vol 1, No. 1. The publication would later be named the Times-Picayune and continues publishing to the present day although under a different owner. | Common Fact | Other | Click Here | - | - |
| 2/8/1837 | The first newspaper account of a Carnival parade appears in the Daily Picayune. | White | Book | Click Here | Corruption | |
| -/-/1840 | By this date, New Orleans was the wealthiest city in the United States and ranked third in population. | McCulla | Book | Click Here | Race | Commerce |
| -/-/1840 | New Orleans would compel free people of color who had been born outside New Orleans and those who had been manumitted to register register with the city. | McCulla | Book | Click Here | Race | Slavery |
| -/-/1840 | According to the Census for 1840, the population of Louisiana is comprised of whites 158,457, free people of color 25.402, and enslaved 168,452. | - | Report | Click Here | Race | |
| 11/21/1842 | The Sisters of the Holy Family is founded by Henriette Delille, a free woman of color. The order's primary mission is the evangelization of slaves and free people of color. The Order is still located in New Orleans. [See also the Order's website.] | Deggs | Book | Click Here | Women | - |
| 1/1/1843 | The Pelican Club is created out of the "remnants" of the Elkin Club which failed due to the economic panic of 1837. | Landry | Book | Click Here | Culture | |
| -/-/1844 | Louisiana begins leasing prison inmates as laborers. This practice continues until the prison is under Union Army control. | Carleton | Book | Click Here | Race | - |
| 10/12/1844 | One of the first "Southern" novelists, George Washington Cable, is born in New Orleans. Cable's works dealt with race and miscegenation, topics seldom discussed when the books were published. | Common Fact | Other | Click Here | Culture | - |
| -/-/1846 | New Orleans's City Engineer P.O. Hebert reports that a levee system alone cannot protect the city and that the river's height needs to be lowered. | Colten | Book | Click Here | Levees | Geography |
| 5/3/1849 | A break in the levee system at Sauvé Crevasse causes flooding throughout the city including the French Quarter. | Colten | Book | Click Here | Levees | Geography |
| -/-/1850 | A significant number of Italians arrive in New Orleans during this decade. | Nystrom | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| -/-/1850 | In the Seventh Census of the United States for 1850, Louisiana is comprised of whites 255,491, free people of color 17,462, and enslaved 244, 809. | - | Report | Click Here | Race | |
| -/-/1851 | Congo Square is shut down. The site is named Place d’Armes and what had been known previously under that name is renamed Jackson Square. | Sublette | Book | Click Here | Slavery | African American |
| 2/8/1851 | Although born in St. Louis, the author Kate Chopin would move to New Orleans after her marriage to Oscar Chopin in 1870. While never greatly praised during her lifetime, later critics credit Chopin as an accomplished author and a forerunner for later women authors. | Common Fact | Other | Click Here | Women | Culture |
| -/-/1852 | The city of New Orleans is re-consolidated into one government. | Campanella | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| -/-/1852 | The Second Municipality of New Orleans (the American sector) forbids the open display of slave markets on sidewalks. | Johnson | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| -/-/1852 | Judah Touro creates a medical care facility in the warehouse district. The facility treats whites as well as the enslaved (in a separate area. | McQueeney | Book | Click Here | Healthcare | Race |
| 11/29/1852 | The novelist and historian Grace King is born in New Orleans. King's work sought to replace some of the negative imagery of the South popularized by George Washington Cable. King's history writings were influenced by her association with historian Charles Gayarre. | Common Fact | Other | Click Here | Culture | Women |
| -/-/1853 | The city endures its worst Yellow Fever epidemic after outbreaks in 1796, 1799, 1803, 1822, and 1824. The large number of immigrants with no immunity, as well as the swamp conditions that allow mosquitoes to breed, contribute to the persistent problem. | Colten | Book | Click Here | Epidemic | Healthcare |
| 5/30/1854 | The Kansas-Nebraska Act is passed repealing the Missouri Compromise. The Compromise banned slavery in much of the former Louisiana Territory lands. The repeal of the law is a significant factor leading to the Civil War. | | Web Page | Click Here | Slavery | |
| -/-/1857 | The Louisiana legislature prohibits manumission (release from slavery). | Klebaner | Paper | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 1/4/1857 | The Mystic Krewe of Comus and the Pickwick Club (one being the public persona) are organized at the Gem Saloon on Royal Street. [See also Gill.] | Landry | Book | Click Here | Culture | |
| 2/24/1857 | The Mystic Krewe of Comus stages its first parade based on themes from Milton's Paradise Lost. | White | Book | Click Here | Corruption | |
| 3/-/1857 | New Orleans passes prostitution regulations. The ordinance restricts locations and taxes the sex trade. The ordinance is in response to sex and violence in the Gallatin section of the city where "illegal" activity thrived in antebellum New Orleans. | Campanella | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 3/6/1857 | The Supreme Court rules in Dred Scott v. Sandford that descendants of Africans are not citizens of the U.S. and that the Missouri Compromise is unconstitutional. | Taney | Court Doc. | Click Here | Race | Legal |
| -/-/1858 | The state legislature removes all funding to Catholic institutions to limit educational opportunities for blacks. | Stern | Book | Click Here | Race | Education |
| -/-/1858 | The Sisters of Charity opens Hotel Dieu, one of the first hospitals in New Orleans. The facility provides medical care to the enslaved in separate wards. | McQueeney | Book | Click Here | Healthcare | Race |
| -/-/1860 | Abraham Lincoln is elected president. Some sugar plantation parishes vote for Douglas (Democrat) but the popular vote goes to Breckenridge, a Southern Democrat. | Roland | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| -/-/1860 | According to the Census for 1860, the population of Louisiana is comprised of whites 357,629, free people of color 18,647, and enslaved 331,726. | - | Report | Click Here | Race | |
| 12/20/1860 | A South Carolina convention issues the Ordinance of Secession withdrawing from the United States. | Common Fact | Other | Click Here | - | - |
| 3/21/1861 | Louisiana withdraws from the Union. | Winters | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 4/24/1862 | Union General Farragut's fleet makes a run past Forts Jackson and St. Philip on the Mississippi and move upriver to attack Confederate ships. | Winters | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 4/26/1862 | Union forces raise the American flag in front of the U.S. Mint in New Orleans. It is promptly torn down by William Mumford, who is hanged for his "crime" within six weeks. | Winters | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 5/1/1862 | Union General Butler arrives in New Orleans with 1,400 troops. General Order Number One, issued on this date, declares martial law and requires all citizens to “renounce their allegiance to the confederacy.” | Winters | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 5/12/1862 | Pres. Lincoln lifts the blockade of New Orleans. | Winters | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 7/12/1862 | Pres. Lincoln signs the Second Confiscation Act which allows the confiscation of property belonging to Confederate officers. The Act also frees slaves who are owned by confederate loyalists. | Winters | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 1/1/1863 | The Emancipation Proclamation is issued. The sugar parishes of Louisiana are exempted from the proclamation due to the fact they are under Union control. | Roland | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 5/1/1863 | Three men are chosen by a largely planter led group to present a petition to President Lincoln asking that the pro-slavery constitution of 1852 be reinstated as secession was illegal. Lincoln rejects their proposal. | Wetta | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 1/-/1864 | General Banks invalidates all laws in Louisiana pertaining to slavery. | Winters | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 4/-/1864 | A constitutional convention is held at Liberty Hall in New Orleans at the direction of General Banks. The convention will meet for four months, and the new constitution does not completely eliminate slavery. | Winters | Book | Click Here | Slavery | - |
| 7/23/1864 | The New Orleans Tribune begins publication. The paper is the country's first African American daily newspaper. | Richmond | Transcript | Click Here | African American | Culture |
| 2/-/1865 | A special election is held and James Madison Wells is elected Governor. Wells later aligns himself with the Louisiana planters and takes actions that disenfranchise the Unionists. | Wetta | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 4/9/1865 | Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia. Jefferson Davis declares the hostilities ended on May 9. | Winters | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 6/3/1865 | A federal order is issued abolishing slavery. The order is published in Shreveport on June 10. | Winters | Book | Click Here | Slavery | Race |
| 6/16/1865 | The Friends of Universal Suffrage formally organize their group in order to oppose the "Wells-Confederate" administration. The Friends are a coalition of scalawags, carpetbaggers, and blacks that seek to promote black civil rights. | Wetta | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 7/1/1865 | The Freedmen's Bureau, under reconstruction, builds the Freedmen's Hospital in New Orleans. The facility would treat thousands of African Americans until its closure in 1869. | McQueeney | Book | Click Here | Healthcare | Race |
| 9/25/1865 | The Republican party holds its convention and affirms its commitment to human rights and the Union. | Wetta | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 10/14/1865 | Fred Ogden and other former confederates meet to consider a reconstituted state government. The group (the Young Men's Democrats) admits the South's defeat, but contends that the right of suffrage is a state issue. Shortly after the meeting, General Banks, appoints former slaveholder J. Madison Wells as governor. | Nystrom | Book | Click Here | Race | - |
| 12/6/1865 | The Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery is ratified by the States. | Common Fact | Other | Click Here | Slavery | Race |
| 12/24/1865 | The Klu Klux Klan is formed in Pulaski, TN by Confederate veterans. | Gill | Book | Click Here | Race | Culture |
| -/-/1866 | The State of Louisiana creates levee districts to coordinate water management. | Campanella | Book | Click Here | Infrastructure | - |
| -/-/1866 | Mardi Gras parades resume for the first time since 1861. | Wetta | Book | Click Here | Culture | - |
| 7/30/1866 | A parade of black and white marchers rallies at Mechanics Hall in New Orleans where a new state constitution enfranchising blacks is being considered. At Burgundy and Canal Streets, violence erupts between the blacks and anti-Republican whites. Thirty-eight people are killed and 146 are wounded. [See also Elliot.] | Wetta | Book | Click Here | Race | Racial Violence |
| 2/11/1867 | A Congressional Committee publishes its report on the "New Orleans Riots" of 1866. | Elliot | Report | Click Here | | |
| 5/22/1867 | The terrorist and segregationist group Knights of the White Camellia is formed by a judge in St. Mary Parish, LA. | Gill | Book | Click Here | Race | Culture |
| 6/3/1867 | Under the Reconstruction Act of 1867, General Sheridan removes Governor Wells from office, due in part to his inaction before the Mechanics Hall riot. Mayor Monroe and all New Orleans’ aldermen are also removed from office by Sheridan. | Wetta | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 3/7/1868 | A new State Constitution is adopted. The new Constitution greatly ends school segregation and requires that all children, regardless of race, have access to public education. | Stern | Book | Click Here | Race | Education |
| 4/-/1868 | Republican Henry Warmoth wins the gubernatorial election with 63% of the vote and wide support in the black community. During his term, Warmoth fails to support civil rights and eventually loses his much of his support. | Wetta | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 5/7/1868 | The City Superintendent of Schools learns that black children are attending "white" schools as a result of the new state constitution. By the end of this month, the Board orders that non-white children be transferred to all black schools. | Stern | Book | Click Here | Race | Education |
| 7/9/1868 | Louisiana gains re-admittance to the union. | Common Fact | Other | Click Here | - | - |
| 7/9/1868 | In order to gain representation in the U.S. Congress, Louisiana and South Carolina ratify the 14th Amendment bringing the total number of states ratifying the Amendment to the necessary three-fourths requirement. | Young | Web Page | Click Here | Race | |
| 8/17/1868 | The Louisiana Legislature, after being bribed by a New York group, enacts the Louisiana Lottery. The Lottery is granted a 25-year term and must pay the state $40,000 per year for the concession. | Hair | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 9/28/1868 | At least 30 blacks are killed in Opelousas, (St. Landry Parish) Louisiana by a branch of the Knights of the White Camellia. The St. Landry Riot begins after a white newspaper editor writes an article in support of blacks remaining in the Republican party. Some estimate the death toll near 150 people. | Stolp-Smith | Web Page | Click Here | Race | Racial Violence |
| -/-/1870 | A state court rules against the School Board and desegregation returns to public schools until 1877. | Stern | Book | Click Here | Race | Education |
| 1/1/1870 | The Twelfth Night Revelers is formed making it the city's second Mardi Gras Krewe. The leader of the festivities during Mardi Gras is known as the Lord of Misrule. | Gill | Book | Click Here | Race | Culture |
| 1/31/1870 | The Louisiana legislature assigns a convict lease agreement to S.L. James. Shortly after the assignment, the lease is extended to a twenty-one-year term. Convicts are used in the construction of railroads and levees - both involving extremely dangerous work. The lease will remain in force until 1901. [See also Cardon.] | Carleton | Book | Click Here | Race | - |
| 3/4/1870 | The Civil Code of Louisiana is amended to eliminate references to slavery and incorporate other changes since the last Code was adopted. | | Paper | Click Here | Slavery | |
| 3/16/1870 | The legislature approves an election law that provides sweeping powers to the Governor’s office and creates a Returning Board that can investigate election returns and void "fraudulent" elections. | Pitre | Paper | Click Here | - | - |
| 5/31/1870 | Congress passes the first of three Enforcement Acts that enabled the Federal government to prosecute those seeking to deny the civil rights of others. Later legislation placed national elections under federal control and authorized the use of the military against those who conspired to deny equal protection under the Constitution. | | Article | Click Here | Race | - |
| 8/8/1871 | Rival factions hold opposing Republican state party conventions. Alleging the likelihood of violence, the anti-Warmoth faction bars Warmoth from attending . They are backed by U.S. troops supplied with Gatling Guns. This was known as the Gatling Gun Convention. | Wetta | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 2/19/1872 | A Congressional report details suppression and violence against blacks in the former Confederate states. The report discusses the Ku Klux Klan, the Knights of the White Camellia and other terrorist groups. | | Report | Click Here | Race | Racial Violence |
| 7/-/1872 | Warmoth leads a delegation of supporters out of the state Republican convention. Known as Liberal Republicans, they oppose the reelection of Grant and the Custom House faction. | Nystrom | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 11/-/1872 | The gubernatorial election is held but it is rife with fraud. A federal judge eventually rules that the Custom House faction will be the arbiter of the election results, thus ensuring the election of Kellogg over McEnery to the governor’s post. | Wetta | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 12/9/1872 | Kellogg backers, supported by the Federal government (Grant), pass articles of impeachment and Warmoth is removed from office until a trial can be held. P.B.S. Pinchback, the black Lieutenant Governor, is sworn in as governor for the remainder of the term. | Tunnell | Article | Click Here | African American | - |
| 1/14/1873 | Kellogg is sworn in as governor while McEnery (who believes he is the rightful winner of the election) takes a similar oath at City Hall. McEnery sets up his government at Odd Fellows Hall while Kellogg’s group is at the Mechanics’ Institute. | Nystrom | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 3/6/1873 | McEnery forces led by Fred Ogden and hoping to assert their control over state government, assemble over 400 militia men and march on the Cabildo where the Metropolitan Police Force is located. The ensuing riot results in one fatality, and McEnery’s attempt to enforce his authority fails. [See also Kendall.] | Nystrom | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 4/13/1873 | In Colfax, Louisiana 68 blacks and two whites are killed by two hundred whites in a battle in Grant parish over control of the local government. | Lane | Book | Click Here | Race | Racial Violence |
| 9/14/1874 | Known as the White League Uprising, or The Battle of Liberty Place, the displaced Democratic party supported by over 8,000 whites overwhelm about 3,500 Metropolitan Police and black militiamen on Canal Street in New Orleans. In the ensuing melee, 27 men are killed. | Wetta | Book | Click Here | Race | Racial Violence |
| 9/16/1874 | After the rout of federal law enforcement in the Battle of Liberty Place, U.S. General Emory and his troops arrive in New Orleans and restores federal control over New Orleans. | Wetta | Book | Click Here | Race | Racial Violence |
| 12/15/1874 | White teens riot for 3 days because of school integration. Black students are attacked, property is damaged, and "a black man and child" are murdered. Desegregation of the schools will continue until 1877. | Stern | Book | Click Here | Race | Racial Violence |
| 1/6/1875 | Shortly after General Sheridan arrives in New Orleans to reassert federal control after the battle of Liberty Place, The Twelfth Night Revelers publish a proclamation cancelling their Mardi Gras activities in protest of the city's "armed hosts." | Gill | Book | Click Here | Race | Culture |
| 3/27/1876 | In U.S. v. Cruikshank, the conviction of three men for crimes committed during the Colfax massacre is reversed. The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the 14th Amendment does not apply to the actions of private parties. | | Court Doc. | Click Here | Race | Racial Violence |
| 11/7/1876 | In the presidential election, Republican Hayes faces Democrat Tilden. The election is so close that Louisiana’s eight electoral votes could swing the election. Based on the early results, it appears that Tilden has won. | Hair | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| -/-/1877 | On various dates during this year, Reconstruction efforts for equality were dismantled by the return to power of former confederates. As a result, only two New Orleans hospitals treated blacks, segregation of patients by race was reinstituted, and private hospitals pledged not to treat blacks. | McQueeney | Book | Click Here | Healthcare | Race |
| -/-/1877 | After Reconstructionists are removed from power, Charity Hospital resumes separating patients by race. | McQueeney | Book | Click Here | Healthcare | Race |
| 1/1/1877 | The Bourbon Democrats introduce segregated schools and cut funding for public schools by 40%. | Stern | Book | Click Here | Education | Race |
| 3/2/1877 | The Compromise of 1877 settles the presidential election. Hayes is declared the winner over Tilden in exchange for an end to reconstruction. Governor Pinchback endorses the deal. Pinchback later supports the state Constitution of 1879 (which allows segregated public schools) in exchange for the creation of Southern University for blacks. [See also Stern.] | Blight | Video | Click Here | - | - |
| 4/24/1877 | At noon, Federal troops are removed from the state capital (New Orleans) and most of the city celebrates the end of reconstruction. | Hair | Book | Click Here | Race | - |
| 9/6/1877 | One of the earliest developers of ragtime and jazz is born in New Orleans. Bolden is remembered for his introduction to improvisation to music that was based on ragtime and blues themes. | Common Fact | Other | Click Here | Culture | - |
| -/-/1878 | A yellow fever epidemic kills 4,000 people in New Orleans and many more outside the city. The fever highlights the city's need to construct a modern sewerage system. | Colten | Book | Click Here | Epidemic | Infrastructure |
| -/-/1879 | Congress creates the Mississippi River Commission. The MRC's objective is to "remake the Mississippi River into a reliable commercial artery while protecting adjacent farms and towns from its powerful floods." [See MRC website also.] | | Pamphlet | Click Here | Infrastructure | - |
| 4/18/1879 | A state constitutional convention is held in New Orleans to roll back some of the reforms of the 1868 Constitution. Taxes are lowered significantly, and the capital is moved back to Baton Rouge, partly to make minority representation in the legislature more difficult. [See also Nystrom.] | Hair | Book | Click Here | Race | - |
| 3/29/1880 | Sugar workers in St. John Parish (as they had in St. Charles Parish) begin to organize in pursuit of higher wages. To quell the organizers, Governor Wiltz sends state troops. | Hair | Book | Click Here | Race | Commerce |
| 12/19/1881 | Early jazz band conductor and composer of many songs that survive to today, Joseph "King" Oliver is born in Aben, Louisiana. | Common Fact | Other | Click Here | Culture | - |
| 12/16/1884 | New Orleans hosts the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition. The World's Fair is intended to promote tourism and showcase New Orleans' revived post Civil War economy. | Gotham | Book | Click Here | Commerce | Tourism |
| -/-/1885 | One of the first Creole cookbooks is published this year. Lafcadio Hearn, a journalist born in Greece, collected the recipes during his 10 year residency in New Orleans. | McCulla | Book | Click Here | Race | Slavery |
| 8/28/1886 | Businessman Andrew Higgins is born in New Orleans. Higgins' New Orleans' factories produced "Higgins boats" that would be used to land on the beaches of France during World War II. The boats are credited with greatly aiding American forces. | Common Fact | Other | Click Here | Commerce | - |
| 8/22/1887 | The Knights of Labor (the sugar workers' union) requests a meeting with the Louisiana Sugar Planters' Association to discuss wages. The request is summarily rejected and 6,000 to 10,000 laborers strike for better working conditions. | Hair | Book | Click Here | Racial Violence | Commerce |
| 11/22/1887 | Known as the Thibodaux Massacre, a prolonged sugar worker strike results in violence and at least 30 blacks are killed and many more wounded. Some estimates place the number of dead as high as 60. The strike is broken, and the harvesting of that year’s sugar crop is later resumed. | Hair | Book | Click Here | Racial Violence | Commerce |
| -/-/1889 | The Methodist Episcopal Church opens the first black medical school in Louisiana. Later renamed Flint Medical College and run by black physician James Newman, the school operates until 1913. | McQueeney | Book | Click Here | Healthcare | Race |
| 12/6/1889 | Jefferson Davis dies while visiting New Orleans. He is buried at Metairie Cemetery but his remains are later moved to Virginia. | Hair | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| -/-/1890 | The State of Louisiana creates the Orleans Levee District. | Campanella | Book | Click Here | Levees | Infrastructure |
| -/-/1890 | In circumvention of the Fifteenth Amendment, Mississippi passes a law requiring “vital understanding” of the U.S. Constitution to keep blacks off the voting rolls. The law is upheld in 1898 (Williams v. Mississippi) and other states impose similar voting requirements. [See also Hair - Kingfish.] | | Court Doc. | Click Here | Race | - |
| -/-/1890 | Louisiana passes The Louisiana Railway Accommodations Act requiring "equal but separate" train compartments. | | Web Page | Click Here | Race | Legal |
| 5/12/1890 | The Legislature debates extending the terms of S. L. James's convict leasing contract. The contract is eventually extended for a ten-year term. | Cardon | Paper | Click Here | Race | - |
| 10/20/1890 | One of jazz's first arrangers, Jelly Roll Morton, is born in New Orleans. Morton's innovations would influence jazz musicians for decades to come. | Common Fact | Other | Click Here | Culture | - |
| 3/14/1891 | A mob kills at least 9 Italian Americans who had been accused and acquitted of the murder of Police Chief Hennessey. | Krist | Book | Click Here | Racial Violence | - |
| 9/14/1891 | The cornerstone of Liberty Monument is laid at the foot of Canal Street. The monument is a “tribute” to the White League and the Battle of Liberty Place. The monument will remain in place until July, 1993 when the City Council orders it relocated as it celebrates racial bigotry and white supremacy. | Gill | Book | Click Here | Race | Culture |
| 2/-/1892 | The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the federal government's prohibition on the use of the U.S. mail for lotteries effectively ending Louisiana lottery franchise. | Jackson | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 6/7/1892 | Homer Plessy buys a train ticket in New Orleans and is denied the right to sit in the Whites Only section of the train. Plessey is convicted of violating the Separate Car Law of 1890 and the appeal of this conviction will reach the Supreme Court in 1896. | Stern | Book | Click Here | Race | - |
| -/-/1894 | Governor Foster signs legislation prohibiting interracial marriage. | Nystrom | Book | Click Here | Race | - |
| 1/1/1894 | The Louisiana State Lottery charter expires. | Jackson | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 2/26/1895 | The Original Illinois Club presents its daughters at its first Mardi Gras ball. This first black Mardi Gras club is formed by Wiley Knight, a Pullman porter. At the time, there were no other black Mardi Gras clubs. | | Web Page | Click Here | African American | Culture |
| -/-/1896 | The State of Louisiana creates the Drainage Commission of New Orleans tasked with the goal of draining ground water from the city. | Kelman | Book | Click Here | Infrastructure | - |
| 5/18/1896 | The U.S. Supreme Court issues its opinion in Plessy v Ferguson creating the “separate but equal” doctrine. One of the justices, Edward White from Louisiana, is a member white-supremacist Crescent City White League. | Brown | Court Doc. | Click Here | Race | Legal |
| -/-/1897 | John Olmsted, nephew of Frederick Olmstead, begins his design of Audubon Park after the state legislature creates a park authority. | Colten | Book | Click Here | - | - |
| 1/29/1897 | The City Council passes an ordinance creating a red-light district that will open later that year. The area is bounded by Basin, Customhouse, Robertson and St. Louis streets. | | Legislation | Click Here | - | - |
| 7/7/1897 | The City Council amends the Storyville ordinance to create a separate uptown district for black prostitutes. | Landau | Book | Click Here | Race | Culture |
| 1/1/1898 | Storyville "opens" under the protection of city ordinances permitting prostitution. The area is named after Alderman Sidney Story who introduced the legislation. | Rose | Book | Click Here | - | |
| 5/12/1898 | A new Louisiana state Constitution is adopted that limits voting rights. Voters must be able to read and write or they must own property worth over $300. The constitution has a “grandfather” clause that applies to whites but denies voting rights to blacks. | Hair | Book | Click Here | Race | - |
| -/-/1899 | The Louisiana Legislature forms the Sewerage and Water Board to manage a water and sewer system in New Orleans. New Orleans is one of the few major cities in the world without a sewer system at the turn of the century. [See also Colten and Prince.] | | Web Page | Click Here | Infrastructure | - |
