Louisiana
Louisiana’s Old State Capitol to show the scribble of a signature that changed the world
The French Exchange copy of the Convention between the Republic of France and the United States signed by Napoleon finalizing the sale of the Louisiana Territory will be on display at Louisiana’s Old State Capitol beginning April 14. the document is on loan by the National Archives in Washington.
Napoleon Bonaparte’s signature was scribbled diagonally on the treaty as if it were an afterthought. Make no mistake, it was far from a haphazard gesture. Bonaparte needed the money, and Thomas Jefferson was willing to pay.
When the First Consul of the Republic of France scribbled “Bonaparte” on that document finalizing the sale of France’s Louisiana Territory to the United States, the world changed.
History calls this moment the Louisiana Purchase. For the U.S., it meant doubling in size. For the world, it meant the eventual emergence of a new superpower.
The French Exchange copy of the Convention between the Republic of France and the United States signed by Napoleon finalizing the sale of the Louisiana Territory will be on display at Louisiana’s Old State Capitol beginning April 14. the document is on loan by the National Archives in Washington.
Amazing to think how a simple, last-name-only signature could hold so much power. It still wields a certain power today, enough to make people put away their phones just to see it.
Which will happen on April 14, when Louisiana’s Old State Capitol opens the exhibit, “Bought for a Song: A Young Nation Expands.” The exhibit’s only artifact will be the French exchange copy of the convention between the Republic of France — the document bearing Bonaparte’s signature that finalized the Louisiana Purchase.
The show runs through July 11, coinciding with America’s 250th anniversary celebration year. Though admission is free, visitors are asked to sign up for a viewing time for the opening week through the museum’s website, louisianaoldstatecapitol.org.
A National Archives loan
The document is on loan from the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. Officials will transport and set it up days before the show’s opening in Baton Rouge.
Laurent Dabos’ circa 1803-1804 portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte as First Consul of France.
“This exhibit will display that original document, its cover page and a copy of the signature page,” museum curator Anne Mahoney said. “It also has small educational displays about the role of the Mississippi River in the transaction and who was involved. The exhibit will also be presented in both English and French.”
And though all of these original documents will be in the case, required precautions are being taken.
“Since this is such a historically significant document, and it pertains to treaties for the United States of America, it has special protections in terms of lighting, temperature and humidity,” Mahoney said. “Since light damage is cumulative and irreversible, we’ll keep the treaty closed so that the writing does not become faded by any contact with light. And then we’ll have an excerpt from it on display next to it that’s a reproduction.”
The exhibit, like Bonaparte’s signature, is small, consisting of the agreement displayed beneath thick glass in one of the Old Capitol’s octagonal rooms. Security guards will be stationed inside the room, and visitors will not be allowed to take photos.
The French Exchange copy of the Convention between the Republic of France and the United States signed by Napoleon finalizing the sale of the Louisiana Territory will be on display at Louisiana’s Old State Capitol beginning April 14. the document is on loan by the National Archives in Washington.
“Visitors can’t take their phones out when they enter the room,” Mahoney said. “We don’t want any accidental flashes. We have high security and high environmental controls, so you won’t be able to take pictures. But we do have a little handout you can take as a souvenir.”
Irony in Baton Rouge
The irony in this situation is that Baton Rouge was a part of Spanish West Florida when the Louisiana Territory was sold to the U.S.
“There was a neutral strip that wasn’t technically a part of the purchase,” Mahoney said. “That didn’t happen until after Philemon Thomas and the West Florida revolt.”
Thomas is buried in the Baton Rouge National Cemetery on 19th Street. He was a revolutionary war general who led the revolt that eventually annexed Baton Rouge into the U.S. in 1810, seven years after the flag of Spain was lowered at the Cabildo to make way for the French flag, which was immediately lowered and replaced by the American flag.
France ceded the Louisiana territory to Spain in 1762 to prevent the British from taking it during the Seven Years’ War. Spain agreed to return it to France when the time came.
Thure de Thulstrup’s 1903 painting, ‘Hoisting American Colors, Louisiana Cession, 1803,’ hangs in the Louisiana State Museum, Cabildo in New Orleans.
And that time came when Bonaparte decided to unload the territory to fund his imminent war with Great Britain. The Louisiana Purchase happened in three parts, beginning with the Treaty of Cession, followed by the two conventions defining the financial aspects of the sale.
Bonaparte signed the final bill of sale on April 30, 1803. The flag ceremony followed on Dec. 20, 1803.
What did the country gain?
The U.S. gained approximately 828,000 square miles of land for $15 million from that diagonal scribble of a signature. That’s roughly 4 cents per acre, which accounts for the sale’s historical description as “bought for a song,” along with the exhibit’s title.
The price of a song bought a chunk of real estate that stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. It also secured control of the port of New Orleans, which reshaped trade, migration, culture and political power across the continent.
“This will actually be the second time this document has come to the Old State Capitol,” Mahoney said. “The first time was at our inaugural opening in 1994.”
Jacques-Louis David’s 1801 painting, “Napoleon Crossing the Alps.” This version hangs in Versailles. David painted five versions of this painting, one of which hangs in the Cabildo in New Orleans.
Secretary of State Nancy Landry says she’s proud to partner with the National Archives for this exhibit.
“With the stroke of a pen, this agreement more than doubled the size of our nation and stands as one of the most significant real estate transactions in American history,” Landry said. “We invite everyone to join us as we welcome this remarkable piece of history back to the land it helped create.”
“Bought for a Song: A Young Nation Expands” will show April 14-July 11 at Louisiana’s Old State Capitol, 100 North Blvd., Baton Rouge. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. To accommodate anticipated demand during the exhibition’s opening week, April 14-18, the museum will operate on timed entry slots of 10 a.m. to noon, noon to 2 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. For tickets, visit louisianaoldstatecapitol.org.
Louisiana
Can Louisiana environmental groups publish their pollution data? A judge’s ruling clarifies it.
“We’re not posting every day because we want to cautiously feel our way through,” Robertson said. “Just to be safe.”
Cindy Robertson sorts through donated food items at her home on Tuesday Oct. 31, 2023, in Sulphur, La.
Other plaintiffs in the case are not currently sharing air monitoring data, due to the CAMRA law as well as other hurdles. They include two groups in St. John the Baptist Parish, according to Tish Taylor, who leads Concerned Citizens of St. John, and Joy Banner, a founder of The Descendants Project.
In addition to uncertainty around the state law, Taylor said her organization is waiting for air monitoring results being analyzed by Colorado State University. Separately, funding from the EPA to maintain monitors in the parish expires at the end of the month. An EPA contract for St. John monitors also included its own restrictions around dissemination, according to the partner organization Deep South Center for Environmental Justice.
Louisiana
‘A little bit nervous’: Survivor of deadly Mall of Louisiana shooting makes emotional return
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – For the first time since surviving the deadly shooting at the Mall of Louisiana, Donnie Guillory made an emotional return to the mall on Wednesday, May 20.
Guillory was one of six people shot during the April shooting at the mall. Martha Odom, a high school senior from Lafayette, died from her injuries.
Guillory, a Special Olympics athlete, walked back through the mall with a special escort from Baton Rouge Police and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office.
“Everybody is here today to see me,” Guillory said.
Guillory spent several days in the hospital before returning home. His family said one of the things he talked about most during recovery was getting back to the mall, where he spent time almost every day before the shooting.
Still, returning was emotional.
“I’m a little bit nervous. Nervous a little bit,” Guillory said.
Guillory’s father, Charles, said the support from law enforcement has meant a great deal to their family since the shooting.
He praised officers not only for helping save his son’s life, but for remaining involved throughout his recovery.
“You hear him say he’s a bit nervous,” Charles Guillory said. “He spends so much time in there with so many friends, I’m glad he’s able to go in there without being anxious about it.”
While the visit marked an important step forward for Donnie, his father said concerns about public safety remain.
“It’s something we need to address, because it’s not going to do any good to be happy today and have a problem two weeks from now,” he said.
Charles Guillory said he hopes businesses and community leaders continue looking for ways to improve safety measures moving forward.
“They need to look at what the mall is going to do and what other businesses are going to do to protect their patrons,” he said.
Click here to report a typo. Please include the headline.
Click here to subscribe to our WAFB 9 News daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.
Watch the latest WAFB news and weather now.
Photos chronicle Louisiana history, culture and people
Bob Winans of Alexandria talks about the photos his father, the acclaimed Louisiana photographer Fonville Winans, took throughout his storied career.
When you’re driving along on a road trip, you may spot something unique on the side of the road and decide to pull over and explore.
Roadside attractions are often quirky landmarks that offer a nice reprieve from driving.
Fifty Grande, an American travel magazine, has compiled a list of the strangest roadside attractions in each state.
Abita Mystery House is Louisiana’s weirdest roadside attraction says Fifty Grande
Abita Mystery House, located in Abita Springs, is the weirdest roadside attraction in Louisiana, according to Fifty Grande.
This roadside attraction features a vintage service station, a 100-year-old Louisiana Creole cottage, an exhibition hall of memorabilia and junk, as well as the museum’s House of Shards.
The House of Shards is an old cottage decorated with thousands upon thousands of tile pieces, pottery shards, mirrors and glass. The building also houses an interesting collection of vintage bicycles.
Other exhibits at “Louisiana’s most eccentric museum” include a general store, car repair, comb collection, Airstream, “Bassigator,” “swamp ghost” and numerous art prints.
This folk-art environment, curated by Louisiana inventor and artist John Preble, is filled with thousands of found objects and homemade inventions. Here, visitors can observe artistic recreations of a Mardi Gras parade, New Orleans jazz funeral, rhythm and blues dance hall, haunted Southern plantation and more.
The weirdest roadside attraction in each state according to Fifty Grande
- Alabama: The Unclaimed Baggage Center
- Alaska: Igloo City
- Arizona: The Thing
- Arkansas: Thorncrown Chapel
- California: Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree
- Colorado: Rita the Rock Planter
- Connecticut: PEZ Visitor Center
- Delaware: Futuro House
- Florida: World’s Smallest Post Office
- Georgia: The Tree That Owns Itself
- Hawaii: Pineapple Garden Maze
- Idaho: Idaho Potato Hotel
- Illinois: World’s Largest Catsup Bottle
- Indiana: Martini-Drinking Pink Elephant
- Iowa: Future Birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk
- Kansas: World’s Largest Collection of the World’s Smallest Versions of the World’s Largest Things
- Kentucky: World’s Tallest Three Story Building
- Louisiana: Abita Mystery House
- Maine: Wild Blueberry Land
- Maryland: Vanadu Art House
- Massachusetts: The Paper House
- Michigan: Giant Uniroyal Tire
- Minnesota: Jolly Green Giant Statue
- Mississippi: The Frog Farm
- Missouri: BoatHenge
- Montana: Garden of One Thousand Buddhas
- Nebraska: Klown Doll Museum
- Nevada: International Car Forest
- New Hampshire: The USS Albacore
- New Mexico: International UFO Museum
- New Jersey: Lucy the Elephant
- New York: World’s Largest Pancake Griddle
- North Carolina: The World’s Largest Chest of Drawers
- North Dakota: The Enchanted Highway
- Ohio: World’s Largest Bobblehead
- Oklahoma: Winganon Space Capsule
- Oregon: Mill Ends Park
- Pennsylvania: The Haines Shoe House
- Rhode Island: The Big Blue Bug
- South Carolina: South of the Border
- South Dakota: The World’s Only Corn Palace
- Tennessee: Backyard Terrors Dinosaur Park
- Texas: Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum
- Utah: Hole N” The Rock
- Vermont: Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard
- Virginia: Hugh Mongous
- Washington: Big Red Wagon
- West Virginia: World’s Largest Teapot
- Wisconsin: Al Johnson’s Goats on the Roof
- Wyoming: World’s Largest Elkhorn Arch
Presley Bo Tyler is the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team reporter for USA Today Network. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at PTyler@Gannett.com
-
Politics3 minutes agoJustices Decline to Rule in Death Penalty Case Over Intellectual Disabilities
-
Lifestyle39 minutes ago‘It’s one of my dreams,’ Rose Byrne says of her comic turn on Broadway
-
Education45 minutes agoVideo: Opinion | A Defense of a Liberal Arts Education in the Age of A.I.
-
Technology51 minutes agoPhilips’ new display has a screen on both sides
-
World57 minutes agoRecord number of climbers summit Mount Everest from Nepali side despite overcrowding concerns
-
Politics1 hour agoSenate GOP erupts over Trump DOJ ‘anti-weaponization’ fund, punts ICE, Border Patrol funding
-
Health1 hour ago‘Wild West’ peptide craze surges beyond GLP-1s as FDA faces pressure to ease access
-
Sports1 hour agoCollege football player William Davis cause of death revealed: report
