2016 Sunset Report

OLG & DCRT Strategic Plan
2020-21 through 2024-25

       

Did you know?

W.C.C. Claiborne and The State Seal


Colonial Catholicism Events Surrounding the Purchase A Wall of Separation The Battle of New Orleans
W.C.C. Claiborne and The State Seal The Arrival of Religious Diversity Religion, Race, and Slavery Antonio Sedella & Religious Diversity

William C.C. Claiborne was present as an American emissary at the Louisiana Purchase Transfer Ceremony in the Cabildo on December 20, 1803, and was named Governor of the Territory of Orleans shortly thereafter. Although his popularity waxed and waned, Claiborne garnered enough respect to be elected the first Governor of Louisiana upon the achievement of statehood in 1812.

Some suggest that W.C.C. Claiborne’s fascination with the area’s pelicans led him to select it as a symbol for the earliest version of the state seal. That symbol, known as the Pelican and her Piety, depicts the selflessness of the mother bird in opening her own breast to feed her young. The image is an allusion to the generosity of Christ in shedding his blood to atone for the sins of mankind. The symbol had been in use for nearly a century before it was standardized and formally adopted by the State of Louisiana in 1902.


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State Seal




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State Flag