Louisiana State Museum

Publication

Medley of Cultures contains essays on topics in Louisiana history from European exploration through the Reconstruction period, all based on recent scholarship. Chapters expand on information presented in the exhibit text, including cultural, economic, educational, and recreational history; disease and death; and epochal events like the Battle of New Orleans and the Civil War.

Printing and all distribution costs--including one copy to every school and parish library in Louisiana--was made possible by a grant to the Louisiana Museum Foundation from the Booth-Bricker Fund.

Initial research for the essays was supported by a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. The book was written by former State Museum historian, Dr. Kimberly Hanger, and edited by our current historian, Dr. Karen Leathem.

A Medley of Cultures is available for downloading in the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). In order to view and print the files, you will need the Adobe Reader, which is available for free. If you do not have the Reader, click on the GET ACROBAT READER icon to download the application. Click the links below to download each chapter.

1. Introduction (59k)

Finding Louisiana: Early Exploration
Colonial Louisiana; The Louisiana Purchase
The Territorial Period: A Louisiana Laboratory Antebellum Louisiana

2. A Multitude of Cultures: The People of Louisiana (169k). New Cultures: from Old:

Cultural Exchange in Colonial and Antebellum Louisiana
Population Growth
Ethnic and Racial Groups
Conclusion
Selected Bibliography

3. The Driving Force: Economic Activity in Louisiana(131k)

Louisiana Indian Economic Activities on the Eve of European Settlement
Colonial Economies: To Run After Fortune in Every Way Imaginable
Antebellum Economies: Rural and Urban
Changes Wrought by the Civil War and Reconstruction
Conclusion
Selected Bibliography

4. Education in Louisiana (35k)

Introduction
Colonial Education
Antebellum Education
Reconstruction Reforms in Education
Conclusion
Selected Bibliography

5. Leisure, Recreation, and the Arts: High and Popular Culture in Louisiana(86k).

Introduction
Theater and Opera
Dancing
Carnival Celebrations
Religious Observances
Musicians
Making an Appearance: Promenading, Shopping, and Dining
Ball Games and Other Amusements
Drinking and Gambling
Conclusion
Selected Bibliography

6. Not at All Healthful:Disease and Death in Colonial and Antebellum Louisiana (66k)

Disease
Causes, Cures, and Proposed Solutions
Healers and Facilities
Cemeteries
Conclusion
Selected Bibliography

7. Test of Loyalty: the Battle of New Orleans (59k)

Those Who Fought and Those Who Did Not
Plan of Harrassment: Preliminary Engagements
The Battle of New Orleans
Aftermath of the Battle of New Orleans
Conclusion
Selected Bibliography

8. Civil War Louisiana (130k)

Election of 1860
Preparing for War
Secession
On the Battlefield
Men in Gray and Blue: Louisiana Officials and Troops
On the Homefront
Beast Butler: The Most Hated Man in Louisiana Folklore
Conclusion
Selected Bibliography

9.Politics and Race Relations in Reconstructed Louisiana (84k)

While War Still Raged: A State Divided
To Give Meaning to Freedom: A New Racial Order in Louisiana
Radical Reconstruction in Louisiana
Return to Home Rule: The Election of 1876 and the
Compromise of 1877
Conclusion
Selected Bibliography

This publication details the 1990-1991 archaeological dig in the Cabildo courtyard as well as a brief history of the buildings that occupied the site. The artifacts found help tell the story of the prison complex that made up part of the New Orleans criminal justice system from the 1720s until 1914.

This publication was made possible with support from the Zemurray Foundation and the Friends of the Cabildo.

Other Publications

A Social History of the American Alligator
The Earth Trembles with His Thunder
by Vaughn L. Glasgow
Available through the Friends of the Cabildo Museum Store, the Louisiana Museum Foundation, and quality bookstores.

Elegance After Dark: Evening Wear in Louisiana, 1896-1996
Exhibit catalog
Available through the Louisiana State Museum and the Friends of the Cabildo Museum Store.

Louisiana's Black Heritage
General Editors:Robert R. MacDonald, John R. Kemp,
Edward F. Haas
Available through the Friends of the Cabildo Museum Store, the Louisiana Museum Foundation.

Louisiana's Legal Heritage
Studies in Louisiana Culture
Editor, Edward F. Haas
Available through the Friends of the Cabildo Museum Store, the Louisiana Museum Foundation.

Napoleon and America
Editor, Robert B. Holtman
Available through the Friends of the Cabildo Museum Store, the Louisiana Museum Foundation.


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