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The District of Louisiana or Louisiana District was an official United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 government designation for the portion of the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of the French territory Louisiana in 1803. The U.S. paid 60 million French franc plus cancellation of debts worth 18 million francs , a total cost of $15,000,000 for the Louisiana territory....
 that had not been organized into the Territory of Orleans. The area north of present-day Arkansas
Arkansas

Arkansas is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States of the United States. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River....
 was also known as Upper Louisiana. The Louisiana District was also an administrative division under French and Spanish rule.
egislation enacted October 31, 1803, Congress made provisions for a temporary government of the territory purchased from France.






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The District of Louisiana or Louisiana District was an official United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 government designation for the portion of the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of the French territory Louisiana in 1803. The U.S. paid 60 million French franc plus cancellation of debts worth 18 million francs , a total cost of $15,000,000 for the Louisiana territory....
 that had not been organized into the Territory of Orleans. The area north of present-day Arkansas
Arkansas

Arkansas is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States of the United States. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River....
 was also known as Upper Louisiana. The Louisiana District was also an administrative division under French and Spanish rule.

Military District of Louisiana

In legislation enacted October 31, 1803, Congress made provisions for a temporary government of the territory purchased from France. The President was authorized to use military forces to maintain order, although local civil government was to continue as it had under French and Spanish rule. This military rule was in effect from March 10, 1804 (the official date of transfer from French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 hands on Three Flags Day
Three Flags Day

Three Flags Day commemorates March 9 and 10, 1804, when Spain officially turned over Louisiana Territory to France, which in turn ceded the territory to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase....
) until September 30, 1804 with Amos Stoddard
Amos Stoddard

Amos Stoddard was the only commandant of Upper Louisiana for the French Republic and the only commandant for the District of Louisiana for the United States in 1804 during the handover of the Louisiana Purchase....
 serving as commandant.

Civilian District of Louisiana

On March 26, 1804, Congress enacted legislation effective October 1, 1804, that extended the authority of the Governor and Judges of Indiana Territory
Indiana Territory

Indiana Territory was an organized territory of the United States from 1800 to 1816, created by United States Congress and signed into law by President John Adams on May 7, 1800, effective on July 4....
 to provide temporary jurisdiction over the District of Louisiana. In 1804, Indiana Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison was an Military history of the United States and Politics of the United States, the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States, and the first president to die in office....
 and Territorial Judges Davis, Griffin, and Vandenberg held court in the District capital of St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri, located near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St....
 and enacted laws for the region.

Under the terms of the act establishing the temporary government, the Governor and Judges of the Indiana Territory were supposed to meet twice a year in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri, located near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St....
. However, the settlers on the west bank were to complain about the arrangement noting:

  • Protests of policies not recognizing Spanish land grants (including property belonging to Daniel Boone
    Daniel Boone

    Daniel Boone [October 22 , 1734 – September 26, 1820] was an American pioneer and hunting whose frontier exploits made him one of the first Folklore of the United States of the United States....
    )
  • Protests of policies evicting settlers from land in anticipation that much of the territory would be given to Native Americans who were to be relocated west of the Mississippi.
  • Protests over the implementation of common law
    Common law

    Common law refers to law and the corresponding Legal systems of the world developed through legal opinion of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through statute law or Executive ....
     when the land had been governed previously by civil law
    Civil law (legal system)

    Civil law is a most prevalent legal system in the modern world and the oldest in human history. It is based on a code, or "a systematic collection of interrelated articles written in a terse, staccato style." The two other major legal systems in the world are common law and Islamic law....
     (along with the introduction of taxes)
  • Lack of provision for schooling the French speaking majority on the west side.
  • Concerns that Northwest Ordinance provisions prohibiting slavery would be implemented on the west side where slaves had historically been owned.
  • Protests that Vincennes was more than 180 miles away


Settlers from the Louisiana District which had been broken up into five districts on the annexation (New Madrid, Cape Girardeau, Ste. Genevieve, St. Charles and St. Louis) met in St. Louis in September 1804 to formally protest the annexation. Among the signers of the declaration were Auguste Chouteau.

One of the most notable events during this period was the Treaty of St. Louis
Treaty of St. Louis

The Treaty of St. Louis is one of many treaties signed between the United States and various Native Americans in the United States tribes....
 in which the Sac (tribe)
Sac (tribe)

The Sauks or Sacs from where their French language and English language names are derived) are a group of Native Americans in the United Statess of the Eastern Woodlands culture group....
 and Fox (tribe)
Fox (tribe)

The Fox tribe of Native Americans in the United States?or Meskwaki?are an Algonquian language-speaking group that are now merged with the allied Sac tribe as the Sac and Fox Nation....
 ceded northeastern Missouri, northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin to the United States. Resentments over this treaty were to cause the tribes to side with the British during the War of 1812
War of 1812

The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , was fought from 1812 to 1815.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S....
 in raids along the Missouri, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and was to spur the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War

The Black Hawk War was fought in 1832 in the Midwestern United States. The war was named for Black Hawk , a war chief of the Sauk, Fox , and Kickapoo Native Americans in the United States, whose British Band fought against the United States Army and militia from Illinois and the Michigan Territory for possession of lands in the area....
 in 1832.

On March 3, 1805, Congress enacted legislation organizing the District of Louisiana into the Louisiana Territory
Louisiana Territory

Louisiana Territory was a historic organized territory of the United States consisting of the portion of the Louisiana Purchase that was not partitioned off into Territory of Orleans, which later became the state of Louisiana....
, effective July 4, 1805. This territorial government was organized similarly to that of the Indiana Territory
Indiana Territory

Indiana Territory was an organized territory of the United States from 1800 to 1816, created by United States Congress and signed into law by President John Adams on May 7, 1800, effective on July 4....
.

See also

  • Louisiana (New France)
    Louisiana (New France)

    Louisiana or French Louisiana was the name of an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682-1763 and 1803-04, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV of France, by French explorer Ren?-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle....
  • New France
    New France

    The Viceroyalty of New France was the area French colonization of the Americas by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River, by Jacques Cartier in 1534, to the cession of New France to Spain and Kingdom of Great Britain in 1763....