This LibGuide is an attempt to set down where and why people in Louisiana were locked up prior to the early 20th century. Most people today might assume that this task involves nothing more than listing the locations of jails and prisons. They would be wrong. For most of Louisiana’s history, its people were divided into different legal classes, which meant that they had very different legal rights and protections. The officials authorized to enforce laws also went through many different transitions; they did not resemble modern police officers.
In Louisiana, incarceration, punishment, and its interpretations went through many different transitions. Many actions will seem cruel and “foreign” to present practices. Also, the focus of this LibGuide is on incarceration for violation of laws, not on incarceration for insanity or mental incompetence.
Throughout its history, Louisiana has been shaped by the mentality of Us vs Them. At first, it was the French settlers vs. the native peoples, and then French vs. enslaved people and free people of color. When Spain acquired the colony, it was Spanish vs. French. When America acquired the colony, it was Americans vs. "natives." Beginning in 1836, New Orleans was actually split into three separate cities, in which one was American, and one was French. This lasted for fifteen years. There is also the division of New Orleans vs. the rest of Louisiana. After the Civil War, it was Republicans vs. Democrats and the White League.
This Us vs. Them mentality also shaped policing. Citizen groups existed to control the enslaved population. A large and armed gendarmerie was created to control the enslaved population. When this force and subsequent policing forces became too powerful vis-à-vis Us, they were cut and re-organized. When the police force had too many foreign-born members, they were removed. In the 19th century, the New Orleans police forces were regularly re-organized because of finances and political realities.
Who was locked up? Them. Enslaved people were regularly incarcerated. Lower classes and visitors were locked up for vagrancy, drunkenness, and poverty. There were Black Codes. People were locked up in guard-houses, police stations, recorders courts, jails, prisons, workhouses, slave stores, and even private homes.
