Tim--French+Quarter,+New+Orleans

Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler By Tim Mixson Downtown New Orleans is a very historic place that is a major contributor to the early history of the United States. I first found interest in the beautiful city of New Orleans when I visited on New Year’s Day in 2008. The liveliness of the town and the joyful people that roam its streets drew me in and made it my favorite place of everywhere I’ve been. If you ever have the chance to visit this great town with an amazing southern drawl, I advise you to go. The fact that New Orleans is nothing like any other place you will ever go is why I love Southeast Louisiana and its people.

The “City by the River” is an important part United States, and important to the settlement of the western world. New Orleans has been owned by three different countries in its history and many battles have been held in and around it (Pearson). The Big Easy is the 4th largest port city in America (Pearson) and was the largest city in the Southern United States for many decades (Reeves). The city is almost always recognized with the birthplace of Jazz music (McNulty). Many things have distinguished New Orleans from other city’s histories and it has continued to happen that make it so unique.

New Orleans has changed a lot since when it was formed but it is still full of history. The area around the Mississippi’s Delta was found by French explorers in the 1700’s and was named the “French Quarter” around 1720 (Pearson). New Orleans was taken over by the Spanish and they began to use it as a port so thatthey could control the inland’s trading. After forty years under Spanish power, the French reclaimed the Mississippi Delta after it had under gone a major economic boost. Southeast Louisiana was bought in the Louisiana Purchase and New Orleans officially became a U.S. city in 1805 (Pearson).This area has flown many different flags in its history and we are lucky that we ended up with it.

Over the years, fires, floods, hurricanes, and battles have reshaped the city’s layout and made it different from any other city (Reeves). America (led by Andrew Jackson) defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans in 1821 (Pearson). In 1840, New Orleans was the south’s largest city with over 100,000 citizens (Pearson) and that lead to a major catastrophe in the 1850’s when yellow fever killed many, denting the city’s population (Pearson). a long period of time in the 1800’s, many African slaves were brought over to Louisiana and lived in and around New Orleans. They brought their customs such as voodoo overseas and they were welcomed and accepted. This is how there are many different religions in this region (Pearson).

In 1862, New Orleans was captured by the Union in the Civil War due to poor protection by the Confederate Army (Pearson). After the wars were over, the Cajuns got back to their old ways of celebrating and having fun, Jazz music was invented in the late 19th century in the city and became very popular in the American culture around that time (McNulty). In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and completely flooded the whole city except for the French Quarter (Pearson). Hundreds of thousands of people had to evacuate and the town has not been the same since. They are still in the recovery process five years later and many buildings are still empty. Lately has been a tough time for them but the town is closer than ever to having everything restored.

More recently, Downtown New Orleans has been used for events such as hosting Saints games and celebrating wins on Bourbon Street (frenchquarter.com). The Louisiana Superdome is often used for events in New Orleans such as the “Allstate Sugar Bowl”, New Orleans Saints football, and Tulane University football. It was ruined during Hurricane Katrina and restored to be one of the top athletic facilities in America. Another event that is uniquely New Orleans is the catholic celebration of Mardi gras (Reeves). The whole town is basically closed down for the parades that lead up to Fat Tuesday and thousands of people attend every year.

One of the reasons that makes New Orleans unique is that it has many buildings that were built hundreds of years ago still standing. The Saint Louis Cathedral is one of the oldest churches in America and is Downtown in Jackson Square (Reeves). One of the oldest cemeteries in America is the Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1; it was started by French settlers in 1768 (Benson). One of the more popular restaurants downtown is Café du Monde; it is famous for beignets and coffee and is filled to capacity at almost every time of day (Pearson). Also in Jackson Square, City Park is a popular hangout. The park has been there since 1854 and is the 5th largest park in America (Pearson). All of these places and more are why tourists and historians love to visit here.

New Orleans has made it through fire, flood, disease, and war and it is still here and still going strong. The future looks bright and I believe that if they can overcome everything that they have gone through, the future is bright. One thing that needs to be done know and will continue to be done is restoration to old buildings. Many buildings are falling apart and the city is doing a great job of preserving the history behind their walls. Also, the town will continue to hold their great celebration of Mardi gras, which is a celebration that will probably never end and the Louisiana Superdome will continue to host New Orleans Saints games as they have since 1967. Downtown New Orleans is a very historic place and a major contributor to the early history of the United States. Louisiana is the greatest place on earth and I hope that you agree with me.  Works Cited // America: Land of Beauty and Splendor. // Pleasantville, New York: Reader’s Digest, 1991.  Pearson, John. “New Orleans.” // Let's Take a Look at Louisiana  // 2010  Benson, Jyl. “History.” // frenchquarter.com // 2010. Accessed on 10/28/20   McNulty, Ian. “History.” // frenchquarter.com // 2010. Accessed on 10/28/10   Reeves, Sally. “History.” // frenchquarter.com //2010. Accessed on 10/28/10   Reeves, Sally. “History.” // frenchquarter.com //2010. Accessed on 10/28/10// < // http://frenchquarter.com/history/Spanish-French-Roots-New-Orleans.php>