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Louisiana was initially colonized by the French in the late 17th century. It was later transferred to Spanish control before officially becoming a part of the United States.

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Louisiana had no direct role in declaring independence from Great Britain in 1776. At this time, Louisiana was under Spanish control as a result of the Treaty of Paris 1763. In 1803, Louisiana officially became a part of the United States due to the Louisiana Purchase.

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Louisiana didn't have any delegates at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 because at that time it was not yet part of the United States. Louisiana was not represented when the U.S. Constitution was drafted and ratified. Louisiana does have its own state constitution. "Louisiana has had 10 constitutions since 1812." Both the U.S. Constitution and Louisiana's establish a system of government with three branches. Those are executive, legislative, and judicial.

https://lasc.libguides.com/Louisiana-Constitutions#:~:text=Louisiana%20has%20had%2010%20constitutions,additions%20to%20the%20state%20constitution.

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Land In Louisiana Owned By The United States

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Land In Louisiana Owned By The United States

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Louisiana holds various types of land owned by the United Staes government. Those lands range from national parks and forests to military bases and waterways. "The federal government owns 27.1% of all land in the United States, or 615.3 million of 2.27 billion acres. Federal lands are managed mostly for preservation, recreation, and the development of natural resources."

https://www.kalb.com/2022/06/03/see-how-much-land-louisiana-is-owned-by-federal-government/

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Louisiana receives half its revenues from the federal government. The government puts in "$19.7 billion in revenues to the $38.6 billion budget". As of March 2022, the federal government accounts for $20.3 billion of the state's $40.2 billion budget. "The year before federal funds made up $16.6 billion of the $35.7 billion total budget."

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/legislature/federal-government-pitches-in-half-of-louisianas-revenue-near-top-in-u-s/article_3d19ceaa-9c0f-11ec-b8c7-df5024c09cad.html#:~:text=In%20the%20current%20fiscal%20year,the%20%2435.7%20billion%20total%20budget

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The Louisiana Purchase was a landmark event in American history. It took place in 1803 when the United States acquired a vast territory, Louisiana, from France. "The Louisiana Purchase eventually doubled the size of the United States, greatly strengthened the country materially and strategically." The territory contained around 828,000 square miles of land and was purchased for $15 million.

https://www.britannica.com/event/Louisiana-Purchase

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John Bel Edwards is a politician was is currently in his third term as the Governor of Louisiana. He, a democrat, assumed office as the 56th Governor of Louisiana. He was a representative in the House for 8 years before being elected as governor.

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As the governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards has a wide range of duties and responsibilities. Some are

1. Overseeing the executive branch's operations like the President of the U.S.

2. Proposing budgets, managing finances

3. Crisis Management

His responsibilities don't differ a lot from the President of the United States. Those duties, among others, allows the governor to have significant impact on the State's overall well-being. "In his first official act, Gov. Edwards signed an executive order to expand Medicaid coverage to over 747,200 of the state’s working poor. Louisiana’s uninsured rate has now dropped from 22.7 percent in 2015 prior to expansion to just 9.4 percent, saving lives and improving the quality of life for citizens across the state. Gov. Edwards considers this the easiest big decision he’s had to make as Governor."

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The son of a sheriff and charity hospital nurse, John Bel Edwards understood the importance of serving others from an early age. From his service as an active duty Airborne Ranger in the U.S. Army to his time in the Louisiana House of Representatives, Gov. Edwards has always put people first.

John Bel was born seventh out of eight children to Sheriff Frank Jr. and Dora Jean Edwards. He grew up hunting and fishing in Amite, a rural town in Tangipahoa Parish. He and First Lady Donna Edwards began dating while students at Amite High School. After graduating top of his class, Gov. Edwards attended the United States Military Academy at West Point.

As a cadet, he completed Airborne School and served as vice-chairman of the panel that enforces the West Point Honor Code. The governor graduated from West Point in 1988, commissioning as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He served on active duty for 8 years, earning Airborne, Ranger and Jumpmaster status, culminating with command of a rifle company in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

He and the first lady married in 1989. They have three children: Samantha Bel, Sarah Ellen and John Miller.

After commanding a parachute infantry regiment in the 82nd airborne, Gov. Edwards retired from the Army with the rank of captain. He moved back home and earned a law degree from Louisiana State University before opening a civil law practice in his hometown of Amite.

In 2008, the people of House District 72 elected him to the Louisiana House of Representatives, where he represented the people of Amite, Greensburg, Kentwood and Hammond for eight years before being elected governor in November 2015.

On January 11, 2016, John Bel Edwards was sworn in as the 56th Governor of Louisiana.

In his first official act, Gov. Edwards signed an executive order to expand Medicaid coverage to 430,000 of the state's working poor. The decision to expand Medicaid cut Louisiana's uninsured rate from 24 percent to just 10 percent, saving lives and improving the quality of life for citizens across the state. Gov. Edwards considers this the easiest big decision he's had to make as Governor.

Upon taking the oath of office, Gov. Edwards inherited the largest budget deficit in Louisiana's history, following years of budget mismanagement, which included cuts to higher education and vital state resources and services. In 2016, the state faced a $1 billion shortfall to close out the last quarter of the fiscal year. And in 2017, the state faced a $2 billion deficit in the governor's first full fiscal year.

Gov. Edwards and a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers worked hard to stabilize the state's budget through a balanced approach. Today, higher education funding has been restored, the state's gross domestic product is the highest it's ever been and Louisiana's budget is balanced and stable.

One of the governor's top priorities coming into office was comprehensive criminal justice reform. For decades, mass incarceration plagued Louisiana, and the state led the nation in incarceration rates. Gov. Edwards signed sweeping bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation in 2017 that targets recidivism and invests in treatment programs. In 2018, the state saw a 20 percent decrease in the number of people imprisoned for non-violent crimes. Under his leadership, Louisiana shed the title of the most incarcerated state in the country.

On November 16, 2019, the people of Louisiana re-elected Gov. Edwards to another four-year term. On January 13, 2020, Gov. Edwards was sworn into his second term as the 56th Governor of Louisiana.

Gov. Edwards continues to do what the people sent him to Baton Rouge to do: Put Louisiana First. Hundreds of thousands are insured, Louisiana's budget is stable and Louisiana is open for business.

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john bel edwards
governor edwards
governor of louisiana
louisiana
louisiana governor

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The son of a sheriff and charity hospital nurse, John Bel Edwards understood the importance of serving others from an early age. From his service as an active duty Airborne Ranger in the U.S. Army to his time in the Louisiana House of Representatives, Gov. Edwards has always put people first.

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Voting and elections in Louisiana follow the general framework established by federal laws and regulations. "All registered voters in Louisiana have the right to vote in elections for candidates and propositions on the ballot where they reside. The only closed election in Louisiana is the Presidential Preference Primary held every four years in the spring before the presidential election". Louisiana has requirements for the voters. They have to present identification when voting at the polls. Acceptable forms include drivers licenses, ID card, or a passport. The purpose of this is to be able to verify and validate the identity of the voter. Louisiana allows both in-person voting and absentee voting, which is by mail. Those are just some key aspects of voting and elections in Louisiana.

https://www.sos.la.gov/ElectionsAndVoting/Vote/Pages/default.aspx

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The senate is one of the two chambers of the Louisiana State Legislature. It is composed of senators who represent different districts within the state. Those senators are elected by the citizen of Louisiana. They serve a 4 year terms. The number of senators for the district is based on the population.

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The House of Representatives is the second chamber of the Louisiana State Legislature. It consists of representatives who are elected for 4 year terms by the citizens of Louisiana to serve the House. Like the Senate, the number of representatives are based on the population. It plays a crucial role in the legislative process.

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Louisiana has a bureaucracy that consists of various state agencies, departments, and offices that are responsible for implementing and administering laws and regulations. For example, Executive Branch Agencies. Theses agencies focus on specific areas such as education, healthcare, transportation, and etc. The Louisiana Department of Education "is built on the premise that Louisiana students are just as capable as any students in America."

https://www.louisianabelieves.com/resources/about-us

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Louisiana's judicial system consists of serval courts that handles different cases at different levels. The structure of the courts allow this to occur form trail courts to appellate courts, with the Louisiana Supreme Court severing as the final authority on the state law matters.

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The Louisiana Supreme Court is the highest court in them state and serves as the court of last resort. "The state's highest court, the Supreme Court, devotes much of its time to considering applications for writs to the lower courts."

https://www.lsba.org/Public/CourtStructure.aspx

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Louisiana has five intermediate appellate courts, known as the Courts of Appeal, divided into districts. These courts review appeals from lower courts, such as district courts.

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Louisiana's district courts are trial courts with general jurisdiction. They handle both civil and criminal cases, including major civil disputes, felony criminal cases, family law matters, and etc.

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These courts focus on cases that involve minors. That includes "delinquency proceedings involving persons under the age of 21 who commit delinquent acts before attaining 17 years of age."

https://www.lsba.org/Public/CourtStructure.aspx

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Civil Liberties refer to the fundamental rights and freedom of individuals posses and are protected by the law.

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Plessy v. Ferguson is a good example of a legal case centered around the "preservation" of civil liberties. "The case stemmed from an 1892 incident in which African American train passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a car for Black people."

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/plessy-v-ferguson

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Civil rights refer to rights that are given to all individuals by their of status as human beings and citizens of a country. They are intended to ensure equality, fairness, and protection from discrimination.

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"Gideon v. Wainwright" was a case in the area of civil rights, ensuring that the right to legal representation is afforded to all individuals accused of crimes, regardless of their financial position enhancing fairness and equality within the criminal justice system. This case is associated with the Sixth Amendment.

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The Republican Party has gained support from this population heavily. This supports leads to a partisan makeup that tilts in their favor. John Bel Edwards is the governor and he is a Democrat. Although, the Democrats maintain control over the executive branch now, Republicans have control of both chamber of the legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate.

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Like many states, Louisiana struggle with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There are many discussion and developments regarding vaccine distribution, public health measures, and the economic impact on the state.

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1. The Advocate

2. WWL-TV

3. WAFB-TV

4. NOLA.com

Those are just SOME of the many different outlets that the citizen use to keep up with the news of Louisiana.

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"Public opinion occurs when a large group of people within society express an opinion. Public opinion can include a collective idea that everyone agrees with or a combination of many different opinions."

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Louisianas's stance on social issues such as abortions. LGBTQ+ rights, gun control can differ from national averages. There can be different viewpoints that are affected by cultural and religious factors. Views on healthcare, access to healthcare, and responses to public health crises like COVID-19 align with national concerns.