[Louisiana]:

JOURNAL OF THE CONVENTION TO FORM A NEW CONSTITUTION FOR THE STATE OF LOUISIANA. [OFFICIAL.].

New Orleans: Printed at the Crescent Office, 1852. 100pp. Toned with some foxing, light rubberstamp on title page. Upper blank corners of last two leaves renewed, couple of small holes in last leaf affecting about five letters. Good+ in modern boards.

The new Constitution mandated that "the Legislature shall apportion the representation among the several parishes and election districts on the basis of the total population... A representative number shall be fixed, and each parish and election district shall have as many Representatives as its aggregate population shall entitle it to." This meant that , in apportioning representatives, slaves would be counted in determining the "total population," even though the franchise was limited to adult white males. The legislative deck was thus stacked in favor of election districts with large slaveholding plantations; and the interests of that segment of the State would dominate governmental councils.
This provision created significant opposition to the proposed Constitution, which was adopted by the narrowest of margins. Many called it "anti-republican," arguing that it reflected "a calculated effort to reduce the political power of regions where the black population remained sparse" [Hyde, Pistols and Politics 70 (LSU Press: 1996)].
The Journal records the Convention's daily proceedings, during July 1852, and prints the proposed Constitution.
Jumonville 2151. Thompson 1300. Cohen 3106. Not in Harv. Law Cat. or Marke. Item #36379

Price: $750.00