Investing in Citizenship: Free Men of Color of Color and the case against Citizens Bank ~ Antebellum LouisianaPosted in Dissertations, History, Law, Louisiana, Media Archive, United States on 2012-04-27 01:56Z by Steven |
University of New Orleans
December 2011
58 pages
A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of New Orleans in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History
Despite the popularity of free people of color in New Orleans as a research topic, the history of free people of color remains misunderstood. The prevailing view of free people of color is that of people who: engaged in plaçage, attended quadroon balls, were desperately dependent upon the dominant population, and were uninterested or afraid to garner rights for themselves. Contemporary historians have endeavored to amend this stereotypical perception; this study aims to be a part of the trend of revisionist history through an in-depth analysis of the co-plaintiffs in Boisdoré and Goulé, f.p.c., v. Citizens Bank and their case. Because Boisdoré and Goulé sue at critical time in New Orleans history, three decades after the Louisiana Purchase during the American transformation of New Orleans, their case epitomizes the era in which it occurs. In bringing suit, Boisdoré and Goulé attempted to thwart some of those forth coming changes.
Table of Contents
- Abstract
- Investing in Citizenship: Free Men of Color of Color and the case against Citizens Bank ~ Antebellum Louisiana
- Historiography of Citizens Bank and Free People of Color
- Historical Scholarship of Free People of Color in New Orleans
- Francois Boisdoré and John Goulé as Free People of Color in New Orleans
- Citizens Bank
- Boisdoré and Goulé’s Legal Counsel: Judah Benjamin and Christian Roselius
- Boisdoré and Goulé v. Citizens Bank
- Implications of the Case
- Changes in Nineteenth Century New Orleans
- Bibliography
- Vita
Read the entire thesis here.