Battle of Liberty Place Monument
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The Battle of Liberty Place Monument is a stone
obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
on an inscribed plinth, formerly on display in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
, in the U.S. state of
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, commemorating the "
Battle of Liberty Place The Battle of Liberty Place, or Battle of Canal Street, was an attempted insurrection and coup d'etat by the Crescent City White League against the Reconstruction Era Louisiana Republican state government on September 14, 1874, in New Orleans ...
", an 1874 attempt by Democratic
White League The White League, also known as the White Man's League, was a white paramilitary terrorist organization started in the Southern United States in 1874 to intimidate freedmen into not voting and prevent Republican Party political organizing. Its f ...
paramilitary organizations to take control of the
government of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
from its
Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...
Republican leadership after a disputed gubernatorial election. Erected in 1891 by a Southern Democratic-dominated city government in honor of the White League, the
obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
became the site of protests and rallies by both white supremacists and those who objected to it as a symbol of racism. It was removed in 2017 amid great controversy and threats of violence and was placed in storage.


Background

The
1872 Louisiana gubernatorial election The 1872 Louisiana gubernatorial election was the second election to take place under the Louisiana Constitution of 1868. As a result of this election William Pitt Kellogg was elected Governor of Louisiana, but not before federal troops stepped ...
was a particularly contentious contest between Democrat
John McEnery John McEnery (1 November 1943 – 12 April 2019) was an English actor and writer. Born in Birmingham, he trained (1962–1964) at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, playing, among others, Mosca in Ben Jonson's ''Volpone'' and Gaveston ...
and Republican William Pitt Kellogg. In a close contest, Kellogg was declared the winner by outgoing Republican
Henry C. Warmoth Henry Clay Warmoth (May 9, 1842 – September 30, 1931) was an American attorney and veteran Civil War officer in the Union Army who was elected governor and state representative of Louisiana. A Republican, he was 26 years old when elected as 23 ...
. Democratic forces in the state legislature succeeded in impeaching Warmoth after this action, and both Kellogg and McEnery claimed victory. Kellogg's win was later certified by the federal government. McEnery and his supporters continued to dispute the result, and in 1874 established a competing legislature. In September 1874, a paramilitary force called the
White League The White League, also known as the White Man's League, was a white paramilitary terrorist organization started in the Southern United States in 1874 to intimidate freedmen into not voting and prevent Republican Party political organizing. Its f ...
entered the city (then the state capital) to forcibly unseat Kellogg. On September 19, they defeated city and state police and militia in the
Battle of Liberty Place The Battle of Liberty Place, or Battle of Canal Street, was an attempted insurrection and coup d'etat by the Crescent City White League against the Reconstruction Era Louisiana Republican state government on September 14, 1874, in New Orleans ...
and occupied government buildings; they withdrew after President
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
sent federal troops to the city.


History

In 1891, as the Democratic-controlled legislature passed laws that disenfranchised most black Americans,Michael Perman.''Struggle for Mastery: Disfranchisement in the South, 1888-1908''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001, Introduction the government of the City of New Orleans erected the Liberty Monument to "commemorate the uprising" of 1874, in the city. The monument was prominently placed in the neutral ground (median) near the foot of Canal Street. In 1932, inscriptions were added to the monument which attested to the battle's role in establishing
white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...
. By the late 20th century, after civil rights achievements, many residents, especially in the black and
Italian American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...
communities, objected to the monument as a symbol of
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
. (During the 1891 Hennessy affair, a New Orleans mob had lynched eleven Italian men; the lynching had helped revive the stalled fundraising campaign for the Liberty Place Monument.) In 1965 the monument was dismantled and temporarily removed during major demolition and construction projects in the area. Already controversial, it was put back despite objections in 1970. It was subject to protests and vandalism with some regularity. In 1974, the city government added a plaque at the foot of the monument that acknowledged the history but officially distanced the city from the racist philosophy of previous generations. In 1976, the
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
Youth Council formally called for the monument's removal. The
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
and other white nationalists used the monument as a rallying point. In 1981, New Orleans mayor Ernest "Dutch" Morial called for the monument to be removed "because of what it symbolizes, has long been a source of divisiveness in our community" and "in the interest of public harmony, it is time to lay this monument to rest." The City Council blocked Morial's attempt to remove the monument but agreed to remove the inscription touting "white supremacy" in what was described as a "compromise." In 1989, the monument was removed during major street work on Canal Street, and many residents opposed its return. The city tried to negotiate removing the inscriptions. Some people argued for the monument's restoration at the original location. The content of the inscriptions was seldom discussed; rather, the issues were dealt with on technical grounds. Historic preservation officials argued for its replacement; others argued that it was history that did not deserve commemoration. On July 16, 1993, the New Orleans City Council voted 6 to 1 to declare the monument a nuisance. It was taken to a warehouse, with the intention to move it to an indoor museum. The council eventually permitted its installation at a less prominent location, a short distance off Canal Street (at the river end of Iberville Street) between the One Canal Place parking garage and a floodwall. The white supremacist David Duke cited the monument as a symbol of "white pride" and, in 2004, tried to stage a rally by it. The monument was frequently vandalized as the target of anti-racist and anti-Nazi
graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
. It was one of three monuments vandalized in March 2012 by a group that noted the divisive nature of a monument favoring a racist past. The graffiti referenced the New Orleans Police Department killings of Justin Sipp and Wendell Allen as well as the killing of Trayvon Martin. A local businessman led his staff in cleaning up the monuments; he said that after
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
, residents needed to build the city together.Katy Reckdahl, "3 defaced New Orleans monuments are cleaned by volunteers"
''The Times-Picayune'', March 2012
In July 2015, the
Charleston church shooting On June 17, 2015, a mass shooting occurred in Charleston, South Carolina, in which nine African Americans were killed during a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Among those people who were killed was the senior past ...
caused many Southern states and communities to rethink the public display of Confederate symbols and monuments. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu called for the Liberty Place monument and statues honoring
Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...
and other Confederate notables to be removed from prominent public spaces and explained "that's what museums are for." The idea drew both support and resistance, and the city council voted unanimously to hold public hearings to discuss the proposal. In October 2016, on
Mischief Night Mischief Night is an informal holiday on which children, teenagers and adults (both young and old) engage in jokes, pranks, vandalism and/or parties. It is known by a variety of names including Devil's Night, Gate Night, Goosey Night, Moving Nig ...
, a group of angry paraders converged on the monument. The monument was covered in antiracist graffiti and parts of the inscription were smashed with sledgehammers. When the police tried to intervene, they were attacked with paint, and a bonfire was lit. In December 2016, the council voted to remove the monument, and its move was upheld by a federal appeals court in March 2017. Under the cover of darkness because of threats of violence, the monument was removed in the early hours of April 24, 2017, a day that was observed in
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
and
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
as Confederate Memorial Day. With heavy police presence, workers wore bulletproof jackets and were protected by police snipers in the face of threats of violence. Mayor Landrieu stated that the statue would be moved into storage before being relocated into "a museum or other facility." A seven-person Monument Relocation Committee was set up by Mayor
LaToya Cantrell LaToya Cantrell (''née'' Wilder; born April 3, 1972) is an American politician serving as the Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana since May 7, 2018. A Democrat, Cantrell is the first woman to hold the office. Before becoming mayor, Cantrell represe ...
to advise on what to do with the removed monuments. The Battle of Liberty Place Monument will remain in storage.


Inscriptions

The following inscription was added in 1932: In 1974, the city government added an adjacent marker, which stated: When the monument was moved in 1993, some of the original inscriptions were removed, and replaced with new inscriptions that state in part:


See also

* Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials


Related sources

* The monument is featured in '' Lies Across America,'' a 1999 book by James Loewen. Wagner, Jacob. A. 2004. The myth of Liberty Place: Race and Public Memory in New Orleans, 1874-1993. University of New Orleans ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  2004. 3127791.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liberty Monument (New Orleans, Louisiana) 1891 establishments in Louisiana 1891 sculptures 2017 disestablishments in Louisiana Obelisks in the United States Outdoor sculptures in Louisiana Reconstruction Era Vandalized works of art in Louisiana White League White supremacy in the United States