[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1359 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1359
Condemning the atrocities that occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, on
July 30, 1866, in which a White supremacist mob brutalized, terrorized,
and killed dozens of Black Americans, and reaffirming the commitment of
the House of Representatives to supporting the fundamental right to
vote and to combating hatred, injustice, and White supremacy.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 15, 2024
Mr. Carter of Louisiana (for himself and Ms. Williams of Georgia)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning the atrocities that occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, on
July 30, 1866, in which a White supremacist mob brutalized, terrorized,
and killed dozens of Black Americans, and reaffirming the commitment of
the House of Representatives to supporting the fundamental right to
vote and to combating hatred, injustice, and White supremacy.
Whereas, throughout United States history, people organizing and advocating for
civil rights, especially for Black Americans, have faced deadly violence
or the threat thereof;
Whereas, in the aftermath of the Civil War, numerous States passed ``Black
Codes'' that aimed to disenfranchise Black Americans and limit the
rights of former slaves;
Whereas, in 1864, a Constitutional Convention in Louisiana adopted a new State
constitution that abolished slavery but did not recognize Black people's
right to vote;
Whereas, in December 1865, the General Assembly of Louisiana passed a series of
laws that amounted to a ``Black Code'', restricting the freedom of
former slaves and cementing White supremacist rule;
Whereas the provisions of Louisiana's Black Code conflicted with the soon-to-be-
passed Civil Rights Act of 1866;
Whereas spring 1866 elections in Louisiana resulted in many ex-Confederates
winning seats over pro-Union and pro-voting rights candidates;
Whereas, in June 1866, 2 weeks after Congress's passage of the 14th Amendment,
several original convention members and Louisiana Governor J. Madison
Wells called for 1864 Convention members to meet to discuss the
possibility of reconvening the 1864 Constitutional Convention to revise
the State constitution;
Whereas Historian Gilles Vandal asserted that ``The Civil Rights Act and its
enforcement became closely connected to the controversial question of
reconvening the 1864 Convention in late July 1866'';
Whereas, on July 27, 1866, Governor Wells appointed Louisiana Supreme Court
Judge R.K. Howell President pro tempore of the 1864 Convention, who in
turn called for the Convention to reconvene on July 30, 1866, after the
previous president of the Convention refused to recall the Convention;
Whereas New Orleans Mayor John T. Monroe, who had been previously removed from
office for refusing to pledge loyalty to the Union, declared the
Convention an ``unlawful assemblage'';
Whereas, in advance of the Convention and foreseeing potential violence, the
local army commander requested permission to intervene in the case of
violence; President Johnson failed to provide such an order;
Whereas, on July 30, 1866, 25 members of the Convention gathered at the
Mechanic's Institute in New Orleans to reconvene the Convention of 1864,
but they failed to meet the quorum.
Whereas a group of approximately 200 unarmed Black Americans, many of whom were
veterans, marched up Burgundy Street to the Mechanic's Institute to
demonstrate support of the Convention's intended expansion of the
franchise, and protesters opposing the goals of the convention also
gathered outside the Institute at the corner of Common and Dryades
Streets;
Whereas taunting and vitriol directed at the Black marchers led to an initial
exchange of violence;
Whereas police monitoring the Institute began firing on the marchers, and
protesters and police besieged the Convention attendees inside the
Institute;
Whereas 2 to 3 hours of brutal violence led to an official total of 38
individuals killed and 146 wounded, with 34 of the dead and 119 of the
wounded being Black and 3 of the dead being White Convention delegates,
and some unofficial estimates have the number of Black Americans dead
much higher;
Whereas 261 Black and 4 White Americans were arrested for rioting;
Whereas General Absalom Baird, who had denied Mayor Monroe's request for help in
arresting the Convention delegates, wired to Secretary of War Edwin
Stanton that afternoon, ``Immediately after this riot assumed a serious
character, the police, aided by the citizens, became the assailants, and
from the evidence I am forced to believe, exercised great brutality in
making their arrests. Finally, they attacked the Convention hall and a
protracted struggle ensued. The people inside the hall gave up some who
surrendered, and were attacked afterward and brutally treated.'';
Whereas, in reporting to Ulysses S. Grant at the Department of War, General
Philip Sheridan noted that the peaceful delegates and supporters were
attacked ``with fire-arms, clubs, and knives, in a manner so unnecessary
and atrocious as to compel me to say that it was murder . . . It was no
riot. It was an absolute massacre by the police, which was not excelled
in murderous cruelty by that of Fort Pillow. It was a murder which the
Mayor and police of the city perpetrated without the shadow of a
necessity.'';
Whereas opposition to the violence inflicted upon people attempting to ensure
voting rights for Black Americans during the New Orleans Riots was a
major issue in the election of 1866, and spurred the election of
Presidential-veto-proof, pro-civil rights congressional majorities;
Whereas, on December 6, 1866, the House of Representatives established a Select
Committee to investigate the New Orleans Riots;
Whereas, on February 11, 1867, the Committee released its report saying in part
``in view of the facts proved we are constrained to say that the time
has fully arrived when Congress should intervene and should so legislate
as to secure to the people of Louisiana a republican form of government
. . . Until a loyal State of Louisiana exists in full political accord
with the United States, and the demand of the Constitution is complied
with that a government in republican form shall be guaranteed to the
State, the objects of the war will not have been attained.'';
Whereas, on March 2, 1867, Congress overrode a Presidential veto to enact the
First Reconstruction Act, which divided the former Confederate States
into 5 military zones and set conditions for readmission, including
requiring each southern State to draft a new State constitution that
enfranchised Black male voters and required the southern States to
ratify the 14th Amendment;
Whereas, upon taking control of New Orleans under the Reconstruction Act,
General Sheridan dismissed Mayor Monroe for his role in the New Orleans
Riots;
Whereas discussion of the New Orleans Riots was a significant driver of and a
major part of the congressional debate about the First Reconstruction
Act;
Whereas a number of historians have asserted that the brutality and horror of
the New Orleans Riots of 1866 gave impetus to the passage of the
Reconstruction Acts, and ultimately ratification of the 14th and 15th
Amendments; and
Whereas the New Orleans Riots were just a small part of a broader campaign of
violence designed to prevent Black Americans from having their right to
vote recognized: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the actions of the White supremacist mob that
massacred voting rights organizers in New Orleans, Louisiana,
on July 30, 1866;
(2) honors the memory of the victims and acknowledges the
lasting impact that this incident has had on the Black
community of New Orleans, Louisiana;
(3) recognizes that the Federal legislation catalyzed by
the New Orleans Riots, including the Reconstruction Act, the
14th Amendment, and the 15th Amendment, are centerpieces of the
United States attempt at inclusive, accessible, multiracial
democracy;
(4) recognizes that the goals of the legislation catalyzed
by the New Orleans Riots are still unrealized, and reaffirms
the commitment of the Federal Government to the goals of
meaningful universal voting rights held by the Convention
delegates and their supporters;
(5) expresses support for the designation of a national day
of remembrance for the victims of the campaign of violence that
attempted to deny the right to vote of Black Americans
throughout United States history; and
(6) reaffirms the commitment of the Federal Government to
combat White supremacy and seek reconciliation for racial
injustice.
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