Applying for land
Former slaves could apply to lease abandoned or confiscated land held by the Federal Government. After President Andrew Johnson began to pardon former Confederates,...
“Combined rocking chair and fan”
In 1847, Charles Horst, of New Orleans, Louisiana, submitted his application to patent a combined rocking chair and fan. Horst states in his application that the...
Corps d’Afrique
Tens of thousands of freedmen and runaway slaves served in the regiments of the United States Colored Troops and other state units. The men in this photograph, taken...
Enjoying the water
A fisherman’s family enjoys the waters of Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana. Photographer John Messina took this photo in July 1972 as part of the Documerica...
Financing Louisiana…
In 1803, representatives from the United States agreed to pay $15 million to purchase 828,000 square miles of land from France. Cash-poor France, preparing for war...
Free to be married
This is a marriage certificate issued to Peter Thompson and Maria Hall, both former slaves, in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, on January 28, 1867. While many...
Removed from their land
This register recorded census-like data on Cherokee Indian family groups. More than 70,000 members of the Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, Chickasaw, and Choctaw tribes...