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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is my great pleasure to be able to formally recognize and thank the many people who have not only helped me to write this book but also made possible my dream life as an academic.

First and foremost I would like to thank my family, without whose support and encouragement I would never have been able to complete this project. My mother, a high school English teacher, has read many versions of the manuscript over the years, correcting my grammar and helping me to clarify my prose. I consulted with her over and over again regarding how to best express the ideas and arguments of this book. From her influence, more than anyone else’s, came my desire to be an educator and a student. My father was less involved in the writing of the manuscript but no less important to its completion. He, more than anybody, provided me the opportunity to pursue the life of the mind. My two sisters, Elizabeth Aslakson Mathis and Carla Aslakson-Yarnal, have supported, challenged, and inspired me, in different ways and at different times, throughout my life. Beth, my older sister, has a very logical mind and has helped me to grapple with some of the more difficult theoretical concepts challenging me. Carla, two years younger than I, serves as a model of courage and virtue by living according to the selfless principles she espouses.

A great many friends and mentors have also made it possible for me to complete this project. These include influential teachers such as Carolyn Huff, Diana Jernigan, Weldon Crowley, Leonard Giesecke, Ken Roberts, Winston Davis, David Sokolow, Michael Tiger, and David Silver. I am especially grateful to Dr. Jan Dawson, my favorite professor at Southwestern University. She is the reason I pursued a PhD in history. These friends also include former classmates Pete Kennedy, Sarah Rushing, Doug Wipff, Russell Kirksey, Kerry Dunn, Scott Pass, Paul Niemeyer, and Craig Donahue; mentors such as E. Eldridge Goins Jr., John Rosenberg, Jim Morris, Hance Burrow; and those who have encouraged me and shared parts of their lives with me while I struggled through this arduous process—the Thorne family, Lawrence, Reesa, and Logan, and the Gorsuch family, Rob, Gwynn, and Claire. And, of course, thank you Julia Hormes for being there at the book’s completion.

Three long-time friends in particular, whom I respect and admire a great deal, deserve further mention. Rob Gorsuch has been my close friend for more than forty-five years, almost all of our lives. He also provided me a quiet space to think and write during critical times as the manuscript was coming together. Chris Albi has been a great friend since early on in graduate school when I discovered that he is also a former lawyer. Our common interest in the ways that legal institutions interact with the historical process allows us to justify a round of golf as an exercise of the mind. When I met Lawrence Thorne in Mrs. Gibson’s class almost forty years ago, we immediately bonded and have been best friends ever since. Lawrence keeps me both grounded and excited about life’s possibilities at the same time. I have a great deal of respect for these great friends and seek the same from them.

I would also like to thank another friend, the city of New Orleans, for being such an interesting place to study and having so many fascinating stories to tell. Many knowledgeable and helpful archivists, librarians, and curators make the telling of the history of New Orleans possible. The people at the Historic New Orleans Collection, the New Orleans Notarial Archives, the Louisiana Supreme Court, and the various libraries of Tulane University and the University of Texas have all been very helpful in my research efforts. I owe the most gratitude to the people at the New Orleans Public Library, especially Irene Wainwright, Wayne Everard, and Greg Osborn. With few financial resources, the people of the NOPL have maintained one of the richest collections of archives on the history of New Orleans that any scholar could find. Their work and assistance have been invaluable to me.

Thanks to the seemingly endless inspiration the city provides and the work of these curators, there is plenty to share among the large and growing cadre of historians of New Orleans. These scholars include, but are not limited to, Hans Baade, Caryn Cosse Bell, Warren Billings, Patricia Brady, Carl Brasseaux, Emily Clark, Craig Colton, Glenn Conrad, Thomas Dargo, Mark Fernandez, Virginia Gould, Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, Kimberly Hanger, Thomas Ingersoll, Ari Kelman, Paul F. Lachance, Alecia Long, Reid Mitchell, Judith Schafer, Mark Souther, and Daniel Usner. These women and men, some of whom I know personally and others whom I admire through their work, have broadened and deepened my understanding of the city so as to make the writing of this book much easier.

Four scholars of New Orleans in particular have been especially helpful. Nathalie Dessens’s early work on the influence of the refugees of the Haitian Revolution on New Orleans shaped the topic of this book in the early stages of my research. Having only recently gotten to know Nathalie herself, I am happy to learn that she is just as good of a person as she is a scholar. I met Jennifer Spear in the archives when she was near completing her book and I was just beginning mine. She encouraged me to pursue publication and offered sound advice. A little later, Emily Landau, over the course of many conversations, helped me see race relations in New Orleans in a broader historical context. Finally, I owe a special debt of gratitude to Lawrence Powell, one of the distinguished scholars who reviewed my manuscript for the press. His comments and suggestions made this book much better than it otherwise would have been.

I have also received a great deal of assistance from other scholars who do not specialize in the history of the lower Mississippi valley but are just plain smart and thoughtful. From the University of Texas I want to especially thank Julie Hardwick, Neil Kamil, Bob Olwell, Willy Forbath, Judy Coffin, Jorge Canizares Esguerra, Kevin Roberts, Tim Buckner, Sara Fanning, Lissa Boletino, and Karl Brown. Thank you as well to all the faculty of Union College, especially those in the History Department, and more specifically to Melinda Lawson, Andy Foroughi, and Bob Wells for reading and commenting on various portions of my manuscript. Allison Games, Lauren Benton, and Laurent Dubois also read portions of the manuscript and/or discussed its basic arguments with me. Matt Childs and Carolyn Eastman not only read many different versions of the manuscript and helped me to build upon and structure my arguments but also have been great mentors.

Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to my adviser, Jim Sidbury. When he took me on as his student many years ago, I already had a good sense of how important he would be as an adviser. His knowledge of the field, his insightful comments in seminars, and his careful readings of his students’ work made his attributes as an academic adviser obvious. But as he continues to read my work, offer constructive criticism and encouragement, and serve as a source of inspiration, I have come to regard him as not only a great mentor but also a close friend. I look forward to many more years of good times and great conversations.

All the people I have mentioned here have helped me to make the publication of this book possible. Yet, in the end, the people of NYU Press made that possibility a reality. Debbie Gershenowitz first introduced me to the press several years ago, and I became impressed with its attentiveness and honesty. Clara Platter has fostered this good relationship, and Constance Grady helped out more and more as we got closer to publication.

Thank you all.