[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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