Wheel of Life 6: Overviewdetails

Life and Death in Antebellum Louisiana

During much of the antebellum period [that is, probably, before the American Civil War] Louisiana had the highest death rate of any state in the United States and New Orleans the highest of any city. Yellow fever, smallpox, and cholera epidemics accounted for many of these deaths.

Nevertheless, Louisiana’s popuation increased from 80,000 to 700,000 in the five decades prior to the Civil War, mainly due to all the people moving into and being born in the state. Immigrants from Europe, Latin America, and the Carribean ahd slaves brought against their will from other parts of the U.S. and smuggled in from Africa and the West Indies contributed to Louisiana’s growth.

Immigration and migration, along with igh fertility, offset high mortality rates.