EXHIBITION OPENING CEREMONY - Louisiana's Old State Capitol

Continue your Louisiana Purchase journey at the opening ceremony of “Excursions, Expeditions, and ‘Discoveries:’ A Young Nation Expands” on Wednesday, June 24 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Louisiana’s Old State Capitol!

This exhibition, along with “Reimagining America: The Maps of Lewis & Clark,” traces the footsteps of the explorers sent west after the Louisiana Purchase. Through historic narratives and contemporary photography created in collaboration with LSU students, Louisiana’s Old State Capitol reimagines what it means to discover, document, and remember a changing nation.

PLUS! Historian and award-winning author, Alexander Mikaberidze, will speak at 5 p.m. on the Louisiana Purchase and its impact on America. His book, “The Louisiana Purchase: The Grand Bargain and the Making of America (Pivotal Moments in American History),” delves into this world-altering. For most, the Louisiana Purchase is known as the deal that was “bought for a song,” but Alexander will explore the side of this history that is much less acknowledged: how the Louisiana Purchase became the US-Indian Treaty system, ultimately costing the United States billions of dollars and forever changing our larger cultural landscape by displacing and erasing Native peoples—who actually owned the land in question. The lecture will also examine how the purchase accelerated westward expansion, intensified debates over slavery and constitutional power, and transformed the young republic into an emerging continental empire.

Light refreshments and hors d'oeuvres will be provided by Louisiana’s Old State Capitol. For more information on the exhibitions mentioned, please visit our website at https://louisianaoldstatecapitol.org/.