Leander Perez: Boss of the Delta

495 Pages·2006·26.741 MB·English

by  Glen Jeansonne

Leander Perez
Photo by Louisiana Department oi'Highways
LEANDER PEREZ
Boss of the Delta
Second Edition
by
Glen Jeansonne
University Press of Mississippi
Jackson
Originally published in 1977 by Louisiana State University
Press. Second edition copyright © 1995 held by The University
of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette, Louisiana.
Library of Congress Number: 95-67724
ISBN Number: 1-57806-917-3
Print-on-Demand Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Glen Jeansonne
To
Stephen A. Webre
William Ivy Hair
and
Sharon, Leah, and Hannah Jeansonne
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Acknowledgments for the Second Edition xi
Preface to the Second Edition xiii
Preface to the Original Edition xvii
Prologue xxi
Chapter 1 Coming of Age 1
Chapter 2 The Judge 16
Chapter 3 The Trappers' War 32
Chapter 4 The Judge and the Kingfish 62
Chapter 5 Small Stealing Is an Outrage 74
Chapter 6 Burying the Hatchet, Perez Style 85
Chapter 7 The Carrot and the Stock 101
Chapter 8 The Little War of 1943 121
Chapter9 Politics as Usual 142
Chapter 10 Saving the Country 164
Chapter 11 Earl Long and the Third Party 197
Chapter 12 Segregation Forever 218
Chapter 13 The Second Battle of New Orleans 253
Chapter 14 Leander's Last Stand 271
Chapter 15 Saving the Country Again 310
Chapter 16 The Judge Retires 346
Epilogue 371
Afterword 385
Essay on Additional Sources 403
Notes 405
Bibliography 445
Index 455
Illustrations
following page 108
Lobbying in the state legislature
Dedication of the ferry at Pointe a la Hache
A birthday party for the Judge
Perez and George Wallace
Perez, George Wallace, and John Rarick
The Judge at Fort St. Philip
Perez's choice for president in 1968
Perez and his two sons
Perez's funeral
Leander Perez