Caesar Antoine
Encyclopedia
Caesar Carpetier Antoine (1836–1921) was one of three African American
Republicans
who served as lieutenant governor
of Louisiana
during the era of Reconstruction. In addition, Antoine was a soldier, businessman, and editor
.
, which followed the War of 1812
. His mother was a native of the West Indies and the daughter of an African chief. Antoine attended private schools in New Orleans and was fluent in French
and English
. On reaching adulthood, Antoine became a barber
.
After national troops occupied the Louisiana capital city of Baton Rouge in 1862, Antoine organized Company I, Seventh Louisiana Colored Regiment. As captain of the company, he engaged in minor engagements until the war ended in 1865. After the fighting, Antoine moved to the northwestern Louisiana city of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish, where he established a family grocery business. He soon entered politics and became a delegate to the Louisiana constitutional convention of 1867-1868. At the convention, Antoine advocated tax reforms, an extensive bill of rights, and application to the United States Congress
for extension of the Freedmen's Bureau (1865–1872).
Antoine served as a member of the Louisiana State Senate
from Caddo Parish from 1868 to 1872 and was assigned to committees on Commerce and Maufacturers and on Education. He was a strong proponent of emerging public education
. In 1875, he served by appointment on the Caddo Parish School Board.
Antoine was elected lieutenant governor in 1872 on the Republican ticket headed by William Pitt Kellogg, considered a Carpetbagger
. Two other blacks, Oscar J. Dunn
and P.B.S. Pinchback, respectively, preceded Antoine as lieutenant governor. The Republicans renominated Antoine for a second term in 1876 on a ticket headed by Stephen B. Packard
as the gubernatorial choice. Packard and Antoine, however, were defeated by the Democratic
"Redeemer" ticket headed by former Confederate States of America
Brigadier General
Francis T. Nicholls
.
Antoine invested in railroad and lottery stocks and raised racehorses. In 1880, he became president of the Cosmopolitan Life Insurance
Company. He also joined Pinchback as a copartner in a cotton
factorage. He edited the semiweekly New Orleans Louisianan from 1870 to 1872.
Little is known about Antoine after 1887. He was vice president of the New Orleans group called the Comité des Citoyens (Citizens' Committee), which was formed in 1890 to wage a legal battle against racial discrimination. The committee collected more than $2,000 to challenge the constitutionality of the 1890 Jim Crow compulsory segregation
law. The committee engaged Homer Plessy
to test the public accommodations provision of the Louisiana law. Plessy's action ultimately led to the Plessy v. Ferguson
decision by the United States Supreme Court, which affirmed the legality of "separate-but-equal" facilities. Antoine's committee also failed in an attempt to have the state law forbidding racial intermarriage declared unconstitutional.
Antoine purchased a small plantation
in Caddo Parish and owned several city lots. He died in Shreveport and is buried there.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
who served as lieutenant governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
during the era of Reconstruction. In addition, Antoine was a soldier, businessman, and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
.
Biography
Antoine was born in New Orleans, the son of a veteran of the Battle of New OrleansBattle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, defeated an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory the United States had acquired with the...
, which followed the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. His mother was a native of the West Indies and the daughter of an African chief. Antoine attended private schools in New Orleans and was fluent in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. On reaching adulthood, Antoine became a barber
Barber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
.
After national troops occupied the Louisiana capital city of Baton Rouge in 1862, Antoine organized Company I, Seventh Louisiana Colored Regiment. As captain of the company, he engaged in minor engagements until the war ended in 1865. After the fighting, Antoine moved to the northwestern Louisiana city of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish, where he established a family grocery business. He soon entered politics and became a delegate to the Louisiana constitutional convention of 1867-1868. At the convention, Antoine advocated tax reforms, an extensive bill of rights, and application to the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
for extension of the Freedmen's Bureau (1865–1872).
Antoine served as a member of the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from Caddo Parish from 1868 to 1872 and was assigned to committees on Commerce and Maufacturers and on Education. He was a strong proponent of emerging public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
. In 1875, he served by appointment on the Caddo Parish School Board.
Antoine was elected lieutenant governor in 1872 on the Republican ticket headed by William Pitt Kellogg, considered a Carpetbagger
Carpetbagger
Carpetbaggers was a pejorative term Southerners gave to Northerners who moved to the South during the Reconstruction era, between 1865 and 1877....
. Two other blacks, Oscar J. Dunn
Oscar Dunn
Oscar James Dunn was one of three African Americans who served as a Republican lieutenant governor of Louisiana during the era of Reconstruction....
and P.B.S. Pinchback, respectively, preceded Antoine as lieutenant governor. The Republicans renominated Antoine for a second term in 1876 on a ticket headed by Stephen B. Packard
Stephen B. Packard
Stephen Bennett Packard , a native of Maine, emerged as an important Republican politician in Louisiana during the era of Reconstruction...
as the gubernatorial choice. Packard and Antoine, however, were defeated by the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
"Redeemer" ticket headed by former Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Francis T. Nicholls
Francis T. Nicholls
Francis Redding Tillou Nicholls was an American attorney, politician, judge, and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
.
Antoine invested in railroad and lottery stocks and raised racehorses. In 1880, he became president of the Cosmopolitan Life Insurance
Life insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...
Company. He also joined Pinchback as a copartner in a cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
factorage. He edited the semiweekly New Orleans Louisianan from 1870 to 1872.
Little is known about Antoine after 1887. He was vice president of the New Orleans group called the Comité des Citoyens (Citizens' Committee), which was formed in 1890 to wage a legal battle against racial discrimination. The committee collected more than $2,000 to challenge the constitutionality of the 1890 Jim Crow compulsory segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
law. The committee engaged Homer Plessy
Homer Plessy
Homer Plessy was the American plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. Arrested, tried and convicted of a violation of one of Louisiana's racial segregation laws, he appealed through Louisiana state courts to the U.S. Supreme Court, and lost...
to test the public accommodations provision of the Louisiana law. Plessy's action ultimately led to the Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 , is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in the jurisprudence of the United States, upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in private businesses , under the doctrine of "separate but equal".The decision was handed...
decision by the United States Supreme Court, which affirmed the legality of "separate-but-equal" facilities. Antoine's committee also failed in an attempt to have the state law forbidding racial intermarriage declared unconstitutional.
Antoine purchased a small plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
in Caddo Parish and owned several city lots. He died in Shreveport and is buried there.