Background
DeCLOUET, Alexander was born on June 9, 1812 in St. Martin’s Parish, Louisiana, United States, United States.
congressman lawyer planter state politician
DeCLOUET, Alexander was born on June 9, 1812 in St. Martin’s Parish, Louisiana, United States, United States.
Private school, southern university.
His mother died when he was quite young. He attended school in Bardstown, Kentucky, and graduated with high honors from Georgetown College, D.C. He also made an extended tour of Europe and studied law in the office of Judge Edward Simon in Bardstown before abandoning his practice to become a sugar planter, amassing a large fortune. DeClouet was a Roman Catholic.
He had six sons and seven daughters by his marriage to Marie Louise de St. Clair. In 1837, he was elected as a Whig to the Louisiana legislature, serving for several years. In 1849, he ran as a Whig for governor, losing to General Joseph Walker.
When the Whig party collapsed, he became a Democrat. He was a delegate to the Louisiana constitutional convention in 1852 and to the state secession convention of 1861, where he voted for secession. DeClouet was a member of the committee to draw up the Confederate Constitution and a member of the Commercial Affairs and Accounts Committees of the provisional Congress.
He actually wrote Article V of the Confederate Constitution dealing with the calling of conventions. DeClouet had no other office in the Confederacy, but he helped to outfit Louisiana troopers. After the war, he began to recoup his financial losses.
He retired from public life when the Reconstructionist Francis T. Nicholls became governor of Louisiana.
"Peculiar institution" of slavery was not only expedient but also ordained by God and upheld in Holy Scripture.
Stands for preserving slavery, states' rights, and political liberty for whites. Every individual state is sovereign, even to the point of secession.
