By contrast, in Louisiana — reflecting the incredible
tension over slavery and existential fear of revolt — «it was a capital crime to print or distribute material, or to make a speech or display a sign, or even to have a private conversation, that might spread discontent among the free black population or insubordination among slaves.»
Reflecting on Polk's «acquisition of an empire in the Far Southwest,» he notes that this immediate triumph soon exacerbated
the tensions over slavery that culminated in the Civil War.