Date of Award
Spring 5-2020
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Program
History
Department
History
Major Professor
Robert Dupont
Second Advisor
Charles Chamberlain
Third Advisor
John D. Fitzmorris
Fourth Advisor
Alecia P. Long
Abstract
Most historical writing and research on Jim Garrison’s political career focus on his investigation of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and Garrison’s prosecution of Clay Shaw. Few scholars examine the years prior to the investigation when Garrison served as District Attorney of New Orleans. In 1962, Garrison won the election for District Attorney in part for his pledge to clean up the French Quarter of its lurid reputation. Garrison’s vice crusade targeted mostly women who symbolized the city's colorful reputation. Aided by his office and the vice squad, he raided the French Quarter to arrest prostitutes, strippers, and anyone associated with these women’s work. This thesis argues that Jim Garrison utilized his political power in a gendered anti-vice campaign to target and unjustly arrest some of the women in the vice industry to gain publicity and fame. While Garrison publicly fought against women in the vice world, his vice crusade masked his own misconduct as a District Attorney.
Recommended Citation
Poole, Rebecca L., "“New Orleans never was tighter”: Jim Garrison’s Gendered Vice Campaign in New Orleans, 1962-1966" (2020). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 2776.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2776
Included in
History of Gender Commons, Other History Commons, Political History Commons, Public History Commons
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.