Florida History

TERRITORIAL FLORIDA
1821-1845

When the British evacuated Florida, Spanish colonists as well as settlers from the newly formed United States came pouring in. Many of the new residents were lured by favorable Spanish terms for acquiring property, called land grants. Others who came were escaped slaves, trying to reach a place where their U.S. masters had no authority and effectively could not reach them. Instead of becoming more Spanish, Florida increasingly became more "American."  Finally, after several official and unofficial U.S. military expeditions into the territory, Spain formally ceded Florida to the United States in 1821, according to terms of the Adams-Ons Treaty.

On one of those military operations, in 1818, General Andrew Jackson made a foray into Florida. Jacksons battles with Floridas Indian people later would be called the First Seminole War.

Andrew Jackson returned to Florida in 1821 to establish a new territorial government on behalf of the United States.  What the U.S. inherited was a wilderness sparsely dotted with settlements of native Indian people, African Americans, and Spaniards.

As a territory of the United States, Florida was particularly attractive to people from the older Southern plantation areas of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who arrived in considerable numbers.  After territorial status was granted, the two Floridas were merged into one entity with a new capital city in Tallahassee. Established in 1824, Tallahassee was chosen because it was halfway between the existing governmental centers of St. Augustine and Pensacola.

As Floridas population increased through immigration, so did pressure on the federal government to remove the Indian people from their lands. The Indian population was made up of several groups�primarily, the Creek and the Miccosukee people; and many African American refugees lived with the Indians. Indian removal was popular with white settlers because the native people occupied lands that white people wanted and because their communities often provided a sanctuary for runaway slaves from northern states.

Under President Andrew Jackson, the U.S. government spent $20 million and the lives of many U.S. soldiers, Indian people, and U.S. citizens to force the removal of the Seminoles. In the end, the outcome was not as the federal government had planned. Some Indians migrated "voluntarily." Some were captured and sent west under military guard; and others escaped into the Everglades, where they made a life for themselves away from contact with whites.

By 1840 white Floridians were concentrating on developing the territory and gaining statehood. The population had reached 54,477 people, with African American slaves making up almost one-half of the population. Steamboat navigation was well established on the Apalachicola and St. Johns Rivers, and railroads were planned.

Florida now was divided informally into three areas: East Florida, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Suwannee River; Middle Florida, between the Suwannee and the Apalachicola Rivers; and West Florida, from the Apalachicola to the Perdido River. The southern area of the territory (south of present-day Gainesville) was sparsely settled by whites. The territory�s economy was based on agriculture. Plantations were concentrated in Middle Florida, and their owners established the political tone for all of Florida until after the Civil War.

Wars of Indian Removal, 1817-1858

As Florida’s population increased through immigration, so did pressure on the federal government to remove the Indian people from their lands. The Indian population was made up of several groups—primarily, the Creek and the Miccosukee people; and many African American refugees lived with the Indians. Indian removal was popular with white settlers because the native people occupied lands that white people wanted and because their communities often provided a sanctuary for runaway slaves from northern states.

Among Florida’s native population, the name of Osceola has remained familiar after more than a century and a half. Osceola was a Seminole war leader who refused to leave his homeland in Florida.  Seminoles, already noted for their fighting abilities, won the respect of U.S. soldiers for their bravery, fortitude, and ability to adapt to changing circumstances during the Second Seminole War (1835–42).  This war, the most significant of the three conflicts between Indian people and U.S. troops in Florida, began over the question of whether Seminoles should be moved westward across the Mississippi River into what is now Oklahoma.

Under President Andrew Jackson, the U.S. government spent $20 million and the lives of many U.S. soldiers, Indian people, and U.S. citizens to force the removal of the Seminoles. In the end, the outcome was not as the federal government had planned. Some Indians migrated "voluntarily." Some were captured and sent west under military guard; and others escaped into the Everglades, where they made a life for themselves away from contact with whites.

Today, reservations occupied by Florida’s Indian people exist at Immokalee, Hollywood, Brighton (near the city of Okeechobee), and along the Big Cypress Swamp.  In addition to the Seminole people, Florida also has a separate Miccosukee tribe.

ANTE-BELLUM FLORIDA
1845-1861

Florida became the twenty-seventh state in the United States on March 3, 1845.  William D. Moseley was elected the new states first governor, and David Levy Yulee, one of Floridas leading proponents for statehood, became a U.S. Senator.  By 1850 the population had grown to 87,445, including about 39,000 African American slaves and 1,000 free blacks.

The slavery issue began to dominate the affairs of the new state.  Most Florida voters who were white males, ages twenty-one years or older did not oppose slavery.  However, they were concerned about the growing feeling against it in the North, and during the 1850s they viewed the new anti-slavery epublican party with suspicion.  In the 1860 presidential election, no Floridians voted for Abraham Lincoln, although this Illinois Republican won at the national level. Shortly after his election, a special convention drew up an ordinance that allowed Florida to secede from the Union on January 10, 1861. Within several weeks, Florida joined other southern states to form the Confederate States of America.

CIVIL WAR IN FLORIDA
1861-1865

During the Civil War, Florida was not ravaged as several other southern states were.  Indeed, no decisive battles were fought on Florida soil.  While Union forces occupied many coastal towns and forts, the interior of the state remained in Confederate hands.

Florida provided an estimated 15,000 troops and significant amounts of supplies— including salt, beef, pork, and cotton—to the Confederacy, but more than 2,000 Floridians, both African American and white, joined the Union army. Confederate and foreign merchant ships slipped through the Union navy blockade along the coast, bringing in needed supplies from overseas ports. Tallahassee was the only southern capital east of the Mississippi River to avoid capture during the war, spared by southern victories at Olustee (1864) and Natural Bridge (1865). Ultimately, the South was defeated, and federal troops occupied Tallahassee on May 10, 1865.

Before the Civil War, Florida had been well on its way to becoming another of the southern cotton states. Afterward, the lives of many residents changed. The ports of Jacksonville and Pensacola again flourished due to the demand for lumber and forest products to rebuild the nation’s cities. Those who had been slaves were declared free. Plantation owners tried to regain prewar levels of production by hiring former slaves to raise and pick cotton. However, such programs did not work well, and much of the land came under cultivation by tenant farmers and sharecroppers, both African American and white.

ECONOMICS AND SOCIETY:
POST-CIVIL WAR FLORIDA
1865-1913

The period in American history prior to the Civil War was known as the "Great Expansion". Economic boom followed the expansion of the railroads westward across the continent and southward into Florida. The Civil War punctuated Florida's growth but left it relatively unscathed. Economic growth quickly followed the end of the Civil War.

Florida, which produced a wealth of agricultural products: cotton, tung oil, livestock, fruits and vegetables, served the nation through its network of railroads and ports. While Florida produced nearly every agricultural produce imaginable, year round, it was becoming known for the cigar industry of Tampa and orange groves that stretched from north of Lake Okeechobee to just south of Florida's boarder with Georgia. And, it was becoming rich from the growth, since the 1880s, of the phosphate industry. Efforts to drain the Everglades for agricultural production also began at this time.

With the expansion of settlements and wealth, roads and trucks followed quickly; the story of Florida during this period might be summarized by the word "transportation". By the end of this period, Florida even boasted the nation's first routine commercial air service; scheduled flight shuttled passengers between St. Petersburg and Tampa. At the same time a new Florida was being born. If ships, trains and trucks took produce out of Florida, they brought tourists into Florida upon their return. Coastal resorts, in particular, became the playgrounds of the rich. Tourism became an industry unto itself. Florida's future would become a story of moving people as well as produce.

ECONOMICS AND SOCIETY:
POST-CIVIL WAR FLORIDA
1865-1913
Reconstruction Era, 1865-1877

Before the Civil War, Florida had been well on its way to becoming another of the southern cotton states. Afterward, the lives of many residents changed. The ports of Jacksonville and Pensacola again flourished due to the demand for lumber and forest products to rebuild the nations cities. Those who had been slaves were declared free. Plantation owners tried to regain prewar levels of production by hiring former slaves to raise and pick cotton. However, such programs did not work well, and much of the land came under cultivation by tenant farmers and sharecroppers, both African American and white.

Beginning in 1868, the federal government instituted a congressional program of "reconstruction" in Florida and the other southern states. During this period, Republican officeholders tried to enact sweeping changes, many of which were aimed at improving conditions for African Americans.

At the time of the 1876 presidential election, federal troops still occupied Florida. The states Republican government and recently enfranchised African American voters helped to put Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House. However, Democrats gained control of enough state offices to end the years of Republican rule and prompt the removal of federal troops the following year. A series of political battles in the state left African Americans with little voice in their government.

ECONOMICS AND SOCIETY:
POST-CIVIL WAR FLORIDA
1865-1913
The New Century and a Growing State, 1899-1913

By the turn of the century, Floridas population and per capita wealth were increasing rapidly; the potential of the "Sunshine State" appeared endless.  By the end of World War I, land developers had descended on this virtual gold mine. With more Americans owning automobiles, it became commonplace to vacation in Florida. Many visitors stayed on, and exotic projects sprang up in southern Florida. Some people moved onto land made from drained swamps. Others bought canal-crossed tracts through what had been dry land. The real estate developments quickly attracted buyers, and land in Florida was sold and resold. Profits and prices for many developers reached inflated levels.

FLORIDA DURING WORLD WAR I,
1914-1918

World War I served to stimulate Florida's economic growth further. Not only did the state continue to produce for the nation, but its climate offered excellent year-round opportunities for training in all branches of the armed services. Florida's ports hosted naval bases, as well as army, air, and marine facilities. As these facilities grew Florida's production increasingly fed not only the nation but itself. Networks of cities and roads supporting the war effort would later support both continued economic expansion and a following land boom.

THE FLORIDA BOOM AND BUST,
1919-1929

By the turn of the century, Florida�s population and per capita wealth were increasing rapidly; the potential of the "Sunshine State" appeared endless.  By the end of World War I, land developers had descended on this virtual gold mine. With more Americans owning automobiles, it became commonplace to vacation in Florida. Many visitors stayed on, and exotic projects sprang up in southern Florida. Some people moved onto land made from drained swamps. Others bought canal-crossed tracts through what had been dry land. The real estate developments quickly attracted buyers, and land in Florida was sold and resold. Profits and prices for many developers reached inflated levels.

Florida�s economic bubble burst in 1926, when money and credit ran out, and banks and investors abruptly stopped trusting the "paper" millionaires. Severe hurricanes swept through the state in the 1926 and 1928, further damaging Floridas economy.

By the time the Great Depression began in the rest of the nation in 1929, Floridians had already become accustomed to economic hardship.

In 1929 the Mediterranean fruit fly invaded the state, and the citrus industry suffered. A quarantine was established, and troops set up roadblocks and checkpoints to search vehicles for any contraband citrus fruit. Floridas citrus production was cut by about sixty percent.

POST-WAR FLORIDA,
1945-1960

One of the most significant trends of the postwar era has been steady population growth, resulting from large migrations to the state from within the U.S. and from countries throughout the western hemisphere, notably Cuba and Haiti. Florida is now the fourth most populous state in the nation.

The people who make up Florida diverse population have worked to make the Sunshine State a place where all citizens have equal rights under the law. Since the 1950s, Florida痴 public education system and public places have undergone great changes. African American citizens, joined by Governor LeRoy Collins and other white supporters, fought to end racial discrimination in schools and other institutions.

Since World War II, Florida economy also has become more diverse. Tourism, cattle, citrus, and phosphate have been joined by a host of new industries that have greatly expanded the numbers of jobs available to residents.

CONTEMPORARY FLORIDA,
1960-

Since World War II, Florid's economy also has become more diverse. Tourism, cattle, citrus, and phosphate have been joined by a host of new industries that have greatly expanded the numbers of jobs available to residents. Electronics, plastics, construction, real estate, and international banking are among the state's more recently-developed industries.

Several major U.S. corporations have moved their headquarters to Florida. An interstate highway system exists throughout the state, and Florida is home to major international airports. The university and community college system has expanded rapidly, and high-technology industries have grown steadily. The U.S. space programs its historic launches from Cape Canaveral, lunar landings, and the development of the space shuttle programs brought much media attention to the state. The citrus industry continues to prosper, despite occasional winter freezes, and tourism also remains important, bolstered by large capital investments. Florida attractions, such as the large theme parks in the Orlando area, bring millions of visitors to the state from across the U.S. and around the world.

Today, Floridians study their state's long history to learn more about the lives of the men and women who shaped their exciting past. By learning about our rich and varied heritage, we can draw lessons to help create a better Florida for all of its citizens.