Florida Territory
Territory of Florida | |||||||||||
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Organized incorporated territory of United States | |||||||||||
1822–1845 | |||||||||||
Flag | |||||||||||
Capital | 1822–1824 St. Augustine (East Florida/Florida) Pensacola (West Florida) 1824–1845 Tallahassee | ||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||
• Coordinates | 30°N 83°W / 30°N 83°W | ||||||||||
Government | |||||||||||
• Type | Governor | | |||||||||
• 1821 | Andrew Jackson (military) | ||||||||||
• 1822–1834 | William Pope Duval (first) | ||||||||||
• 1834–1836 | John Eaton | ||||||||||
• 1836–1839 | Richard K. Call | ||||||||||
• 1839–1841 | Robert R. Reid | ||||||||||
• 1841–1844 | Richard K. Call | ||||||||||
• 1844–1845 | John Branch (last) | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
1821 | |||||||||||
• Organized by U.S. | March 30 1822 | ||||||||||
March 3 1845 | |||||||||||
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Today part of | United States |
The Territory of Florida was an
Background
Florida was encountered by Europeans in 1513 by Juan Ponce de León, who claimed the land as a possession of Spain. St. Augustine, the oldest continually inhabited European settlement in the continental U.S., was founded on the northeast coast of Florida in 1565. Florida continued to remain a Spanish possession until the end of the Seven Years' War when Spain ceded it to the Kingdom of Great Britain in exchange for the release of Havana. In 1783, after the American Revolution, Great Britain ceded Florida back to Spain under the provisions of the Peace of Paris.[3]: xvii
The second term of Spanish rule was influenced by the nearby United States. There were border disputes along the boundary with the state of
Pre-1821 American involvement
In 1812, United States forces and Georgia "patriots" under General
The Spanish government offered runaway slaves freedom if they converted to
In 1818, after years of additional conflicts involving natives, fugitive slaves, and settlers, General
Adams–Onís Treaty
The Adams–Onís Treaty, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty, was signed on February 22, 1819, by
In Dorr v. United States (195 U.S. 138, 141–142 (1904)) Justice Marshall is quoted more extensively as follows:[5]
The 6th article of the treaty of cession contains the following provision:
'The inhabitants of the territories which His Catholic Majesty cedes the United States by this treaty shall be incorporated in the Union of the United States as soon as may be consistent with the principles of the Federal Constitution, and admitted to the enjoyment of the privileges, rights, and immunities of the citizens of the United States.' [8 Stat. at L. 256.]
[195 U.S. 138, 142] 'This treaty is the law of the land, and admits the inhabitants of Florida to the enjoyment of the privileges, rights, and immunities of the citizens of the United States. It is unnecessary to inquire whether this is not their condition, independent of stipulation. They do not, however, participate in political power; they do not share in the government till Florida shall become a state. In the meantime Florida continues to be a territory of the United States, governed by virtue of that clause in the Constitution which empowers Congress 'to make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States."
Transfer to Governor Andrew Jackson
On July 10, 1821, the province of East Florida was transferred to Governor Andrew Jackson with strict orders from President James Monroe to observe diplomatic protocol, with West Florida following one week later.[6][7] Governor Jackson was not involved in the earliest government appointments in the territory[8] and was only acquainted with two of them.
Territorial Florida and the Seminole Wars
President
The central conflict of Territorial Florida originated from attempts to displace the Seminole people. The federal government and most white settlers desired all Florida Indians to migrate to the West voluntarily. On May 28, 1830, Congress passed the
Beginning in late 1835, Osceola and the Seminole allies began a guerrilla war against the U.S. forces.[4]: 105–110 Numerous generals fought and failed, succumbing to the heat and disease as well as lack of knowledge of the land. It was not until General Thomas Jesup captured many of the key Seminole chiefs, including Osceola who died in captivity of illness, that the battles began to die down.[4]: 137–160 The Seminoles were eventually forced to migrate. Florida joined the Union as the 27th state on March 3, 1845.[13] By this time, almost all of the Seminoles were gone, except for a small group living in the Everglades.
In the 1840 United States census, 20 counties in the Florida Territory reported the following population counts (after 15 reported the following counts in the 1830 United States census):[14]
1840 Rank |
County | 1830 Population |
1840 Population |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Leon | 6,494 | 10,713 |
2 | Gadsden | 4,895 | 5,992 |
3 | Jefferson | – | 5,713 |
4 | Jackson | 3,907 | 4,681 |
5 | Duval | 1,970 | 4,156 |
6 | Escambia | 3,386 | 3,993 |
7 | St. Johns | 2,538 | 2,694 |
8 | Madison | 525 | 2,644 |
9 | Alachua | 2,204 | 2,282 |
10 | Columbia | – | 2,102 |
11 | Nassau | 1,511 | 1,892 |
12 | Hamilton | 553 | 1,464 |
13 | Walton | 1,207 | 1,461 |
14 | Calhoun | – | 1,142 |
15 | Franklin | – | 1,030 |
16 | Washington | 978 | 859 |
17 | Monroe | 517 | 688 |
18 | Hillsborough | – | 452 |
19 | Dade | – | 446 |
20 | Mosquito | 733 | 73 |
Florida Territory | 34,730 | 54,477 |
See also
- Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida
- Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819
- Historic regions of the United States
- History of Florida
- List of governors of Florida
- Seminole Wars, 1817–1858
- Spanish Florida
- Territorial evolution of the United States
- East Florida, 1783–1821
- Republic of East Florida (1815)
- Spanish West Florida, 1783–1821
- Republic of West Florida (1810)
- Zephaniah Kingsley
Notes
- ^ The U.S. commission established to adjudicate claims considered some 1800 claims and agreed that they were worth $5,454,545.13. Since the treaty limited the payment of claims to $5 million, the commission reduced the amount paid out proportionately by 8⅓ percent.
References
- ^ 3 Stat. 654
- ^ "Florida Constitution of 1838". Florida Constitution Revision Commission. Archived from the original on October 30, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 9780722201855. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-208-01719-2. Archivedfrom the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
- ^ "Dorr v. United States, 195 U.S. 138 (1904)". Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
- ^ Doherty, Herbert J. "The Governorship of Andrew Jackson." The Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 33, no. 1, 1954, p. 8. Stars Library UCF website Retrieved 17 Jul. 2022.
- ^ "The United States Formally Takes Control of Florida (July 17, 1821)". State Library and Archives of Florida. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
- ^ West & East Florida Appointments List. N.D. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, Library of Congress website Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ ""An Act for carrying into execution the treaty between the United States and Spain, concluded at Washington on the twenty-second day of February, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen"". Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- ^ ""An Act for the establishment of a territorial government in Florida"". Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- ^ Irving, Washington (1820). "The Conspiracy of Neamathla". The Crayon Papers. Archived from the original on April 9, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ a b Florida, State Library and Archives of. "Florida Seminoles – Teacher Resources". Florida Memory. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
- ^ ""An Act for the admission of the States of Iowa and Florida into the Union"". Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- ^ Forstall, Richard L. (ed.). Population of the States and Counties of the United States: 1790–1990 (PDF) (Report). United States Census Bureau. pp. 31–33. Retrieved May 18, 2020.