Category Florida History
Fort Mose II: The second free African-American settlement in the current US.
In recent years as the experience of African-Americans in North America has become a serious topic for historians to explore, more emphasis has been placed on Fort Mose, which in 1738 became the first free African-American settlement in what is now the United States. Next week on The Florida History Podcast we will discuss the […]
January 1838 Battles of Loxahatchee site
In a future Florida History Podcast we will discuss the two January 1838 battles near the Loxahatchee River that took place in the Second Seminole War. Below is a video taken at the battlefield site. The video is silent but scans the site and focuses on markers that tell the history better than any narrator […]
Walking Andrew Young Crossing in St Augustine – Civil Rights Icon honored
We’ve discussed the critical importance of Martin Luther King Jr’s St Augustine campaign many times in the past. In 2011, the City of St Augustine dedicated a memorial to the steps taken by one of King’s right-hand men, future Congressman, UN Ambassador and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young. Here is a short video on Young and […]
Jim Williams
Robert Buccellato talks about his late friend Lt Gov Jim Williams on the Florida History Podcast this week. In early 2017, shortly after Williams’ passing he wrote this. Jim Williams was my friend. I can’t claim that I was the nearest or the dearest to him. But, we got along very well during the three […]
Hernando De Soto marches through Florida
Hernando De Soto became the first European to explore deep into the mainland of the current United States. Landing on Florida’s west coast in 1539, De Soto made his way through Florida in 1539 and 1540. On this week’s Florida History Podcast we discuss De Soto’s exploration of the peninsula and panhandle areas of present […]
Dempsey Barron: The Master of the Florida Senate
The late Dempsey Barron is a titan of Florida Political History. This week on The Florida History Podcast we discuss Barron, the most influential member of the State Senate in Florida’s contemporary political history. Serving from 1960 to 1988, Barron was the undisputed king of the Senate. You can listen to the Florida History Podcast […]
Angola, Florida: An 1800’s African-American settlement in Manatee County
In the Second Spanish Period (1784-1821) East Florida was characterized by general lawlessness and the ability of those held in bondage in the United States to runaway to Florida and achieve freedom. A community of African-Americans was thriving in the 1810’s until Florida became an American possession and it was destroyed on the orders of […]
Matt Gaetz, Fame Whore Extraordinaire!!
I’ve lived in the Florida Panhandle since 2008, when I moved to the area our Congressman was Jeff Miller. I liked Jeff, we didn’t hear much from Jeff. Since Jeff retired I started thinking, if you don’t hear that much about your Congressional Representatives it means they’re probably working hard for the district. Jeff did […]
The 1952 Governor’s Election
The historic 1952 Governor’s Race won by Dan McCarty of Fort Pierce, was the first modern campaign in Florida’s History. Like all Florida elections in this period, the real race was in the Democratic Primary. We discuss this election on this week’s Florida History Podcast. You can listen to the Florida History Podcast on Anchor (which hosts […]
How Pensacola led to the siege of Yorktown and American victory in the Revolution
Florida was never, until recently has been treated as an equal by American historians. But in recent years more scholarship has demonstrated how Florida was a shining light in the 1600’s, how St Augustine was a more cosmopolitan and “free” city for non-whites in the colonial period and how Florida played a role in the […]
The Florida Squeeze 