Florida became the twenty-seventh
state in the United States on March 3, 1845. William D.
Moseley was elected the new state's first governor, and
David Levy Yulee, one of Florida's 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 Republican 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.
Text from: A Short History of Florida
Used with the permission of Florida's Division of Historical
Resources |
