Class:  Saturdays, 9:00 am-11:50 am Office: Saturdays, Noon-1:00pm and by appointment  Classroom: 224 Coquina Hall  My Office: 321 Poynter Library

 

Course Description:

This course offers a historical survey of Florida from the territorial period to the modern era. By examining the social, political, and economic changes that have occurred in Florida since 1821, students will discover the cultural themes that have shaped Florida's history as part of the United States.  Lectures include brief overviews of available documentary sources, as well as theoretical and practical approaches for studying local history.  Emphasis will be placed on the social, political, economic, and environmental legacies that have redefined the Florida experience during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

This course begins with a broad overview of present trends in historical scholarship and an introduction to research tools.  Students will learn about a variety of methodologies (including oral history) and library/archival resources available for local and regional studies. After this opening session, the class will navigate through a fast-paced chronological overview of Florida's history since 1821, sessions on local and regional history, and a discussion of certain themes and trends that span across the state's historic landscape.  Students will have an opportunity to share their discoveries from individual research projects.


Learning Objectives:

After successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

Understand how settlement patterns have transformed Florida from a sparsely settled frontier into a state with nearly 16-million residents, and evaluate how this transformation affects those who live in—as well as those who visit—Florida.

Analyze the dynamics that have existed among and between different social, ethnic, racial, and immigrant communities since Florida joined the Union. 

Trace the evolution of environmental thought and public policy in Florida.

Assess the contributions of Floridians during times of war and peace, in both economic and political spheres.

Evaluate the scholarly literature, primary and secondary resources, and other materials that describe Florida’s historical landscape and cultural mosaic. 

1.    Completion of a brief paper that evaluates a local historical landmark, a historical society's collections, a public history program, or a museum exhibit.  This three to four page paper assesses the historical resources available to the community.  Please bring this paper to class on Saturday, 8 February 2003. (15%)

2.    Completion of two written exams that cover many of the themes, concepts, and events discussed in both the class and assigned readings. The mid-term exam will take place on Saturday, 15 February 2003 and the final exam on Saturday, 26 April 2003.  (20% each, for 40% of the final course grade)

3.    Completion of a major primary research paper (10 to 14 pages) that evaluates a facet of Florida's history.  The student will select a topic after meeting with the instructor and provide a proposal and preliminary bibliography by Saturday, 18 January 2003.  The paper (with proper citations and bibliographical references) will be due no later than Wednesday, 30 April 2003. Students may submit papers up to 5:00 p.m. on that date without academic penalty.   Students will share their topics and research experiences with fellow class members during part of our class meeting on Saturday, 19 April 2003. (30%)

4.    Completion of assigned readings prior to class, participation in classroom discussions, and successful completion of two quizzes covering basic reading materials. (15%)

Please make every effort to attend all class sessions.  In accordance with USF’s mandatory first day attendance policy, students who miss the first class meeting and fail to notify the instructor shall be dropped from the class. If you know in advance that you cannot attend a class due to illness, religious observance, or extenuating circumstances, contact the instructor (553-1094) at your earliest convenience.  The instructor will provide make-up assignments that cover the materials missed by the student.  The instructor reserves the right to reduce the final course grade due to excessive absences.

Grading Policy:

The instructor will determine your course grade by evaluating the papers you have submitted, your participation in class, and your understanding of the materials covered.  Each assignment (the oral history or critical review essay, the mid-term exam, the final exam, and the research paper) will receive a letter grade using the plus/minus system in effect at the University of South Florida. Re-writes may be allowed at the discretion of the instructor. 

Note Taking Policy:

While you may share notes with other students enrolled in this section of the class, I prohibit the sale or redistribution of lecture notes or tape recordings to outside parties, such as note-taking services.

Arsenault, Raymond O. St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888-1950. Gainesville:
         University Press of Florida, 1996.

Brown, Loren G. “Totch”. Totch: A Life in the Everglades . Gainesville: University Press of
         Florida, 1993

Gannon, Michael. Florida: A Short History. Columbus Quincentenary Series. Gainesville:
         University Press of Florida, 1993.

Newton, Michael. The Invisible Empire: The Ku Klux Klan in Florida. Florida History
         and Culture Series. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2001.

Rivers, Larry Eugene. Slavery in Florida: Territorial Days to Emancipation.
          Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2000.

Nota Bene: Copies of these textbooks, as well as journal articles listed in the syllabus, will be available on reserve at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library. Some journal articles are also available via electronic format.
 

Saturday, 4 January 2003       
INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF FLORIDA
AND THE CRAFT OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH

        Introduction and course requirements
        Lecture: Overview of how to study history
        Lecture & Discussion: Consequences of the Columbian exchange and colonization
        Lecture & Discussion: Settlement patterns in La Florida during first Spanish period
        Lecture & Discussion: The British period and the American Revolution
        Lecture & Discussion: A new nation and a new challenge to La Florida during the
            second Spanish period


Saturday, 11 January 2003   
FROM INTERNATIONAL FRONTIER TO AMERICAN
TERRITORY: THE CHANGING OF THE FLAGS

        Lecture & Discussion: Jacksonian forays into Florida
        Lecture & Discussion: A treaty with transcontinental ramifications
        Lecture & Discussion: America’s newest territory
        Lecture & Discussion: Inventing the Infrastructure
        Lecture & Demonstration: Using the USF Virtual Library for academic research


    Before class, read:
        Gannon, Florida: A Short History, pp. 1-40.
        Arsenault, St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, pp. 10-35.
        Rivers, Slavery in Florida, pp. 1-84.
        James J. Horgan and Lewis N. Wynne, Florida Decades: A Sesquicentennial
            History, 1845-1995. St. Leo: St. Leo College Press, 1995, pp. 1-13.
            (on reserve)

    Assignment to do: Submit research paper proposal at our next class meeting.


Saturday, 18 January 2003       
TERRITORIAL TREATIES, STATEHOOD, SEMINOLES,
AND THE CULTURE OF SLAVERY IN ANTEBELLUM FLORIDA

        SUBMIT YOUR RESEARCH PAPER PROPOSAL

        Video: “Florida: The Statehood Trail”
        Lecture & Discussion: The ascendancy of “Middle Florida”
        Lecture & Discussion: The Second Seminole War, armed occupation, and statehood
        Lecture & Discussion: Slavery in Florida and the Borderlands: Personal, political, and
            legal dimensions
        Lecture & Discussion: Farmers, Planters, Life, and Labor in Antebellum Florida
       
    Before class, read:
        James J. Horgan and Lewis N. Wynne, Florida Decades: A Sesquicentennial
            History, 1845-1995. St. Leo: St. Leo College Press, 1995, pp. 15-37.
            (on reserve)
        Rivers, Slavery in Florida, pp. 85-228.
        Canter Brown, Jr., “Race Relations in Territorial Florida,” Florida Historical
            Quarterly 73 (3) January 1995: 287-307. (on reserve or on-line)
        Excerpts from the Florida Slave Narratives (on reserve or on-line)
 


Saturday, 25 January 2003   
LEARNING ABOUT HOME: UNDERSTANDING THE PUBLIC
DIMENSIONS OF LOCAL HISTORY

In lieu of a formal class meeting, students may use this day to visit a museum, archival repository, natural preserve, or cultural center that will serve as the focus for the “site visit” paper.  One option I would strongly encourage is for you to visit Heritage Village, 11909 – 125th Street North.  From 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on January 25, Heritage Village will be the site of the Pinellas Folk Festival, a celebration with Florida crafts, storytellers, and music.



Saturday, 1 February 2003   
THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION

        Lecture & Discussion: Union and Disunion
        Lecture & Discussion: Florida’s contributions to the Civil War
        Video: Excerpts from “The Battle of Olustee: A Documentary”
        Lecture & Discussion: Deconstructing Reconstruction

    Before class, read:
        Gannon, Florida: A Short History, pp. 40-53.
        Rivers, Slavery in Florida, 229-260.
        Newton, The Invisible Empire, pp. 1-30.
        Robert A. Taylor, “Rebel Beef: Florida Cattle and the Confederate Army, 1862-
            1864.” Florida Historical Quarterly 67 (1) July 1988: 15-31.
            (on reserve or on-line)

       
    Assignment to do: Finish your paper on a museum, historical site, or archive.



Saturday, 8 February 2003       
BOURBONS, BOOMS, BOOSTERISM, “CUBA LIBRE,”
AND THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR


        SUBMIT HISTORICAL SUMMARY/SITE VISIT PAPER

        Lecture & Discussion: Dreamers and Schemers
        Lecture & Discussion: Sharecroppers and calls for agrarian reform
Lecture & Discussion: Railroads arrive on both sides of the state, and both
    sides of the bay
        Lecture & Discussion: Early settlements in the Tampa Bay area—the emergence
            of two cities
        Lecture & Discussion: The “Frontier Thesis” and American expansion   
        Lecture & Discussion: “A Splendid Little War”
        Review for Mid-term examination

Before class, read:
        Gannon, Florida: A Short History, pp. 53-74.
        Arsenault, St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, pp. 36-117.
        Silvia Sunshine [pseud. of Abbie M. Brooks], Petals Plucked from Sunny Climes.
            Bicentennial Floridiana Facsimile Series. Gainesville: University Presses of
            Florida, 1976, pp. 270-295. (on reserve)
        Gary R. Mormino and George E. Pozzetta. The Immigrant World of Ybor City:
            Italians and Their Latin Neighbors in Tampa, 1885-1985. Florida Sand Dollar
            Book. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1998, pp. 43-62. (on reserve)

    Assignment to do: Prepare for mid-term examination



Saturday, 15 February 2003
FLORIDA ENTERS THE TWENTIETH CENTURY AS
WE APPROACH THE HALF-WAY MARK

        MID-TERM EXAMINATION (90 minutes)


        Lecture (after exam): Changes in the land and wallin’ in the sand
        Lecture & Discussion: Reclaiming land from the railroads
        Lecture & Discussion: Draining land in the Everglades
        Lecture & Discussion: Walling in land along the coastlines


Saturday, 22 February 2003
PROGRESSIVE POLITICS WITH REGRESSIVE RESULTS;
GREAT WAR, GREATER LAND BOOM, HURRICANES
AND FINANCIAL STORMS

        Lecture & Discussion: Progressive politics in Florida, 1901-1916
        Lecture & Discussion: Florida and World War I
        Lecture & Discussion: Postwar Mobility: Take a drive with the ‘Tin Can’ tourists
        Lecture & Discussion: Binder boys, green benches, and wild speculation
        Lecture & Discussion: Boom turns to bust
        Lecture & Discussion: Depressing years in Florida, 1926-1935
        Lecture & Discussion: The New Deal
        Video: St. Petersburg in 1929

    Before class, read:
        Arsenault, St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, pp. 118-295.
        Gannon, Florida: A Short History, 74-100.
        Brown, Totch, pp. 1-118.
        James J. Horgan and Lewis N. Wynne, Florida Decades: A Sesquicentennial
            History, 1845-1995. St. Leo: St. Leo College Press, 1995, pp. 109-118.
            (on reserve)
        Paul S. George, “Brokers, Binders, and Builders: Greater Miami’s Boom of the
            Mid-1920s.” Florida Historical Quarterly 65 (1) July 1986: 27-51.
            (on reserve or on-line)



Saturday, 1 March 2003       
NATIVISM IN PARADISE: ROSEWOOD AND
THE RESURGENCE OF THE KLAN

        Lecture & Discussion: Lynching, and other dark sides of Florida history
        Lecture & Discussion: Clouds of segregation in the land of sunshine
        Lecture & Discussion: The Klan and Jim Crow
        Lecture & Discussion: The obliteration of Rosewood
        Lecture & Discussion: Folklore and Folklife
        Lecture & Discussion: Preparing for war, once again

    Before class, read:
        Newton, The Invisible Empire, pp. 31-105.
        David Colburn, “Rosewood and America in the Early Twentieth Century.”
            Florida Historical Quarterly 76 (2) Fall 1997: 175-192. (on reserve)


Saturday, 8 March 2003
RESEARCHING AND WRITING

In lieu of a formal class meeting, students will meet individually with the instructor sometime between March 1 and March 8 to discuss progress on their research paper and other class matters.  Each session should take approximately 45 minutes. The instructor will distribute a sign-up sheet with appointments during the February 22 class.


Saturday, 15 March 2003
NO CLASS: SPRING BREAK HOLIDAY



Saturday, 22 March 2003
HOT WAR, COLD WAR, COLD AIR

        Lecture & Discussion: Florida goes to war
        Lecture & Discussion: Mobilization and globalization
        Lecture & Discussion: Post-war fears as the cold war nears
        Lecture & Discussion: Remove the “Red Pepper”

    Before class, read:
        Gannon, Florida: A Short History, pp. 100-109.
        Arsenault, St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, pp. 296-337.
        Brown, Totch, pp. 119-127.
        Ellen Babb, “Women and War: St. Petersburg Women during World War II.”
            Florida Historical Quarterly 73 (1) July 1994: 43-61
(on reserve or on-line)
        Gary R. Mormino, “On the Brink.” FHC Forum. Fall 1999: 6-15. (on reserve)
        James A. Schnur, “Persevering on the Home Front: Blacks in Florida during World
War II,” in Lewis N. Wynne, ed. Florida at War. St. Leo: St. Leo College
Press, 1993, pp. 49-69. (on reserve)


Saturday, 29 March 2003   
A FLOCK OF SNOWBIRDS—LIFE AND LEISURE
IN NATURAL FLORIDA

        Lecture & Discussion: An inviting environment
        Lecture & Discussion: Closing the range, as people appear at close range
        Lecture & Discussion: Selling the Florida dream, the business progressive perspective

    Before class, read:
        Brown, Totch, pp. 128-205, 239-265.
        Al Burt, “The Complexities of Paradise.” FEH Forum (Summer 1994): 4-9.
            (on reserve)
        Gary Mormino, “Trouble in Tourist Heaven.” FEH Forum (Summer 1994): 10-13.
            (on reserve)
        Jack E. Davis, “Green Awakening: Social Activism and the Evolution of Marjory
            Stoneman Douglas’s Environmental Consciousness.” Florida Historical
            Quarterly 80 (1) Summer 2001: 43-77. (on reserve)
        Raymond Arsenault and Gary Mormino, “From Dixie to Dreamland: Demographic
            and Cultural Change in Florida, 1880-1980,” in Shades of the Sunbelt:
            Essays on Ethnicity, Race, and the Urban South, Randall M. Miller and
            George E. Pozzetta, eds. Contributions in American History, Number 128,
            New York: Greenwood Press, 1988, pp. 161-191. (on reserve)


Saturday, 5 April 2003       
CIVIL RIGHTS, UNCIVIL WRONGS

        Lecture & Discussion: Second Reconstruction in Florida
        Lecture & Discussion: Civil Rights activities, from bus boycotts to sit-ins
        Lecture & Discussion: Porkchoppers and Lambchoppers
        Lecture & Discussion: The Johns Committee and attempts to curb civil liberties
        Video: “Behind Closed Doors: The Dark Legacy of the Johns Committee”

    Before class, read:
        Gannon, Florida: A Short History, pp. 109-135.
        Newton, The Invisible Empire, pp. 106-182.
        James J. Horgan and Lewis N. Wynne, Florida Decades: A Sesquicentennial
            History, 1845-1995. St. Leo: St. Leo College Press, 1995, pp. 165-180.
            (on reserve)
        Raymond A. Mohl, “On the Edge: Blacks and Hispanics in Metropolitan Miami
            since 1959.” Florida Historical Quarterly 69 (1) July 1990: 37-56
            (on reserve or on-line)
        Skim selected documents from the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee
            (on reserve)


Saturday, 12 April 2003
SPACE SHIPS’ RED GLARE,
DEMOGRAPHIC EXPLOSIONS EVERYWHERE
THE RODENT HAS LANDED—THE ROADS ARE CONGESTED

        Lecture & Discussion: Highways, turnpikes, and trips into outer space
        Lecture & Discussion: Controlling mosquitoes in the age of uncontrolled growth
        Lecture & Discussion: Up Reedy’s Creek—from cow pastures to crowded pleasures
        Lecture & Discussion: Desegregation, deregulation, and decontamination: sharing
            paradise with 15-million others
        Lecture & Discussion: Has the Florida dream become a nightmare?

    Before class, read:
        Newton, The Invisible Empire, pp. 183-216.
        Brown, Totch, pp. 206-238.
        Charles Foglesong, “The Mouse that Roared: The Untold Story of How Disney
            Secretly Acquired Vast Plots of Land to Create Disney World.” FEH Forum
            Spring 2001: 16-19. (on reserve)
 

Saturday, 19 April 2003
A SUNSHINE STATE OF MIND: SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND
ECOLOGICAL THEMES IN CONTEMPORARY FLORIDA

        Lecture & Discussion: From He-Coons to “Hanging Chads”: contemporary life in
            Florida
        Discussion: Review of requirements for research paper
        Discussion:  Closing thoughts and comments about Florida history
        Presentations:  Student discussion of research papers
        Evaluation of course learning experiences   
        Review for Final Examination

    Before class, read:
        Gannon, Florida: A Short History, pp. 135-151.
        R. Bruce Stephenson, Visions of Eden: Environmentalism, Urban Planning, and
            City Building in St. Petersburg, Florida, 1900-1995. Columbus: Ohio
            State University Press, 1997, pp. 126-142. (on reserve)

        Raymond Arsenault, “Is There a Florida Dream?” FEH Forum (Summer 1994): 22-27.
            (on reserve)
        Stephen Whitfield, “Florida’s Fudged Identity,” Florida Historical Quarterly 71 (4)
            April 1993: 413-435. (on reserve or on-line)

    Assignment to do: Prepare for final examination


Saturday, 26 April 2003
A FINAL EXAMINATION OF, AND ON, FLORIDA HISTORY

        FINAL EXAMINATION (Two Hours)

    Assignment to do: Research paper is due by Wednesday, April 30.

NO LATER THAN Wednesday, 30 April 2003, 5:00 p.m.

        RESEARCH PAPER DUE!
        (You may submit the paper earlier in the week)