The environment

The environment shaped Florida history in ways unimaginable. For example, during the Spanish occupation of Florida, the Europeans treated the natives as savages, as well as the environment. Hatred bled across the environment because the Europeans, such as the Spanish and the English associated the land with the inequalities of the Native tribes. Such injustice created tensions between tribes, such as the Calusa, Choctaw, and Timucuan tribes. Therefore, the Europeans began to ravage the land, creating unimaginable destruction to Florida. Before this happened, Florida was a land that thrived upon the Native Americans, who respected nature. They helped the environment for reasons concerning their belief in polytheism, and traditions handed down by their leaders. The environment was an entity of beauty to many tribes, which was shown through the natives' respect of nature's purity, and benefits to their land. Ultimately, its was the Europeans' bad judgments that lead to the destruction of the environment, creating great tension within Florida. With the environment, Florida lost a culture, a people, and a civilization.

How The Environment Changes the Florida Experience

The environment plays a large role in the Florida experience. Florida was always thought of as this mystical place. A heaven on earth if one would say. There has always been this kind of paradise associated with Florida. However when the first explorers landed on Florida they experienced a much different environment. The European settlers where not used to the hot and humid months of Florida. Many settlers fell victim to diseases brought on by the heat. Aside from the difficult climate the terrain proposed a problem. The land was full of wetlands. The wetlands were difficult to settle on and was home to many insects that also helped spread disease. The land was full of dangerous animals like the Florida alligator or panther. All of these factors made the environment not so much a paradise, but a difficult place to settle.

How environment shaped the Florida experience

The environment shaped the Florida experience in many ways. First of all, the climate and general weather portion of the environment was very different from what settlers were used to. It was hot and muggy and there were so many new species of animals there. It was also extremely flat land, and easy to travel throughout which Americans weren't really used to (having acclimated to mountain ranges and steep terrain in other settlement areas). Florida was completely different from anything the settlers had known before because of the unique environment and location (panhandle). Settlers had to get used to such different things than they did before, and learned to deal with the environment and climate of Florida.

Environment and the Florida experience

The environment has always been one of the most prominent factors that influenced living patterns and settlement in Florida. Settlers that have come over from the European areas had to adapt to climates and terrain that were much different from what they were accustomed to overseas. The temperature was warmer and more harsh than Europeans were accustomed to so they developed diseases and other complications that resulted in deaths. One of the benefits of this change of climate is that those who settled in Florida grew immune to certain diseases and they are no longer a problem in Florida up until this day. The environment also posed a problem because it was nothing like the settlers expected it to be. They felt as if it was a paradise that they could come in and cultivate the land without a problem but what they encountered was rugged and untamed terrain that they had trouble managing. All in all, the perception that foreigners had of Florida was an illusion and they were in for a rude awakening when thet made landfull because it was nothing that they had expected.

Environment and the Florida Experience

The environment has always played a crucial role in the "Florida experience." Incoming settlers, used to the more temperate climates they were from, had to adjust to Florida weather and land, completely unfamiliar and at times dangerous. For many new settlers, Florida took on a romantic, almost mythical, tone. The most important aspect about Florida, as far as they were concerned, was its land. Many had seen Florida as an unspoiled paradise, and their disappointment with this harsh land was shown in how they interacted with and treated the natives who lived there. They grouped the natives as a part of the environment. The disillusionment that the newcomers felt toward their former paradise was shown in the terms with which they described the natives. As experiences with both environment and the natives (both thought of as the environment), the natives are described as much more barbaric and savage.

Changed my thinking...

Through all of my research, writing, and editing, I have learned a lot about the racial climate and early influences upon racialization in Florida. Also, I have learned a lot about preconceived notions of Native Americans. I had never really thought about it before, but the way people thought about the Native Americans near the end of the eighteenth century is incredibly similar to a lot of the ways people think about African Americans even to this day. In my opinion, Bartram was trying to destroy the ideas people held about Native Americans and replace the negative stereotypes with evidence of the identical human nature, capability, and morality, just as many people are still working hard to eliminate the racially based generalizations so prevalent all throughout American history. He may have simply been replacing negative generalizations with positive ones, and thus, was not deviating from racialization, but he still put forth a noble effort that must be appreciated as revolutionary and far more pluralistic then many of his contemporary intellectuals. William Bartram was certainly a forerunner in accepting and even admiring the differences between human beings.

Archives...

According to the syllabus, 3-4 images from either the archives or another legitimate source must be included in our paper. The archives here, while dusty, did not contain the sort of pictures I needed. On the WorldCat database there is an advanced search for digital sources and pictures. Here I was able to find many archival sources from libraries around the country and special collections. Most of these were not available for interlibrary loan, even just photographs of the archival sources. One book, however, was incredibly helpful. William Bartram, 1739-1823 : watercolours & drawings, including those made on his travels in Carolina, Georgia, & Florida during the 1770s contains information about the contents and themes of nearly all his drawings and paintings while on his expedition. All the beautiful images are on pages triple the size of a normal text book’s pages. Additionally, the different editions of Bartram’s Travels… contain maps and images of the actual places and animals Bartram saw on his trip. This helps to give a surreal dimension to the more idealistic drawings provided by Bartram. Thanks to all these pictures I did not have to use any sort of images from the archives.

Florida's Past

This research project has changed my perspective of Florida by making me think more about the natural environment and our past. The Calusa Indians really utillized the envirnment. They lived off of the land. Doing my research makes me think of what the land used to be like. We have only known Florida as settled land. I try to imagine Florida without any development. Also It makes me think of Florida's past. It makes me realize Florida has a strong Spanish past. We have a lot of history from Spain since they were the first settlers from Europe. We have a great amount of Native pride. It helps me understand why so many Florida teams are named after Native Americans. All in all after working on my research paper it has made me think of Florida in a new light.

Thoughts on Florida

Before I began research for this paper, I knew pretty much nothing about Florida's frontier past. For me, Florida has always been this place of cities, shopping malls, and Disney World. It was really interesting to be introduced to this whole other part of Florida that I was completely oblivious to. Because of its reputation as a residence of Mickey Mouse and number of retired people, no one really of Florida as a place with a past rivaling the Old West's. I never really considered Florida as a frontier, as I mostly picture America's frontier expanding only westward. That's one of the reasons it was interesting to learn about the lawless frontier that once existed here. Also, the Cracker culture in Florida was really interesting to learn about. These early settlers were so self-sufficient and tough, weathering all kinds of dangers and problems. It amazes me how much of this history is unknown to people. Many are at least a little familiar with the lawless legend that is the Old West. However, few are even aware of the dangerous frontier that was once here in Florida.

View of Florida after research project

Before I was enlightened by this research project, I never imagined Florida had such a dark and violent past. Before I had researched on Florida, I imagined Florida to be a place in which the natives were tolerated by the Spanish, English and French. This was before I had read Constructing Floridians, that is. I had always imagined that the natives were treated with fairness, were tolerated and accepted by the Europeans. But I was wrong. I never imagined the cruelty in which the Europeans labeled the natives as savages, enslaved them, and disrespected them, even when the natives were on the side of the Europeans. The very nature of Christianity was abused in the name of the Crown. I now view Florida as a lost land, a place that used to be untouched and beautifully preserved by the native tribes such as the Calusa. I understand that the moment the Europeans settled in Florida, the beauty of Florida was destroyed and expelled forever from the land. No longer was Florida a natural place as the Europeans cut down trees in order to build towns and fortresses where the once beautiful Florida used to thrive, within the hands of respectful tribes as the Calusa, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, and Timucuan tribes. Because I was taught early on in life that the Native American tribes got along with the Europeans, I assumed that both sides got along after the invasion. It was naïve of me to assume such things, because when I read Constructing Floridians by Daniel Murphree, I learned very important things about Florida I did not know in the past. I did know that the Europeans struggled with the natives at first, but I did not know of the troubles afterward. I was shocked to learn that the natives were treated as animals, called savages, and even mistrusted as thieves by some nations. I knew Flo0ridian natives were indentured servants and slaves, however, I never knew the pain they suffered by the Europeans, nor the blackest discrimination.

My thinking about FL since the research paper

Since working on the florida research paper, my thinking has changed a lot. I had no idea Florida was so unique, my thoughts on all the states joining together were sort of blurred and I rarely thought about the individual efforts and battles/issues of each individual state. So much went on in the acquisition of Florida, and the state has so many stories to tell. I was completely unaware of the efforts put in by so many people (mainly Jackson but others obviously involved too) to gain Florida for the United States. The research paper has changed my thinking a lot in that I have so much respect for the process of gaining florida and all the controversy that surrounded it.

S.O.S Florida

My opinion of Florida as a result of this project is the same if not worse than it was before. There are a few differences between what I thought before and my outlook has slightly changed. I no understand the role thatFlorida played in establuishing the identity of the United States and realizing that it is much more than just a hunk of land that Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue to discover. I now understand that it played a greater role than I thought. On the contrary the fact that I had to do all of the research and write a ten page paper on it and find thousands of documents related to it kinda just made me want to move to another state. Overall, my view of Florida is pretty much the same as when I walked into the classroom at the beginning of the year.

Olin Archive

The Olin Archive is as stated previously, a little bit of an uncomfortable working environment. this minor inconvenience is outweighed by the benefits of the archive's resources. Through the Olin archive, i have gathered several primary sources and am feeling more confident about my source list. The staff in the archive was very helpful, and has been consistently so since the last time i visited the archive

The Olin Archive

The Olin Archive had its ups and its downs. It was very unpleasant working in it. It is always hot and stuffy. I hate that feeling. However the benifets definetly outweigh the minuses. The Olin Archive was able to give me multiple primary sources that are very useful for my paper. It gave me letters from the Spanish during the era of the Calusa interaction. Besides this, the Archive was also able to provide the images I needed for my research paper. It was difficult for me to find any outside of it but the archive made it easier for my research. All and all I was glad with the product of spending time in the Olin Archive but would prefer to stay out of it.

Olin Archives

Although working in the Olin Archives was a little uncomfortable (very hot and stuffy), I got a lot of good research done there. I've been finding many sources on Andrew Jackson and the acquisition of Florida, moreso than I thought. Almost all my sources were found there and I've been able to weave the info into my paper (including what I'd written without those sources). Overall I'm very impressed with the Olin Archives and am glad we have such resources; it's been very helpful and will make my paper stronger.

Olin library search

In the Olin archive there was many great sources I found. A large majority of my primary sources for my research project came from the library itself. One of the most original and authentic sources I found, such as James Adair's “The History of the American Indians" (Revised 1968) was published originally in the 18th Century. What makes this document the most interesting of my sources, was that it contains the words of the author, who wrote it during the 1700s. The wording is very archaic, valuable and can give me excellent insight about early Florida history. In addition, I found ten other primary sources, many which I found in the Olin library. My secondary sources were academic journals I found while using my RefWorks account at the Olin Library. Even though a large majority of the journals I found on RefWorks was not at the library itself, I began to find the sources from other areas. While searching the archives, I found many great books that were extremely useful because they had a lot of important information on the subject in which I am researching. I did not find it as difficult as others thought it would be because I found the people working at the library to be extremely helpful. Because of the authenticity of the materials I discovered in the library's archives, I discovered an advantage that could help me a great deal in my paper. Although the environment in the archives was at best very hot because of poor air conditioning, I found the archives to be extremely helpful for me.

Olin Archive

From the research I have done online about the Olin Archive, I have found that many documents or pictures are relevant to my paper. There are a few pictures of the fort and I havent gotten a chance to read the letters yet. The pictures are wonderful primary resources but I havent figured out if pictures are relevant in a research paper. and if they are how do I incorporate them into my paper. I plan on utilizing this source for resources.

The Olin Archive

The Olin Archive was a really great help for my paper. Because I was having a lot of trouble trying to locate first-person sources, that was what I was most focused on finding, and the Archive was where I found some important sources. The people who worked there were very helpful, and when I told them the little that I did know on the subject, they brought out a lot of files for me to look through, for any relevant information. Also, the lady who worked there also told me how I could use the bookshelves as well to look through all kinds of magazines for articles and such. I hadn't ever had to research this much for a paper before, but I received a lot of help in the Archive.

Olin Archive

If you take a poll and ask how many people spend time regularly in the Olin Archive in our campus library you will find that not too many people go there or more that they didnt even know we had a first floor in the library. On the whole I did not enjoy working in the archive at all. One reason, the main reason, is that it is hot and and there is little air circulation down there. It is hard to be down there for more than two minutes without becoming agitated and wanting to leave so it was hard to stay down there and look up the things that I needed. I also did not like working in the archive because the materials down there could not be checked out so you had to go and make copies of them and make sure you had everything you needed before you left the library. I think the thing that made the experience the worst for me was the fact that the cellular service was horrible and I didnt get any of my missed calls or text messages until I left from down there. Although the material that I got from the archive was helpful in writing the paper the time that I had to spend in the Olin Archive was not worth it.

seraching

I have found many secondary sources for my research paper. However finding primary documents is much more difficult. My topic is dealing with numerous government meetings that were never properly documented. Also the time period in which my topic is taking place is 150 years ago,when issues such as my topic were not widely reported on like they are today.

Document Search

My search for documents related to my research topic is proving to be rather difficult. Most sources that i come across are full length books that would require purchasing to see and use. I have purchased one book that has proven to be the most useful of all of my sources. In terms of published documents that i can find using the online databases, they are relatively non-existent. Information on the First Seminole war is difficult to find, and i am greatful that i did purchase the book i did becuase it is the most complete and informative source that i have come across.

Search for Documents

The search for documents related to my research project has gone fairly well. Most of my documents have come from one source, a book filled with translated primary sources. These documents give me a variety of letters between Spaniards of how their experience with the Calusa Indians was going. This book along with other documents will cover all my primary sources. At first it was difficult to find some documents. I had trouble knowing where to look and to which search engine. I was finding mainly reviews on documents rather than the primary documents themselves. I still haven’t been able to find any images from the era yet. This I think has been quite difficult.

Document Search

My search for good documents for my research paper has not been easy. Since my topic is so specific - i think that it is difficult to search for so many factors. The first of which, time period (1600) the topic of climate in florida, and native americans - all fairly specific topics in themselves. Also, it is difficult to find documents from the 1600's, and to be honest i have always struggled when it came to finding good sources. However I feel that i am coming along, and even though i was short on sources for the rough draft,  i will have good document sources at the time of the final draft.

Searching for sources

At the beginning of my search, I found it rather difficult to find helpful primary sources. There were many secondary sources and books on that where on Juan Ponce de Leon and discussed his expedition, background, and provided some usual information, but nothing that was of true substance. I wasn't going to be able to right my research paper based off of a bunch of biographical information. At first, my idea of a primary source was basically a personal journal by Juan Ponce de Leon or someone on his expedition, but I soon realized that this was narrowing the possibilities when I wasn't finding any primary sources of this nature. With advice, I broadened my search for primary sources to include people who lived during the time period, fellow conquistadors, family members, and mostly anything I could find that was published relatively close to the time period.

Document Adventure

For my paper on Racism in Florida, I found a number of appropriate documents. For my primary sources, I found eleven books, such as Marjory Stoneman Douglas' "The Everglades: River of Grass", and Micheal Gannon's "The History of Florida". The books I found were in the Olin Library at Rollins. I also found fourteen academic journal secondary sources and one book in under a RefWorks search. Racism is cited in those sources depending on which side is viewed as the perpetrator. Some of the sources portray Europe, especially Spain and England. The secondary sources consist of academic journals that contain valuable information on the natives and the prejudice that condemned them. My sources contain valuable information on the culture, religion, and war values the natives of Florida had. I will provide information regarding the settler's point of view, cultures, and national values in which they tried to implement on the natives out of fear. I have information in my sources about the methods in which the natives were attempted to be civilized by the European countries who felt the natives were unchristian and evil. I will show in my primary and secondary sources prejudice within the European settlers who went from respecting the Native Americans to despising their culture and religion. I will also include instances of native prejudice against settlers who were looking for peace and order within Floridian tribes. My main point in my sources is to explain why both sides misunderstood each other and lacked sufficient ways of developing peaceful alternatives to war. I have the resources that back evidence from a European standpoint that, indeed, some natives were uneducated, violent savages in regard to their mistreatment of French soldiers. I will point out reasons in my sources concerning a lack of peace and wisdom among both European and native leaders that sparked controversy for their uncivil mannerisms and lack of regard for human life. My sources will provide explanations why both side failed to provide peace and understanding because of lack of respect and racial tension.

Quest For Documents

In the beginning when looking for documents related to the civil warI found that there were an abundance of them so I had to begin to pinpoint those that associated with Florida. Once I found the area where there was one book I looked around in that area and I hit the jackpot. There were many books that covered my topic and would be helpful in the research paper. The only problem was that the majority of the documents in that section were secondary documents so I still had to look for primary documents, that search proved to be a lot more difficult than that of the secondary sources. It took a little longer to find pictures and letters and other primary documents for the paper but I got lucky in the archives at Olin specifically in the Florida Quarterly where I found many useful articles. All in all, the search for documents was not all that difficult it just took a little time and whole lot of patience.

Document Search

Looking for documents for the paper, at first, was confusing and stressful for me, because I hadn't really had to look for so many sources before. However, once I began to find some good, relevant sources,I started to get the hang of things. It was mostly using the online research databases that was the most confusing part for me, as I'm not very adept at using computers or researching using online databases. Also, there didn't seem to be very much written on the Cracker Cowboys, nor the Florida Crackers in general. Primary documents were especially scarce, though I did find a great one with the article written by Frederic Remington in 1895, while visiting Florida, about the Cracker Cowboys. It was one of the first articles I found, and gave me great insight into the Cracker Cowboy lifestyle. The people who worked down in archives were really helpful when I went down there looking for primary sources, and I got a few that way as well.