From the 1780s the growing demand for cotton and the rich soil of the ‘Red Hills’ region near Tallahassee led to the establishment of many large plantations. You can visit a notable one at the Goodwood Museum and Gardens goodwoodmuseum.org. At the time slavery was an integral part of this form of intensive agriculture. Many of the slaves had been forcibly separated from families and transported from Virginia, Maryland and the Carolinas, where changes in farming had diminished demand for slave labour there.
Florida’s secession and the American Civil War 1861-5
The Northern States did not depend on slave labour for economic development. Tensions between the states and positions on the legal status of Africans in the United States came to a head in the 1860 presidential election. Florida congressmen feared that Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party would abolish slavery. This was the catalyst for Florida’s secession from the United States, following South Carolina and Mississippi: the first of the so-called Confederate States.
During the Civil War Confederate authorities used slaves to transport supplies and as labourers in salt works and fisheries: two industries vital for provisioning the Confederate army and the supporting civilians at home. Many slaves working in these industries used the opportunities presented by the Union (the Northern States) blockading vessels and coastal raids to escape bondage. The Union received many of these escapees into service in the military.
From 1861 a stated goal of the war for the Union was the abolition of slavery in all territories captured by the Union. This was set out in the Emancipation Proclamation.
Tallahassee was a major area of attention for the Union military. It was the only state capital that remained not captured by the Union forces. A pivotal battle in this respect took place at Natural Bridge, which is now a part of the University of Florida campus.
Nevertheless by May 1865 events of the war had made the defeat of the Confederate states inevitable. On May 20th 1865 the Emancipation Proclamation was read out on the steps on the Union Army’s Tallahassee’s headquarters. This declared freedom for all slaves in Florida and the rest of the South that remained under Confederate control.
You can stand on the very steps where the Proclamation was read out at the William V. Knott House, now a public museum, in the historic Park District of Tallahassee
The thirteenth amendment of the US Constitution, abolishing slavery, was adopted into US Law on December 6th 1865.
The Black Archives Research Centre and Museum at the Florida A & M Museum. Opening hours can be obtained on 850 599 3000.
The John G. Riley Centre/Museum was the former home of the principal of the first black high school. Riley was himself born into slavery in 1857. The centre features artwork and photos evoking life from 1865 to 1968.
