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Creating an Old South: Middle Florida's Plantation Frontier before the Civil War
Set on the antebellum southern frontier, this book uses the history of two counties in Florida's panhandle to tell the story of the migrations, disruptions, and settlements that made the plantation South.
Soon after the United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1821, migrants from older southern states began settling the land that became Jackson and Leon Counties. Slaves, torn from family and community, were forced to carve plantations from the woods of Middle Florida, while planters and less wealthy white men battled over the social, political, and economic institutions of their new society.
Conflict between white men became full-scale crisis in the 1840s, but when sectional conflict seemed to threaten slavery, the whites of Middle Florida found common ground. In politics and everyday encounters, they enshrined the ideal of white male equality--and black inequality. To mask their painful memories of crisis, the planter elite told themselves that their society had been transplanted from older states without conflict. But this myth of an "Old," changeless South only papered over the struggles that transformed slave society in the course of its expansion. In fact, that myth continues to shroud from our view the plantation frontier, the very engine of conflict that had led to the myth's creation.
Soon after the United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1821, migrants from older southern states began settling the land that became Jackson and Leon Counties. Slaves, torn from family and community, were forced to carve plantations from the woods of Middle Florida, while planters and less wealthy white men battled over the social, political, and economic institutions of their new society.
Conflict between white men became full-scale crisis in the 1840s, but when sectional conflict seemed to threaten slavery, the whites of Middle Florida found common ground. In politics and everyday encounters, they enshrined the ideal of white male equality--and black inequality. To mask their painful memories of crisis, the planter elite told themselves that their society had been transplanted from older states without conflict. But this myth of an "Old," changeless South only papered over the struggles that transformed slave society in the course of its expansion. In fact, that myth continues to shroud from our view the plantation frontier, the very engine of conflict that had led to the myth's creation.
- GenresHistory
408 pages, Paperback
First published April 29, 2002
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October 26, 2025
I found this book in the “Florida History” section at the local book store. It was dense and tested the reader’s attention span, but I enjoyed learning about the Union Bank of Florida and the many political/blood feuds examined by Baptist. I especially liked the chapters on rough and tumble fighting and the southern backcountry ethos.
The author’s overarching premise was that the “sleepy antebellum south” as [mis]understood today wildly misses the mark because of the dynamic relocation, entrepreneurship, and speculation that characterized the era. I have strong expectations for the author’s book on slavery and capitalism and look forward to reading it.
The author’s overarching premise was that the “sleepy antebellum south” as [mis]understood today wildly misses the mark because of the dynamic relocation, entrepreneurship, and speculation that characterized the era. I have strong expectations for the author’s book on slavery and capitalism and look forward to reading it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review