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Florida's Negro War: Black Seminoles and the Second Seminole War 1835-1842
From 1817 to 1858, the U.S. government engaged in a bitter conflict with the Seminole Nation. This conflict would result in three distinct wars. The Second Seminole War (1835-1842) was conducted under the Indian Removal Policy of the 1830’s. This war was a result of the American plantation societies’ relentless efforts to enslave the Black Seminole population.
The U.S. government’s objective became to return as many Black Seminoles as possible, if not all, to slavery. Evidence proves that the efforts of the U.S. military to place Blacks in bondage were not only a major underlying theme throughout the war but at various points the primary goal.
It is also clear that from the onset of the war, the U.S. government and military, as well as state militias, grossly underestimated both the determination and the willingness of the Black Seminole to resist at all cost. This book makes the argument that the Second Seminole War was indeed a slave rebellion, perhaps the most successful one in U.S. history.
The U.S. government’s objective became to return as many Black Seminoles as possible, if not all, to slavery. Evidence proves that the efforts of the U.S. military to place Blacks in bondage were not only a major underlying theme throughout the war but at various points the primary goal.
It is also clear that from the onset of the war, the U.S. government and military, as well as state militias, grossly underestimated both the determination and the willingness of the Black Seminole to resist at all cost. This book makes the argument that the Second Seminole War was indeed a slave rebellion, perhaps the most successful one in U.S. history.
- GenresHistoryAmerican History
159 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2014
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March 8, 2022
Excellent history of a pivotal time in Florida's growth and development, clarifying the assertion long made by historians that the Second Seminole War was a race war as Black Seminoles and their Indian allies resisted the encroachment of plantation slavery and seizure of Indian lands.
Dixon highlights the differences between the Spanish ownership of Florida, where Fort Mose and other settlements were established for the free black community and its militias, and the American ownership in 1821 bringing laws restricting movement and rights of free and enslaved Black communities and the Indians. This could only lead to inevitable conflicts, and by the 1840s it devolved into a war that Dr. Dixon asserts was a slave rebellion, possibly the most successful one in US history.
An important book for any researcher or author seeking to understand the forces that shaped Territorial Florida, its plantation society, and its march to rebellion in the Civil War.
Dixon highlights the differences between the Spanish ownership of Florida, where Fort Mose and other settlements were established for the free black community and its militias, and the American ownership in 1821 bringing laws restricting movement and rights of free and enslaved Black communities and the Indians. This could only lead to inevitable conflicts, and by the 1840s it devolved into a war that Dr. Dixon asserts was a slave rebellion, possibly the most successful one in US history.
An important book for any researcher or author seeking to understand the forces that shaped Territorial Florida, its plantation society, and its march to rebellion in the Civil War.
Displaying 1 of 1 review