Folkway #23 - Power & Politics

So, what was the political landscape on Central Florida's frontier?


Simply put, Democrats ruled the roost for more than a century. 


It is important to keep in mind that the earliest settlers were greatly dependent on government subsidies for their survival. 


At the federal level, the pioneers greatly benefited from the Armed Occupation Act of 1842.  This legislation made 200,000 acres of government-owned land available for settlement.  Each qualifying applicant was granted 160 acres free of charge.  As with modern government programs, however, the free land came with significant strings attached:


1. The applicant had to get a permit from the Government Land Office.
2. The applicant (or his heirs) had to LIVE ON THE LAND for FIVE CONSECUTIVE YEARS.
3. The applicant had to improve 5 of the acres (by clearing it for cultivation or livestock).
4. The applicant had to build a house on the land during the first year after obtaining his permit.
5. The land had to be at least two miles away from any active military posts.


At the state level, pioneer men benefited from militia service.  Whereas modern residents of Central Florida find mandated public service like jury duty to be an annoyance or inconvenience, the area's early residents enjoyed being called up for militia duty.  State service ensured a steady source of cash and provisions.


So, initially, the most popular politicians were those who promised to deliver more cheap (or free) land and to continue scouring the countryside for renegade Seminoles.


As the nation careened toward civil war, most of this area's residents were skeptical about secession--not because they held lofty ideals such as abolition of slavery, but because they were worried any war might disrupt the government subsidies they had come to enjoy.  It is important to note that both of Orange County's representatives to the state's secession convention voted AGAINST leaving the union.


During the Reconstruction Era, political power was largely in the hands of newcomers (called "carpetbaggers" for their peculiar luggage) and their local collaborators (called "scalawags").  Many were left at the mercy of unscrupulous bureaucrats.  Pine Castle's founder Will Wallace Harney detailed how one settler named Asa Tanner was defrauded of his homestead land by carpetbaggers working in the state land office.


Perhaps the most important local official on the frontier was the postmaster.  During the pioneer era, this was a plum political appointment.  This also meant that the office bounced back and forth, depending on the result of presidential elections.  If a Republican was elected, he would name a local member of the GOP to be the postmaster.  Likewise, a Democrat would name a member of his party.  Civil service reform efforts eventually ended this practice.