Transplanting Enslavement to the Early Florida Territory
Even though Florida would not become an organized territory of the United States until 1822, Americans began to settle it beforehand. The federal government laid the foundation for the territory by waging war on Indigenous Americans and eliminating sites of resistance such as Fort Gadsden. Settlers began to forcibly move enslaved people across states to establish plantations. In 1822, the U.S. Senate would both create the Florida Territory and permit slavery under broad parameters despite the relatively recent end of the slave trade.
"Letter from the Secretary of the Navy, transmitting, in obedience to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the twenty-sixth ultimo, sundry documents relating to the destruction of the Negro fort in East Florida in the month of July, 1816."
The “Negro fort,” or Fort Gadsden, lay on Prospect Bluff overlooking the Apalachicola River. The British built the fort in 1814 with land seized during the War of 1812. After the war, the British abandoned it, leaving weapons and supplies. It became a community for indigenous Americans, free Blacks, and maroons. This correspondence, regarding its destruction in 1818, characterized the fort, the community, and their plantations as dangerous to the U.S. government. It referred to the fort as a stronghold of outlaws. The fort’s destruction and this correspondence illustrates that the forced removal of populations predicated territorial settlement.
"1819 Receipt of conveyance"
The Hollingsworth family was one of the early settlers to the Tallahassee area. They also owned an estate in Edgefield, South Carolina. This receipt of conveyance bequeathed thirteen enslaved people from James Sr. Hollingsworth to his son, John. When enslavers moved to settle new territories, they transplanted the economic system of slavery in these places, including Middle Florida. This document is evidence that when families like the Hollingsworth’s moved, they forced people such as Peggy, a twenty-two-year-old enslaved woman, and her daughter to move with them, leaving behind any community or relationships they formed states away.
"United State Senate Vote regarding Slavery in Territorial Florida"
While Florida did not attain statehood until 1845, the issue of slavery animated early debates about the territory. On March 6, 1822, The U.S. Senate voted and passed legislation that dictated how slavery would be enabled in the territory. The document outlines that “No slave or slaves shall, directly or indirectly, be introduced into the said Territory, except by a citizen of the United States removing into said Territory for actual settlement.” Despite eliminating outlets for the slave trade, the language is quite broad, allowing those such as the Hollingsworth’s to settle the territory with enslaved people they forced to relocate.