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The Florida Territory and the Seminole Wars

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Lesson The Florida Territory 2 and the Seminole Wars Essential Question In Unit 2 you read how a treaty is an agreement between nations. How does control of an Have you ever made an agreement? What was the result of your area change? agreement? Write your thoughts below. What do you think? In this lesson, you will learn about how the United States and Spain entered into a treaty which made Florida a Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [LC-USZC2-2753] U.S. territory. A territory is an area of land controlled by a nation. Read on to find out why Spain and the United States Write a number on each line agreed to this treaty. to show how much you know about the meaning of each John Quincy Adams signed a treaty ↓ word below. that made Florida a U.S. territory. 1 = I have no idea! 2 = I know a little. 3 = I know a lot. territory planter *organize reservation *propose NGSS Standards SS.4.A.3.9 Explain how Florida (Adams-Onis(Ad Treaty) became a U.S. territory. SS.4.A.3.10 Identify the causes and effects of the Seminole Wars. 92 There’sTher More Online!ne! Content Library Videos NGSS Standards SS.4.A.3.9 Explain how Florida (Adams-Onis(d Treaty) became a U.S. territory. SS.4.A.3.10 Identify the The Adams-Onís Treaty causes and effects of the Seminole Wars. In the early 1800s, the Spanish government was having problems with Florida. Spain was busy fighting expensive wars in other parts of the world, and there were few soldiers available to control Florida. As a result, Spanish Florida had little law and order. Circle the cause At the same time, Spain knew that many Americans wanted of the First the United States to take control of Florida. There were a couple of Seminole War. reasons for this. First, many U.S. settlers in Georgia and other nearby Underline its effect. areas wanted to settle on fertile land in northern Florida where the Seminole lived. Also, some American planters, or plantation owners, were upset that the Seminole protected escaped enslaved workers. As a result, the United States Army invaded Spanish Florida to fight the Seminole several times. These battles took place between 1817 and 1818 and came to be known as the First Seminole War. During the First Seminole War, General Andrew Jackson entered Florida with an army of 3,000 men. Within a few months, many of the Seminole living along Georgia’s border with Florida were killed. The survivors fled south. During this war, Spain saw the strength of the American army. The Spanish government did not think it could defeat them. So, Spain agreed to sign a treaty. On February 22, 1819, Spain and the United States signed the Adams-Onís Treaty. This treaty made Florida a U.S. territory. Draw a box around why Spain signed the General Andrew Jackson during the transfer of Adams-Onís Treaty. power from the Spanish in Florida on July 10, 1821 ↓ 93 The Florida Territory Seminole Lands, 1750–1842 Even though the Adams-Onís Treaty was signed in 1819, several years passed before it became ATLANTIC official. In 1821 General Andrew Jackson became OCEAN the military governor of the Florida territory. It Pensacola Tallahassee St. Augustine was Jackson’s job to organize the transfer of power from Spain to the United States. The Adams-Onís Treaty became final on Reservation March 30, 1822. William P. Duval served as the first governor of the territory. Leaders named Gulf of Mexico the capital of the territory Tallahassee, a Lake Okeechobee Seminole word that means “old field.” Everglades The Seminole Reservation The Florida territory quickly grew as American Seminole lands, 1750 settlers poured into the area. As new white 0 50 100 miles Seminole lands, 1827 500 100 kilometers Seminole lands, 1842 settlers claimed land, many Seminole were forced to move from their homes. As a result, MapMap andand GlobeGlobe SkillsSkills tensions between the Seminole and the new settlers increased even more. In response, 1. In what part of Florida did most Governor Duval set up a reservation for Seminoles live in 1750? the Seminole in central Florida in 1823. A northern Florida reservation is an area of land set aside for Native Americans. The Seminole were unhappy 2. Label the Seminole Reservation about moving to the reservation, but many felt on the map. they had no choice. By 1827, most had moved. 3. Where did the Seminole live in 1842? Underline why Everglades Governor Duval set up a reservation for the Seminole. NGSS Standards SS.4.A.3.9 Explain how Florida (Adams-Onis Treaty)T became a U.S. territory. SS.4.G.1.2 Locate and label cultural features on a Florida map. SS.4.G.1.4 Interpret political and physical maps using map elements (title, compass rose, cardinal directions, intermediate directions, symbols, legend, scale, longitude, latitude) 94 The Second Seminole War NGSS Standards By 1830, the situation had become even worse for the Seminole. SS.4.A.3.8 Explain how theh Seminole tribe formed and That year the U.S. government proposed and later passed a law the purpose for their migration. SS.4.A.3.10 Identify the causes and which created an Indian Territory in what is today Oklahoma. This effects of the Seminole Wars. law tried to force all Native Americans living east of the Mississippi River to give up their land and move to the new territory. Many people in the government believed this would allow settlers to move into the area east of the Mississippi and prevent further conflicts with Native Americans. The Seminole didn’t want to move to the Indian Territory. They Did You Know? wanted to keep their way of life in Florida. The Seminole formed In 1836 the United States an army. The United States sent thousands of troops to Florida and government had a budget of spent millions of dollars on the war. In 1837 the U.S. Army also sent 25 million dollars. The Second Seminole War cost the 4,000 troops to destroy crops, hoping to starve the Seminole government about 30 million into surrender. dollars. That means the war In the end, about 4,000 Seminole surrendered. They were sent alone cost more than it cost to the Indian Territory. About 300 Seminole, though, refused to to run the entire government for one year! surrender or leave Florida. They continued to live in the Everglades. LMR Group/Alamy Underline why the Seminole did not want to move to the Indian Territory. The United States sent thousands of troops to Florida during the Seminole Wars. ↓ GLUE FOLDABLE HERE 95 NGSS Standards SS.4.A.3.8 Explain how Third Seminole War theh Seminole tribe formed and the purpose for their migration. SS.4.A.3.10 Identify the causes and In the 1850s, Indian removal was still an issue in Florida. The U.S. effects of the Seminole Wars. government felt the only way to move the remaining Seminole to the Indian Territory was to force them into battle. A group of white men entered a Seminole camp on Did You Know? December 18, 1855 to try to make the Seminole attack first. In Today, the Seminole Tribe response, Seminole chief Holata Micco, also known as Billy Bowlegs, of Florida is headquartered in Hollywood, Florida. led an attack on a U.S. military camp on December 20. This attack They call themselves the began the Third Seminole War. This war was much smaller than the “unconquered” because they Second Seminole War, with fewer deaths and less fighting. never surrendered to the After three years of war, the U.S. military brought a group of United States government. Seminole from the Indian Territory to talk with Billy Bowlegs. On May 7, 1858, in exchange for money and Seminole land in the Indian Territory, Bowlegs agreed to ReadingReading SkillSkill end the war. Not all of the Seminole moved to the Compare Indian Territory, however. and Contrast Some still remained in Underline how the the Everglades. Library(r) of Congress, (l) Zee/Alamy Third Seminole War was different from the Second Seminole War. Billy Bowlegs was one of the last Native American leaders to resist relocation to the Indian Territory. → 96 Events of the Seminole Wars Fill in the chart with the causes and effects of each Seminole war. Cause Effect Americans wanted Semi- A treaty made First nole occupied land and to Florida a U.S. Seminole War stop them from helping territory. escaped enslaved people. Americans wanted Many moved to Second Native Americans the Indian territory. Seminole War to move to the Others stayed. Indian Territory. Americans wanted Most moved to Third the remaining the territory. Seminole War Seminole to move. A few stayed. 2 Essential Question How does control of an area change? Go back to Show As You Go! on pages 80 −81. There’s More Online! Games Assessment 97.
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