The Florida Historical Quarterly
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
COVER In 1958 in Melbourne, a group of rocket scientists and engineers launched Brevard Engineering College (BEC). Pictured, from left, are Reagan DuBose, BEC’s first graduate; founder Jerome Keuper; Dean Harold L. Dibble; Vice President of Student Affairs Ray Work; and mathematician Donya Dixon. Photograph courtesy of Florida Institute of Technology Historical Records, Special Collections, Evans Library, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne. The Florida Historical Quarterly Volume LXXVII, Number 2 Fall 1998 The Florida Historical Quarterly (ISSN 0015-4113) is published quarterly by the Flor- ida Historical Society, 1320 Highland Avenue, Melbourne, FL 32935, and is printed by E.O. Painter Printing Co., DeLeon Springs, FL. Second-class postage paid at Tampa, FL, and at additional mailing office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Florida Historical Quarterly, 1320 Highland Avenue, Melbourne, FL 32935. Copyright 1998 by the Florida Historical Society, Melbourne, Florida. THE FLORIDA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Kari Frederickson, Editor Samuel Proctor, Editor Emeritus Nancy Rauscher, Editorial Assistant Imar DaCunha, Graduate Assistant EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Raymond O. Arsenault, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg William S. Coker, University of West Florida David R. Colburn, University of Florida James B. Crooks, University of North Florida Kathleen Deagan, University of Florida Wayne Flynt, Auburn University Michael V. Gannon, University of Florida Maxine D. Jones, Florida State University Harry A. Kersey, Jr., Florida Atlantic University Jane Landers, Vanderbilt University Eugene Lyon, Flagler College John K. Mahon, University of Florida Raymond A. Mohl, University of Alabama at Birmingham Gary R. Mormino, University of South Florida Theda Perdue, University of Kentucky Gerald E. Poyo, St. Mary’s University Joe M. Richardson, Florida State University William W. Rogers, Florida State University Daniel L. Schafer, University of North Florida Correspondence concerning contribution, books for review, and all editorial matters should be addressed to the Editor, Florida Historical Quarterly, Department of History, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816-1350. The Quarterly is interested in articles and documents pertaining to the history of Florida. Sources, style, footnote form, originality of material and interpretation, clarity of thought, and interest of readers are considered. All copy should be dou- ble spaced and about 25 pages or 6,000 words. Footnotes are to be numbered con- secutively in the text. Documentation should conform to The Chicago Manual of Style. THE AUTHOR SHOULD SUBMIT AN ORIGINAL AND A PHOTOCOPY RETAINING A COPY FOR SECURITY Authors are also asked to submit articles on a diskette in IBM WordPerfect 5.1. The Florida Historical Society and the editor of the Florida Historical Quarterly accept no responsibility for statements made or opin- ions held by authors. The Quarterly reviews books dealing with all aspects of Florida history. Books to be reviewed should be sent to the editor together with price and information on how they may be ordered. Table of Contents JACKSONVILLE BEFORE CONSOLIDATION James B. Crooks 141 COUNTDOWN TO COLLEGE: LAUNCHING FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Gordon Patterson 163 PENSACOLA’S MEDICAL HISTORY: THE COLONIAL ERA, 1559-1821 William S. Coker 181 BOOK REVIEWS . 193 BOOK NOTES. 233 HISTORY NEWS . 238 DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES . 245 A GIFT OF HISTORY . 252 BOOK REVIEWS SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ST. AUGUSTINE: THE PEOPLE AND THEIR HOMES, by Albert Manucy reviewed by Paul E. Hoffman KNIGHTS OF SPAIN, WARRIORS OF THE SUN: HERNANDO DE SOTO AND THE SOUTH’S ANCIENT CHIEFDOMS, by Charles Hudson reviewed by John H. Hann THE HERNANDO DE SOTO EXPEDITION: HISTORY, HISTORIOGRAPHY, AND “DISCOVERY” IN THE SOUTHEAST, edited by Patricia Galloway reviewed by Amy Turner Bushnell FROM PENSACOLA TO BELIZE: AN AMERICAN’S ODYSSEY THROUGH MEXICO IN 1903, by F. F. Bingham reviewed by William S. Coker EDISON IN FLORIDA: THE GREEN LABORATORY, by Olav Thulesius reviewed by Michele Wehrwein Albion AL BURT’S FLORIDA, by Al Burt reviewed by Thomas Graham ACROSS FORTUNE’S TRACKS: A BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM RAND KENAN JR., by Walter E. Campbell reviewed by Paul S. George FILIBUSTERS AND EXPANSIONISTS: JEFFERSONIAN MANIFEST DESTINY, 1800-1821, by Frank Lawrence Owsley Jr. and Gene A. Smith reviewed by Robert E. May A WOMAN’S WAR: SOUTHERN WOMEN, CIVIL WAR, AND THE CONFEDERATE LEGACY, edited by Edward D. C. Campbell Jr. and Kym S. Rice reviewed by Mary Elizabeth Glade TOKENS OF AFFECTION: THE LETTERS OF A PLANTER’S DAUGHTER IN THE OLD SOUTH, edited by Carol Bleser reviewed by Tracy Jean Revels FOR CAUSE & COMRADES: WHY MEN FOUGHT IN THE CIVIL WAR, by James M. McPherson reviewed by Canter Brown Jr. THE WILDERNESS CAMPAIGN, edited by Gary W. Gallagher reviewed by Anthony Iacono THE CAUSE LOST: MYTHS AND REALITIES OF THE CONFEDERACY, by William C. Davis reviewed by Richard D. Starnes RAPHAEL SEMMES: THE PHILOSOPHICAL MARINER, by Warren F. Spencer reviewed by R. Thomas Crew Jr. MEMOIRS OF SERVICE AFLOAT DURING THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES, by Admiral Raphael Semmes reviewed by R. Thomas Crew Jr. REDEEMING THE SOUTH: RELIGIOUS CULTURES AND RACIAL IDENTITIES AMONG SOUTHERN BAPTISTS, 1865-1925, by Paul Harvey reviewed by Wayne Flynt A CAUTIOUS PATRIOTISM: THE AMERICAN CHURCHES AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR, by Gerald L. Sittser reviewed by Charles R. Gallagher DAYBREAK OF FREEDOM: THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT, edited by Stewart Burns reviewed by Glenn Feldman BLACK WOMEN IN THE ACADEMY: PROMISES AND PERILS, edited by Lois Benjamin reviewed by Mary B. Diallo SOUTHERN PARTIES AND ELECTIONS: STUDIES IN REGIONAL POLITICAL CHANGE, edit- ed by Robert P. Steed, Laurence W. Moreland, and Tod A. Baker reviewed by Nicol C. Rae Jacksonville Before Consolidation by JAMES B. CROOKS T the inauguration of the new Jacksonville city-county consoli- A dated government in October 1968, Local Government Study Commission Chairman James Jacqueline Daniel wrote that “Jack- sonville had experienced a political renaissance.” Ten years later, Jacksonville mayor Hans Tanzler declared that consolidated gov- ernment was “the salvation” of the city. In 1993, at the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of consolidated government, then-Mayor Ed Austin called for rekindling “the spirit that drove the consolida- tion effort . because our form of government is the envy of cities around the world.” Tanzler, chairing that celebratory occasion, agreed, adding, “[c]onsolidation has been described as Jackson- ville’s ‘Greatest Moment.’“1 For many Jacksonville residents, the consolidation of city and county governments in 1968 climaxed a decade of changes in Jack- sonville, but it was not the only show in town. The decade also saw substantial urban growth and development, a full fledged civil rights movement, attempts to turn around a school system in crisis, and substantial political reform before consolidation took place. In effect, consolidation became the capstone for a decade of urban development and reform. The starting point for change can be seen in the demograph- ics. The city’s population declined slightly from 204,517 in 1950 to 201,030 in 1960 (and still further to approximately 196,000 in 1965), while Duval County grew rapidly from 304,029 to 455,411 during the same period. This county gain of almost fifty percent was a continuation of a suburban population boom begun at the end of World War II resulting from local economic growth and in- creased birth rates.2 James Crooks is professor of history at the University of North Florida. He would like to thank Dr. Joan Carver, Alton Yates, and Gerry Wilson for their careful reading of this manuscript. 1. Richard Martin, A Quiet Revolution: Jacksonville-Duval County Consolidation and the Dynamics of Urban Reform (Jacksonville, 1993), xiv, 332-34. 2. Local Government Study Commission of Duval County, Blueprint for Improve- ment, 1966 (Jacksonville, 1966), 15-16. 142 FLORIDA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Economic growth came in part from the substantial expansion of the insurance industry following passage of the Regional Home Office Law by the Florida legislature in 1956. The Prudential Insur- ance Company of America established its Southeast (later to become South Central) regional home office in Jacksonville, and the State Farm Group substantially expanded its facilities there. Other insur- ance companies establishing home offices in the city included Inde- pendent Life, Peninsula Life, American Heritage Life, Gulf Life, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and the Afro-American Life Insurance Company. By the end of the decade, Jacksonville claimed the title of “Insurance Center of the Southeast” with seventeen locally head- quartered insurance companies, five regional home offices, and twenty major general insurance agencies. The expansion of banking facilities, the arrival of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad home office (forerunner of CSX Transportation) from Wilmington, North Caro- lina, and later the expansion of the United States naval presence during the Vietnam War brought additional regional growth.3 Meanwhile downtown Jacksonville received a major facelift af- ter World War II, much of it coming in the 1960s. Mayor W. Hay- don Burns replaced the unused, rotting wharves along the riverfront with concrete retaining walls, parking lots, walks, and roadways. The construction of a new civic auditorium, city hall, courthouse, jail, and coliseum became part of downtown’s urban renewal. Private capital, in turn,