Florida Historical Quarterly, Volume 63, Number 1
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Florida Historical Quarterly Volume 63 Number 1 Florida Historical Quarterly, Volume Article 1 63, Number 1 1984 Florida Historical Quarterly, Volume 63, Number 1 Florida Historical Society [email protected] Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Florida Historical Quarterly by an authorized editor of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Society, Florida Historical (1984) "Florida Historical Quarterly, Volume 63, Number 1," Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 63 : No. 1 , Article 1. Available at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol63/iss1/1 Society: Florida Historical Quarterly, Volume 63, Number 1 Published by STARS, 1984 1 Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol. 63 [1984], No. 1, Art. 1 COVER Stretching ten miles along the shore of Escambia Bay, Pensacola’s Scenic Highway was completed in 1929. In its earlier years, the route offered many opportunities to stop along its high bluffs and admire the view of the Bay. It was a favorite site for picnics and romantic drives. This scene is repro- duced from a postcard circa 1930s. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol63/iss1/1 2 Society: Florida Historical Quarterly, Volume 63, Number 1 THE FLORIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Volume LXIII, Number 1 July 1984 COPYRIGHT 1984 by the Florida Historical Society, Tampa, Florida. Second class postage paid at Tampa and DeLeon Springs, Florida. Printed by E. O. Painter Printing Co., DeLeon Springs, Florida. (ISSN 0015-4113) Published by STARS, 1984 3 Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol. 63 [1984], No. 1, Art. 1 THE FLORIDA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Samuel Proctor, Editor Jeffry Charbonnet, Editorial Assistant EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Herbert J. Doherty, Jr. University of Florida Michael V. Gannon University of Florida John K. Mahon University of Florida (Emeritus) Jerrell H. Shofner University of Central Florida Charlton W. Tebeau University of Miami (Emeritus) J. Leitch Wright, Jr. Florida State University Correspondence concerning contributions, books for review, and all editorial matters should be addressed to the Editor, Florida Historical Quarterly, Box 14045, University Station, Gainesville, Florida 32604-2045. 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, including footnotes, should be double-spaced. Footnotes are to be numbered consecutively in the text and assembled at the end of the article. Particular attention should be given to following the footnote style of the Quarterly. The author should submit an original and retain a carbon for security. The Florida Historical Society and the Editor of the Florida Historical Quarterly accept no responsibility for state- ments made or opinions 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 can be ordered. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol63/iss1/1 4 Society: Florida Historical Quarterly, Volume 63, Number 1 Table of Contents “LAYING THE SINS OF THE L & N AT MR. BLOUNT’S FEET”: WILLIAM ALEXANDER BLOUNT’S U. S. SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN, 1910-1911 George F. Pearce 1 MIAMI’S METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT Raymond A. Mohl 24 GENERAL JOSEPH B. WALL AND LYNCH LAW IN TAMPA Robert P. Ingalls 51 FLORIDA’S CATTLE-RANCHING FRONTIER: HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY (1860) John Solomon Otto 71 NOTES AND DOCUMENTS: FLORIDA HISTORY IN PERIODICALS, 1983 84 BOOK REVIEWS ............................................. 90 BOOK NOTES ............................................. 123 HISTORY NEWS ............................................. 130 Published by STARS, 1984 5 Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol. 63 [1984], No. 1, Art. 1 BOOK REVIEWS THE OLDEST CITY, edited by Jean Parker Waterbury reviewed by Eugene Lyon SPANISH ST. AUGUSTINE: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF A COLONIAL CREOLE COMMUNITY, By Kathleen Deagan reviewed by John S. Otto FORT LAUDERDALE AND BROWARD COUNTY, by Stuart B. McIver reviewed by Thelma Peters EDGE OF WILDERNESS: A SETTLEMENT HISTORY OF MANATEE RIVER AND SARASOTA BAY, by Janet Snyder Matthews reviewed by Steven F. Lawson THE PLOT TO STEAL FLORIDA: JAMES MADISON’S PHONY WAR, by Joseph Burk- holder Smith reviewed by J. Leitch Wright, Jr. DOGS OF THE CONQUEST, by John Grier Varner and Jeanette Johnson Varner reviewed by Amy Turner Bushnell THE IMPERIAL OSAGES: SPANISH-INDIAN DIPLOMACY IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY, by Gilbert C. Din and Abraham P. Nasatir reviewed by Helen Hornbeck Tanner CHEROKEE EDITOR, edited by Theda Perdue reviewed by John K. Mahon RENATO BELUCHE, SMUGGLER, PRIVATEER, AND PATRIOT, 1780-1860, by Jane Lucas De Grummond reviewed by J. Leitch Wright, Jr. CORRESPONDENCE OF JAMES K. POLK, VOLUME 6, edited by Wayne Cutler and Carese M. Parker reviewed by John Hebron Moore A CAROLINIAN GOES TO WAR: THE CIVIL WAR NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR MIDDLETON MANIGAULT, BRIGADIER GENERAL, C. S. A., edited by R. Lockwood Tower reviewed by Stephen Davis THE PAPERS OF ANDREW JOHNSON, VOLUME 6, 1862-1864, edited by Leroy P. Graf and Ralph W. Haskins reviewed by Richard N. Current NOTHING BUT FREEDOM: EMANCIPATION AND ITS LEGACY, by Eric Foner reviewed by Michael Les Benedict NORTHERNIZING THE SOUTH, by Richard N. Current reviewed by Lawrence N. Powell THIS LAND, THIS SOUTH, by Albert E. Cowdry reviewed by James C. Banner NOW THAT THE BUFFALO’S GONE: A STUDY OF TODAY’S AMERICAN INDIANS, by Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. reviewed by Walter L. Williams A SOUTHERN REBEL, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF AUBREY WILLIS WILLIAMS, 1890- 1965, by John A. Salmond reviewed by J. Wayne Flynt https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol63/iss1/1 6 Society: Florida Historical Quarterly, Volume 63, Number 1 “LAYING THE SINS OF THE L&N AT MR. BLOUNT’S FEET”: WILLIAM ALEXANDER BLOUNT’S U. S. SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN, 1910-1911 by GEORGE F. PEARCE ILLIAM ALEXANDER BLOUNT achieved many milestones dur- Wing his illustrious career as an attorney in Pensacola, Flor- ida. He began practicing law soon after receiving his degree from the University of Georgia in 1873. His exceptional legal mind, strong dedication to his work, and impeccable character soon won him a statewide reputation in the legal profession and at- tracted a large clientele. Among his corporate retainers was the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N). In 1909, after thirty- five years of practicing law, Blount opted for a chance at a political career and announced himself as a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate. In keeping with the political climate of the Progressive era, and seemingly his own political convic- tions, Blount ran on a progressive platform calling for reforms. Victory in his quest for the Senate narrowly eluded him, however, largely because his opponent convinced enough voters that dur- ing his long association with the L&N, despite his denials to the contrary, he had become a tool of corporate interests. This common practice by politicians of conjuring up empty imagery to illustrate that one’s opponent would serve the business interests was often effective at a time when Americans had dis- covered that corporations, and especially railroad corporations, were corrupting politics and robbing the people through dis- criminatory and excessively high passenger and freight rates. Many inhabitants of largely rural Florida had enthusiastically welcomed the appearance of railroads that were expected to alleviate their transportation problems and quicken the pace of the state’s economic development. After the railroad companies gained an inordinate influence in state and local politics in the George F. Pearce is associate professor of history, University of West Florida, Pensacola. [1] Published by STARS, 1984 7 Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol. 63 [1984], No. 1, Art. 1 2 FLORIDA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY late nineteenth and early twentieth century, however, they were perceived as grasping, evil, corporate interests whose designs were inimical to those of the rank and file. Victory in a political race, then, frequently went to the candidate who could convince the voters that he had the best anti-corporation record.1 Similar campaigns occurred elsewhere in the South, such as those that produced victories in gubernatorial elections in 1906 for Braxton Bragg Comer in Alabama and Hoke Smith in Georgia. None of the candidates in these elections, however, was a salaried official of a corporation. When attempting to tag their opponents with the pro-corporate label, they usually resorted to magnifying indirect connections such as charging that their op- ponents had received the endorsement of a pro-corporate news- paper or political machine, or that at one time a corporation had been among their legal clients. But Blount considered his connec- tion with the L&N completely professional and offered no apol- ogies for it. His most formidable problem, therefore, was to find a way to convince the electorate that a corporate official could also be a dedicated reformer.2 Historians have neglected Blount’s campaigns in 1910 and 1911. This neglect is understandable for the 1910 election because he dropped out of contention long before the Democratic pri- mary was held. But the 1911 primary, necessitated by the death of the victor in the election the year before, was a heated battle between two progressive candidates vying for the privilege of representing the interests of the people in the United States Senate. With the end of Reconstruction in Florida, the Repub- lican party was no longer a threat to Democratic control. Con- 1. Richard L. McCormick, “The Discovery that Business Corrupts Politics: A Reappraisal of the Origins of Progressivism,” American Historical Re- view, LXXXVI (April 1981), 247-74. 2. Sheldon Hackney, Populism To Progressivism in Alabama (Princeton, 1969), 255-87; Dewey W. Grantham, Jr., Hoke Smith and the Politics of the New South (Baton Rouge, 1958), 131-55.