The Prophets and Profits of Pleasure an Analysis of Florida's Development from the Civil War To
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University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--History History 2014 THE PROPHETS AND PROFITS OF PLEASURE AN ANALYSIS OF FLORIDA’S DEVELOPMENT FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO THE TURN OF THE 20th CENTURY Christopher Mark Esing University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Esing, Christopher Mark, "THE PROPHETS AND PROFITS OF PLEASURE AN ANALYSIS OF FLORIDA’S DEVELOPMENT FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO THE TURN OF THE 20th CENTURY" (2014). Theses and Dissertations--History. 16. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/history_etds/16 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the History at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--History by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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Christopher Mark Esing, Student Dr. Joanne Melish, Major Professor Dr. David Hamilton, Director of Graduate Studies THE PROPHETS AND PROFITS OF PLEASURE AN ANALYSIS OF FLORIDA’S DEVELOPMENT FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO THE TURN OF THE 20th CENTURY ________________________________________________ Dissertation ________________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Christoper M. Esing Lexington, Kentucky Co- Directors: Dr. Joanne Melish, Professor of History Dr. Ronald Eller, Professor of History Lexington, Kentucky 2014 Copyright © Christopher M. Esing 2014 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION THE PROPHETS AND PROFITS OF PLEASURE AN ANALYSIS OF FLORIDA’S DEVELOPMENT FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO THE TURN OF THE 20th CENTURY This dissertation examines the emergence of Florida from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of the twentieth century through the lenses of Jacksonville, Pensacola, Tampa, and Miami as they became the major economic and social centers within the state. Influenced by Union and Republican ideologies, early immigration tracts promised egalitarian land development rooted in the promise of citrus, diversified agriculture, real-estate, and the promise of tourism. As more northerners came to rely upon cheap black labor to make their dream a reality, the earlier narrative of egalitarianism began to loose ground to the demands for inexpensive labor. The need for quicker and faster conveyance for the new fruits and vegetables also required large land grants to entice railroads to the state, which in turn, threatened the subsistence lifestyle upon which many of the immigrants and farmers depended. As higher land prices pushed poor whites and African Americans deeper into the Florida frontier, unprecedented corporate and railroad land subsidies gobbled up much of the remaining unclaimed lands leading to unprecedented social, economic, and political turmoil across the state. As greater profits via shipping rates, agricultural production, and industrial output came to dominate the political economies of each of the cities, the earlier social and economic needs and desires of farmers and laborers that Republican and northern ideologues tried to protect increasingly lost ground to calls for a two tiered economic and social system that put the monetary needs of Florida’s white citizens, businesses, and corporations over those of its African American and ethnic populations resulting in statewide disenfranchisement, social segregation, and economic stratification that placed whites at the top of the economic ladder with African Americans largely relegated along the bottom rungs of the social and economic order. Although this outcome reflects a regional pattern that swept across much of the South, this work shows that for a brief period of 35 years, Florida offered a unique moment when the state and its cities moved to protect and encourage the individual desires of freedmen, poor whites, laborers and ethnic immigrants to promote and encourage growth, settlement, and development. KEYWORDS: Florida, Development, Race, Citriculture, Tourism Christopher M. Esing Student’s Signature March 31, 2014 Date THE PROPHETS AND PROFITS OF PLEASURE AN ANALYSIS OF FLORIDA’S DEVELOPMENT FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO THE TURN OF THE 20th CENTURY By Christopher Mark Esing Dr. Ronald Eller Co-Chair/ Director of Dissertation Dr. Joanne Melish Co-Chair/ Director of Dissertation Dr. David Hamilton Director of Graduate Studies March 31, 2014 Date For My Mother and Father Whose Love and Encouragement Opened my Heart and Mind And Allowed Me to See the World Through the Kaleidoscope Of Infinite Ideas and Possibilities ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When I started this journey, I saw before me a long lonely road filled with endless days of solitude with little more than my thoughts and books to fill the hours. Along my route, my quest for information soon filled those days with numerous smiling faces that made this research possible. I must first thank my friend David Terwilliger who offered me a roof over my head and a warm bed along with amazing conversations and friendships for over a year while the wonderful people at the Inter Library Loan supplied me with what must have seemed an endless supply of travel journals and tourist guides. To the incredible librarians at the I.L.L. who worked diligently to fill the hundreds of requests that I made, I can not thank you enough for your immeasurable help. To the numerous friends, family, and occasional stranger who opened their homes and allowed me to conduct research in archives and libraries across Florida, I am forever indebted to your gracious hospitality. To the many librarians and archivist at The Jacksonville Public Library and Archives, at the University of Florida Special Collection, the University of West Florida Special Collection, The Pensacola Historical Archives, the Jacksonville Historical Archives, the University of North Florida archives, the Miami Historical Archives, The Miami Public Library, the University of Miami Special Collections, the archivist at Florida International University, the Special Collections at The University of South Florida, the archives at Tampa University, The Henry Plant Hotel Museum, The Lightner Museum, and The State Archives in Tallahassee, I can not thank you enough for the thousands of documents that you helped me discover and scan. I want to thank both, Dr. Ron Eller and Dr. Joanne Melish, for providing me with the skills and insights necessary to conduct my research and having the patience and care iii to help see me through my arduous and long journey. Most of all, I would like to thank my mother and father who never let me loose faith in my task at hand. Their encouragement brought me through many lonely days and nights. Without the help of these and innumerable others, this research would not have been possible. I cannot thank each and every person enough for allowing me to pursue my passion. There is truly something amazing about rediscovering lost lives, silent voices, forgotten struggles, faded hopes, and misplaced dreams. Its even more amazing to hold those words in your mouth and feel them as they move through your finger tips and across the screen until the people and places of your research come alive in your eyes and imagination. To be able to share that experience with others, brings me immeasurable joy and pleasure, and I thank all of those who have helped to make this work a reality. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………iii Table of Contents………………………………..........................................……………...v Chapter One: Introduction: The Prophets of Pleasure……………………………………1 Chapter Two: Jacksonville: Winter City in Summerland………………………………. 27 Chapter Three: Pensacola: Poor Man’s Paradise……………………………………….. 85 Chapter Four: Tampa: The Cigar City………………………………………………… 145 Chapter Five: Miami: The Magic City………………………………………………… 224 Chapter Six: The Profits of Pleasure..………………………………………………….