The Florida History Podcast

This week we discuss Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale from the 1940's until the 1980's. 

We look back at arguably the most important Governor's race in Florida's History - the 1954 Governor's Race. 

We talk about the historic 1952 Governor's Election. 

In 1781, The Spanish captured Pensacola, the capital of West Florida from the British. The events and diplomacy around the siege and capture of Pensacola led directly to George Washington's finest hour - his victory at Yorktown months later. In this episode we continue the narrative from Episode 99 and discuss how it directly led to American victory over the British. 

In Episode 100 we reflect on our first 100 shows and discuss why we love Florida history and eventually why no one from Florida has ever been elected President or Vice President. 

On this episode we discuss the American Revolution in British West Florida prior to the Siege and Battle of Pensacola. The British Colony of West Florida included areas that are part of the modern day US states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.   American naval operations liberated the Lake Ponchatrain area while the Spanish successfully captured Baton Rouge, Natchez and Mo...

We answer more listener questions this week on Episode 98. 

I-75's originally authorized route to Tampa was completed in 1964. However over the next few decades efforts would be made to extend I-75 and reroute it as well. We go through the complicated efforts and twists and turns in the road in this episode. 

In this episode we answer listener questions on multiple topics including Henry Flagler and the allegations of a black shanty town being burnt down, The Governor's Mansion, the bipartisan fight to make Big Sugar pay for Everglades cleanup and a comparison of Colonial St Augustine to cities in the 13 British Colonies to the north. 

In Episode 95 we discuss Thomas Edison and Hnery Ford's winter exploits in Florida and discuss the politics of the Gilded Age and the GM-Ford rivalry. 

In this episode we take a look at Robert Buccellato's latest book which covers Presidents visiting Florida. 

As immortalized in the 2020 Regina King film, One Night in Miami, much of Muhammad Ali's boxing career and political activism were made in the Sunshine State. 

Florida played a big role in the Watergate Scandal. We discuss all the links on this edition of the podcast. 

Less famous that the demonstrations and riots during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the protests during the 1968 RNC in Miami were an important event in one of the most critical years in American History. 

Before taking office in 1933, President-Elect Franklin D. Roosevelt was fortunate to escape assassination while giving a speech at Bayfront Park in Miami. The Mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak who was with FDR was hit and died three weeks later. 

In this episode we refresh a podcast we first released in March about the 1918 Pandemic, in light of the spike in cases of the current COVID-19 pandemic in Florida. 

For a second straight week, Michael Grunwald from Politico Magazine and the author of The Swamp joins us to discuss politics and the Florida Everglades. 

Michael Grunwald, author of award-winning book The Swamp and current Politico Magazine writer joins us to discuss the controversy over the building of the Big Cypress Jetport in the late 1960's. We discuss the political and ecological battles that took place in this period. 

The route I-10 takes through the Tallahassee area today was not the original route that was sought. It wasn't even the second or third choice. We discuss that and also other fights about roads through wooded and rural areas of North Florida on this week's Florida History Podcast. 

On this episode of The Florida History Podcast we discuss Spanish Mission in Florida during the 1600's, the collapse of the missions after the English Invasions during Queen Anne's War and how the collapse of the missions destroyed Florida's economy. 

In this episode we discuss Fuller Warren, one of the most controversial and colorful characters in the state's political history. 

On Episode 83 we discuss the Negro Fort (in modern Franklin County) which was a harbor for runaway slaves encouraged by British abolitionists and Spanish officials. Andrew Jackson and the pro-slavery United States destroyed the fort and killed 334 people in 1816, the single biggest resistance by African-Americans to white military power in North America prior to the Civil War. 

Part 2 of our discussion on the 2020 Election in a historical context.

In Episode 81 we discuss Charley Johns infamous Legislative Committee which investigated the NAACP, academics and civil rights groups. It also produced the infamous "purple pamphlet" meant to condemn Homosexuality in Florida.