The Florida in the Civil War Message Board

Re: Population of Florida 1860 Census

Based on my reading of newspapers, letters and journals in the state, the general concensus for Alabama until late 1859 was 75% Unionist. The Harpers Ferry incident and subsequent fallout shifted opinion sharply to 50/50, with 25% on the Unionist side somewhat uncertain about support. The election of Abraham Lincoln and secession conventions further eroded Unionist sentiment to 25% of the voters. I suspect Florida followed a similar progression.

The main issue debated at the secession conventions was not yes or no, but rather when and how.

Lincoln's call for troops in mid-April 1861 cut the ground from beneath most of the remaining moderate Unionists. The remaining hard-shells could be divided into three groups --

1) Subsistence farmers and others living in isolated parts of the state who simply wished to be left alone.
2) Immigrants with little or no attachment to their local community.
3) Wealthy slaveholders and others heavily invested in commerce, industry or transportation who had much to lose in an uncertain business environment.

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Population of Florida 1860 Census
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