By February, Florida and six other southern states had formed a new government, the Confederate States of America. It became a separate state from the Union. On January 10, 1861, Florida seceded as well. That meant that it would not recognize the United States as its government and instead would make its own state laws. South Carolina decided to secede from the Union on December 20th. He was elected President on November 6, 1860. He did not want slavery in the west and hoped that it would eventually die out in the south. Many southern states were upset because Abraham Lincoln discussed stopping the spread of slavery. The Presidential election that year was based on two candidates who debated about slavery. By 1860, slavery was only found in the southern states and territories. Many states in the north did not believe in the practice of owning slaves and began to abolish slavery. This was an important factor in Florida's part in the Civil War. When Florida became a state, it was considered a slave state. Some were Creoles, free descendents of Spanish citizens of African ancestry. Many bought their freedom or were freed by their owners. Slavery was practiced in Florida but not all African Americans were slaves. The state's economy was based on cattle and crops. Of these, 63,000 were African Americans, most of whom were slaves. In 1845 when Florida became a state, the population was approximately 140,000.
By the mid 1800s, it was a rural territory with large farms and plantations. Settlers began to move to Florida once it became a United States territory. "Supplier of the Confederacy" Background Information
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