3) July 27, 1816: Florida
The First Seminole War erupted over invasions by U.S. authorities to recapture runaway
black slaves living among Seminole groups in Spanish Florida. The fort on the Georgia border
where runaway slaves would seek protection was known as "Negro Fort" as it contained
hundreds of fugitive slaves and Seminole Indians. As many as 800 slaves settled in the
surrounding area from 1815-1816. In July of 1816, General Andrew Jackson instructed Major
General Edmund P. Gaines to destroy "Negro Fort" and "restore the stolen negroes and property
to their rightful owners." On July 27, 1816, General Gaines destroyed the fort, leading to the
First Seminole War 1817-1818. In 1821, Spain formally sold Florida to the United States for
$5,000,000. The Second Seminole War (1835-1842) would begin after the Indian Removal Act
of 1830 spurred the rounding up and deportation of Seminole Indians in the Trail of Tears. After
1835, Florida was wide open to American settlement.
Clearly an act of imperialism, or clearly not? Why or why not?