Florida Becomes a United States Territory 3rd grade · age 8

[1]In the late 1700s, Florida was not yet a part of the United States. Britain had owned Florida for much of the 1700s, but then in 1783, Britain handed Florida to Spain. However, Spain struggled to keep control of Florida after getting it in 1783. Spain was running out of money and power. Spain had forts in Florida, which were strong buildings where soldiers lived and stood guard, but these forts were falling apart. Spain ruled land all over the world, and it did not have enough money left to fix the forts in Florida. In fact, Spain was already borrowing money from the United States to pay for its needs.

[2]Meanwhile, the young United States was growing fast and looking south. In 1803, the United States bought a huge piece of land from France. After that deal, American leaders said that the western part of Florida belonged to the United States, too. In 1810, a group of Americans captured the town of Baton Rouge. The United States quickly claimed the area. Spain complained, but it was too weak to push back.

[3]With the goal of expansion in mind, the United States sent soldiers into Spanish Florida in 1817. The leader of these soldiers was Andrew Jackson, a tough American general. Also living in Florida at this time, along with Spanish soldiers, were Seminole Indians. The Seminoles were Native American people who had moved there many years before. The Seminoles had become known for welcoming runaway slaves (people who were enslaved and had escaped from their owners in America). American leaders wanted to break up the alliance between the Seminoles and runaway slaves as well as take control of the land, so they sent Jackson and his army to defeat the Seminoles. The Seminoles and their allies fought hard to defend their villages. But Jackson's soldiers burned Seminole towns and captured Spanish forts.

[4]Spain lacked the troops and money to resist him. Jackson's invasion proved that Spain could no longer defend Florida. So American and Spanish diplomats sat down to negotiate. In February 1819, the two sides signed an agreement that became known as the Adams-Onís Treaty. This agreement called for Spain to Florida to the United States. In return, the United States agreed to forgive five million dollars that Spain owed (meaning allow Spain to not pay the money they owed).

[5]Spain and the United States had signed the Adams-Onís Treaty in February 1819. But Spain did not approve it right away. Spanish leaders waited almost two years. At last, on February 22, 1821, both countries gave their official approval. The deal was done. The United States now owned all of East and West Florida.

[6]Andrew Jackson arrived in Florida to set up the new territorial government. On July 17, 1821, Spain formally handed Florida over to the United States. Jackson divided the territory into two parts and organized new local governments. Once the work was done, Jackson went home to Tennessee.

[7]The United States had gone from having no claim to Florida to owning the entire territory. This came at a real cost. Under Spanish rule, free Black people in Florida had held certain rights. Harsher American laws now took those away. The Seminole Indians faced American settlers moving onto their lands. Even so, the Adams-Onís Treaty drew a boundary line all the way to the Pacific Ocean. This was a big step in the nation's expansion across the continent.