The Second Seminole War comprised the single most significant event of Florida’s territorial period. Lasting from December 1835 to August 1842, the contest produced results and influences that reverberated through generations. Among other considerations, its violence reached into the fabric of society to exacerbate racial, ethnic, and regional divisions and to mark patterns of behavior and race relations. The struggle provided context for the clashes that characterized the drive toward statehood. It witnessed the birth and evolution of area Democratic and Whig parties. Additionally, the war brought to Florida a bounty of federal government expenditures and internal improvements, while dictating the manner and timing of development within mu...