Florida Governors: Lasting Legacies

The state of Florida has a unique place in the annals of national history and has been a constant contributor to the country’s identity. The 51 men who have served as the state’s governors are an essential part of its complex identity and have produced resonant material for historians of all ages. They have been farmers, generals, boat captains, restaurant owners, presidents, and sons of presidents. They have been given the office by both popular mandate and the happenstance of fate. These individuals have represented virtually every category of what it means to be a Floridian. Their lasting legacies can be felt every day by the state’s citizens. Since the drainage of the Everglades and the transformation of swamplands into beachfront paradises, Florida has lured Americans from various states to its sunny shores. It has seceded from the Union, determined the final verdict in many presidential elections, was the site of railroad monopolies, developed into a playground of the rich, and is the birthplace of a new kind of theme park–all while being led by these distinct individuals who, at their core, were Floridians first.