Florida Memory is administered by the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services, Bureau of Archives and Records Management. The digitized records on Florida Memory come from the collections of the State Archives of Florida and the special collections of the State Library of Florida.
State Archives of Florida
- ArchivesFlorida.com
- State Archives Online Catalog
- ArchivesFlorida.com
- ArchivesFlorida.com
State Library of Florida
Related Sites
Listen: The Latin ProgramFlorida History Day
Resources for Florida History Day 2022
Florida History Day is an annual statewide activity sponsored by the Museum of Florida History. A Florida History Day entry can address any person, event or idea from any time or place in history, but it must relate to the 2022 National History Day theme Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences.
As described in the NHD 2022 Contest Theme Book, "Some topics might be stories of debate and diplomacy, while others might cover debate with little diplomatic effort or diplomacy without debate. Students must investigate to determine whether one or both of those themes are present in their narrative."
The following resources address several topics in Florida history. For additional topics, try exploring the Primary Source Sets and Research Starters.
- Americanism vs. Communism
- Sources:
- Announcement for anti-Communist lecture by W. Cleon Skousen
- Florida School Bulletin on Americanism vs. Communism, 1961
- Reprint of Legislation Requiring Florida High School Students to Take a Course Called 'Americanism versus Communism', 1961
- The Spirit of Americanism Pamphlet, ca.1935
- Draft of a Script for a Radio Broadcast Advertising a Course on Anticommunism, October 5, 1950
- Sources:
- Banning the Bottle: The Crusade for Prohibition in Florida
- Primary Source Set: Prohibition in Florida
- Floridiana Article: Bone Dry: The Road to Prohibition in Florida
- Bruce Smathers and the Debate to Preserve Florida's Historic Capitol
- Floridiana Article: Save the Capitol!
- Cuban Refugees in Florida
- Video: The Plight of Pepito: Cuba's Lost Generation, 1961
- Sources:
- Draft Statement by Governor Farris Bryant Regarding the Cuban Refugee Crisis, 1961
- First Edition of Cuban Newsweek, 1961
- Information Regarding Arrangements for a Conference on Resettlement of Cuban Refugees in Miami, 1961
- Letter from B.D. Bennett to Farris Bryant Regarding Cuban Refugees in Miami, 1962
- Debate, Disenfranchisement and Black Codes in Post-Civil War Florida: The Constitution of 1865
- Sources:
- Florida's Historic Constitutions
- Commission from Governor Abraham K. Allison to David Levy Yulee to Confer with President Andrew Johnson, 1865
- Proclamation by William Marvin, Provisional Governor of the State of Florida, 1865
- Portrait of Jonathan C. Gibbs
- Letter from "a Republican" to Secretary of State Jonathan C. Gibbs, November 17, 1869
- "A Card." written by W. H. Sherwood, 1889
- Portrait of Robert Meacham
- Sources:
- Floridiana Article: Rejoining the Union
- Debate Over Voter Rights: The Exclusion of Convicted Felons from Voter Rolls in Florida
- Ending Convict Labor Leasing in Florida
- Research Starter: Convict Labor Leasing in Florida
- Debating the Peculiar Institution: Abolitionism vs. Enslavement
- Sources:
- Address to the Legislative Council of Florida on the Subject of Its Colored Population by Zephaniah Kingsley, 1823
- An Act Concerning Slaves, Approved December 30, 1824
- An Act Concerning Slaves, Free Negroes and Mulattoes, Approved January 19, 1828
- Excerpt from "The Narrative of Amos Dresser," 1836
- Letter from John Scoble to Jonathan Walker with Resolution from the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, 1844
- A Brief View of American Chattelized Humanity, and Its Supports, Pamphlet, 1847
- Draft of a Bill to Prohibit the Introduction of Slaves into Florida, 1851
- Announcement of a Slave Auction in Jacksonville, 1856
- Call Papers, 1860-1861. Article about abolition of slavery.
- Floridiana Article: Florida's Underground Railroad: Fort Mose
- Floridiana Article: Florida's Underground Railroad: The Black Seminoles
- Floridiana Article: Harriet Tubman's Florida Legacy
- Sources:
- Environmental Activism: Marjory Stoneman Douglass's Fight to Save the Everglades
- Research Starter: The Florida Everglades
- Environmental Compromise: Stopping Construction of the Cross-Florida Barge Canal
- Primary Source Set: The Cross Florida Barge Canal
- Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in Florida: Equality Debated
- Primary Source Set: Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in Florida
- Florida Teacher's Strike of 1968
- Research Starter: Florida Teachers' Strike of 1968
- Gideon v. Wainwright and the Right to Legal Representation
- Sources:
- Florida State Prison mug shots of Clarence Earl Gideon - Raiford, Florida
- Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus by Clarence Earl Gideon, 1961
- Response from Florida Supreme Court to Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus by Clarence Earl Gideon, 1961
- Order of the Florida Supreme Court Regarding Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963
- Judgment from the U.S. Supreme Court Regarding Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963
- Sources:
- Mary McLeod Bethune: Advancing Civil Rights Through Diplomacy
- Primary Source Set: Mary McLeod Bethune
- Learning Unit: Mary McLeod Bethune
- Milton and Yulee Railroad Dispute
- The Reverend C.K. Steele and the Tallahassee Bus Boycott of 1956
- Primary Source Set: Tallahassee Bus Boycott, 1956-57
- Learning Unit: The Civil Rights Movement in Florida
- The Reverend C.K. Steele, Governor LeRoy Collins, and the Integration of Florida Schools
- Roxcy Bolton Fights for the Equal Rights Amendment in Florida
- Primary Source Set: Roxcy Bolton and Rights for Women
- Primary Source Set: Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in Florida
- Floridiana Article: Florida and the Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment
- Archives Guide: A Guide to Women's History Collections at the State Archives of Florida
- Union or Secession? Opposing Stands of Governors Call and Milton on the Eve of the Civil War
- Research Starter: Union or Secession? Conflicting Stands of Governors Call and Milton on the Eve of the Civil War
- Sources:
- Draft of Letter, November 1, 1860, Richard K. Call, Lake Jackson, to Mr. Hart
- Letter, February 12, 1861, Richard K. Call, Lake Jackson, to John S. Littell, Germantown, Pennsylvania, 31
- Letter from General R.K. Call, 1860
- Letter, March 19, 1862, Richard K. Call, Lake Jackson, to Thomas J. Perkins
- Letter to R.K. Call from John Fitch regarding Civil War Commencement, 1860-1861
- Ordinance of Secession, 1861
- Whether to Ratify the 19th Amendment
- Floridiana Article: Women's Equality Day
- Archival Finding Aid: A Guide to Women's History Collections at the State Archives of Florida
Features
Historical Records
Territorial Legislative Council Records, 1822-1845
Documenting Florida's legislature prior to statehood
Historical Records
State and County Officer Directories, 1868-1969
Lists of Florida's state and county officials either elected or appointed between 1868 and 1969.
Research Tool
Guide to Military Records and the Wartime Experience
A guide to government records and manuscript collections relating to service members and the wartime experience.
Playlist
Dust Tracks
21 tracks from Hurston's time documenting African American culture for the WPA in 1930s Florida.
Classroom
History Day 2025
Resources for Florida History Day from the State Library and Archives of Florida.