Well, today is the Florida Primary, so its perhaps the best time to talk about East Florida. Warning, Spanish might be bad.
East Florida always was a unique state. Every other part of American began with either an English or a French cultural foundation layered over the native population. East Florida was Spanish.
The state was singled out even by the government, who preferred to leave the Hispanic backwater as a self-governing territory. The only region of a significant settlement, the Gulf Coast, was split off into West Florida. East Florida’s early history was dominated by a racial divide that never would truly go away: Anglo’s and their slaves in the rich lands to the north, Native Seminoles in the inhospitable south, and multiple Hispanic settlements all along the coast.
By the turn of the Century, East Florida was still a shadow of what she would become. Whites and Caribenos were moving into the state, but they were integrating into the Spanish culture of the state. Settlement was slowly moving south, enabled by the lack of native protections in the state – in contrast to Indiana or the West. The majority of the state still remained in the north around rapidly anglicizing San Mateo.
Two developments would forever change the shape of the state. First, the Movie Industry moved to south. Inhospitable work conditions in the NYC encouraged film studios to look elsewhere, and they eventually settled on the small town of Miami, East Florida. This was seen as a wild frontier, full of stories to tell, and unique and exotic cultures. Environmentally, Swamps, Beaches, Islands, the Old South, and eventually the Appalachian Mountains were all within travel distance, making it easy to find an early set. The constant sunlight and warm temperatures made full-year filming possible. The industry would eventually settle in a small community just north of Miami – Hollywood.
The migration of the film industry encouraged a land and development boom across the state. Railroads connected the major cities to Atlanta. Beachfront land was bought up by developers eager to sell to vacationing northerners. Philadelphia stepped in and forced the native rights previously ignored thanks to grandfather clauses onto the Seminole Population, protecting their land from being totally bought out. This period saw the rise of Miami, Palm Beach, and many other new communities. It also scared the ruling Hispanic elite. Their response was to fast track integration. Schools only taught in Spanish, all signs and publications were in Spanish, radios and papers were in Spanish. The collective history of the state was designed as a Caribbean focused state. The only places that escaped this integration were the historically English north and the emerging industry in Hollywood – the first of Hollywood many exceptions.
The second major development was Air Conditioning. The affordability of the technology meant that residential families could now live full time in a state as humid as East Florida. Cheap land in the 50s encouraged national government, the military, and private research industries to move to the state, further incentivizing suburban growth. Entirely new industries emerged to take advantage of the sun and the sand: tourism resorts, retirement communities, and vacation housing. A short relative distance to prominent Caribbean islands meant that East Florida was stop number one for new Caribeno migrants. Of particular note was nearby Cuba, a nation that would eventually become a reliable friend to the East Floridian government. The lighting growth forced Florida to change the reapportionment method from adding new seats to changing the seat population.
If the film industry boom scared the Caribenos who controlled government, the massive migrations from the mid-century onwards were an apocalyptic event. The English were bringing their culture, threatening to wipe away the rich Spanish History. The government turned to persecution and tactics typically reserved for Africans. Voter disenfranchisement. Gerrymandering and Malapportionment. Mandatory citizenship classes. Visas were even required at one point to permanently reside in the state – despite freedom of movement. Of course, the Film Industry so profitable for the state was exempt from all of this.
But change was coming. The national parties recognized that a multi-racial alliance would be needed to win seats. Parties began recruiting whites to run in white seats, whites that spoke English and had established communities that were not integrating into the Hispanic culture. The segregation of state and national politics hurt the national politicians though, since the crop of white candidates were mainly nobodies in gerrymandered seats or prominent locals with no present political experience. The national parties handed down an order to their local branches – ethnic equality or they would disown the parties. East Florida chose separation.
Now began the modern East Floridian political system. At first, the Hispanic parties remained separate. When faced with losses to white candidates, they decided to merge and create the
Partido Ciudadanos de Florida, a generally right-leaning alliance to promote Hispanic culture and values. While their overt segregation would be declared illegal by the courts, it was up to the Whites to try and build an opposition. They forged the
Prosperity Alliance, a multi-party pact that crossed partisan lines to promote ethnic equality. While the Alliance has successfully made Florida multi-ethnic state with four recognized languages (English, Spanish, French, Seminole), disagreements between the left and right factions prevent the pact from agreeing to budgets easily. East Florida governments typically last an average of 2 years thanks to weak majorities or flimsy deals.
Parties
Partido Ciudadanos de Florida – East Floridan Caribeno party. Generally right leaning, but includes some left-leaners. Seeks to promote Hispanic culture and preserve the Spanish tradition of Florida. Receives the most support from the Southwest and North Central parts of East Florida.
Prosperity Alliance
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Federalist Party of East Florida – The East Florida branch of the national Right-Wing party. The problem facing the Federalists though is the squeeze. Most of the National Federalist voters in East Florida are Hispanics who refuses to vote for the state Federalists. Most whites are left leaning, limiting gains on that front. The party therefore finds itself stuck in the suburbs along the I4.
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Social Reform Party – Labor affiliated party of East Florida. Left-leaning. Grew out of the movie industry and the whites in South Florida.
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Liberal-National Party – Labor’s federal partner has a long-lived partner in East Florida. The LNP predates the modern Liberal party, serving originally as the National Alliance for segregated Africans in the North and San Mateo. Partisan decline however encouraged them to turn to the national Liberal brand for support.
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Movida 2000 – Party formed in 2000 by Hispanic grassroots anger with Ciudadanos. Originally designed as a protest party, subsequent deals with the Alliance encouraged them to officially join. The party is seen as the Hispanic arm of the Alliance. It runs the most candidates of any member – in each Hispanic majority seat, but few to win none.
East Florida True Heritage Party – Branch of the Heritage party that has evolved into something much more. North Floridan anger over the Federalists compromising with the Left turned certain voters to alternative parties. The Heritage Front has become that protest party.
Green Party of East Florida – National Branch of the Green Party. This local branch though has not yielded results. Like the Federalist party, the Greens face the ethnic squeeze, but without a natural base. So, the party wins no seats.
Seat Totals (of 149, 75 for majority):
Partido Ciudadanos de Florida: 64 Seats
Prosperity Alliance: 81 Seats
- Federalist Party of East Florida: 22 Seats
- Social Reform Party: 35 Seats
- Liberal-National Party: 19 Seats
- Movida 2000: 4 Seats
East Florida True Heritage Party: 4 Seats
Result: Premier/Speaker Alvin Brown (Soc. Ref, San Mateo)
EDIT:
@Oryxslayer I have some ideas for the leaders of East Florida's other parties...
Ciudadanos: Mel Martinez
Federalist: Ricardo Corcoran
Liberal National: Gwen Graham
Movida 2000: Riquet Caballero
True Heritage: Desi Nunes
I like all these choices, so the map is updated, giving Graham a seat in Saint Aug, and Corcoran one in Pasco in exchange for few seats elsewhere. Remember that the area known as Tallahassee is similar to the rest of the panhandle, with most of the residents in the new twin Floridian capitals.
