SW0115 Scholar David Fowler Recovers and Presents Riveting Narratives from One National Newspaper’s 1st Draft of Florida’s U.S. History

David Fowler published five volumes taking Florida's U.S. history from pre-territorial to territorial to statehood. 

 

It is a reporter’s conceit that journalism is the so-called first draft of history. When it comes to the Seminole Wars, it takes some digging into that first draft to determine what information people read at the time of newspaper publication. Chris Kimball has scourged the pages of the Army-Navy Chronicle to identify all references to the Seminole Wars. That was a great task but it was somewhat easier in that the ANC concerned itself with military news.

But an even more monumental task comes from examining what other newspapers of the era with a “national” reach reported. Take the Niles Weekly Register. The NWR was a general interest publication that included military news. A collection of just the Florida news comes from scholar David Fowler's five (!) volume Niles' Florida. 

Niles' Florida provides a comprehensive analysis of the dramatic and, often times, violent history of Florida, beginning with the role it played in the War of 1812, moving through an in-depth view of the Seminole Indian wars, and culminating with the admission of Florida into the American Union. Niles' Florida contains numerous anecdotes and narratives on events that played a key role in the transition of a wild territory, as described by Andrew Jackson, to become 27th state in our American Union. Detailed information is available on the activities of the Seminole Indians, Africans, British, Spanish, and Americans. Living the experiences of Florida's birth through the eyes of the people who were there, is the best history lesson you may ever get.

This project began for David Fowler when he visited an Indian mount in Fort Walton Beach, Florida and picked up a pamphlet that referenced a Black Seminole called Abraham, sense keeper for Micanopy. He was intrigued by this Abraham and sought to find more; David had caught the research bug. In due time, he volunteered for a task of not only identifying but also republishing every single article or reference about Abraham as presented in the Niles Weekly Register. He expanded it to cover all of Florida history referenced in the Register, including great coverage of the long Seminole Wars.

 

Newspaper illustration from a photograph of Abraham

In a series of volumes, David comprehensively traces and recovers what then-contemporary readers learned in real time about the progress of those regrettable conflicts. He combined his professions as a reporter, a librarian, and a historian to paint a unique picture of the birth and development of the Sunshine State. Its history unfolds like current events leading readers to turn the pages and discover even more.

David Fowler joins us to discuss the monumental undertaking.

Host Patrick Swan is a board member with the Seminole Wars Foundation. He is a combat veteran and of the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Kosovo, and at the Pentagon after 9/11. A military historian, he holds masters degrees in Public History, Communication, and Homeland Security, and is a graduate of the US Army War College with an advanced degree in strategic studies. This podcast is recorded at the homestead of the Seminole Wars Foundation in Bushnell, Florida. 

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