Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, bordered by the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of over 15 million and is known as the “Sunshine State.” The state has a rich history, with Native American inhabitants and Spanish and British colonization. Florida became a state in 1845 and has various state symbols, including the orange blossom, mockingbird, and alligator. The state motto is “In God We Trust.”
Florida is one of the fifty states that make up the United States of America and one of the twelve Southern states, along with Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest and north, Georgia to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Tallahassee is the capital. Other major cities in Florida are Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, St. Petersburg and Hialeah.
Florida is 26th among the 50 states by size with an area of 53,926.82 square miles (139,669.82 sq km), but ranks 4th by population at 15,982,378 in the 2000 census. It is the ninth among the states by population density. The proper name for a Florida resident is Floridian and his best-known nickname is the “Sunshine State.”
Florida’s first inhabitants were Native Americans, who arrived from the north about 12,000 years ago. In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León sighted the east coast of the state’s peninsula and named it after the Easter season – Pascua Florida, meaning “Easter flowers.” He tried to settle south Florida in 1521, but the locals prevented him. Pánfilo de Narváez attempted a settlement in 1528 and the group disappeared, with only four survivors showing up 8 years later.
French Huguenots built Fort Caroline in 1564, and the Spanish who were sent to sweep it away also managed to create the first permanent Spanish settlement, St. Augustine, which has the distinction of being the oldest continuous European presence in North America. When the British captured Havana, Cuba during the Seven Years’ War, the Spanish traded Florida to recover it in 1763. Florida was loyal to the British during the American Revolution and was ceded to Spain in the Treaty of Paris in 1783. After the First Seminole War, Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1819 in the Adams-Onis Treaty. Florida became a territory in 1822 and was the 27th state to join the union on March 3, 1845, considered a slave state.
Florida’s state motto is “In God We Trust,” and it appears on the state seal, which features a Seminole woman with flowers, a sabal palmetto, and a steamboat. On the state flag, the seal is reproduced on a white field with diagonal red bars behind it from corner to corner. Other state emblems include the following:
State Flower: Orange Blossom
State bird: Mockingbird
State reptile: Alligator
State Tree: Sabal Palmetto
State Marine Mammal: Manatee
State drink: orange juice
State Song: “The Swanee River (Old Men Home)”
State Gem: Moonstone — to symbolize the launch of space flights to the moon from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, despite the fact that the moonstone is neither found in Florida nor on the moon.
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