Editing History of Florida (section)

==Since 1900==
In 1900, Florida was largely agricultural and frontier; most Floridians lived within 50 miles of the Georgia border. The population grew from 529,000 in 1900 to 18.3&nbsp;million in 2009. The population explosion began with the great land boom of the 1920s as Florida became a destination for vacationers and a southern land speculator's paradise. People from throughout the Southeast migrated to Florida during this time, creating a larger southern culture in the central part of the state, and expanding the existing one in the northern region.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}

By 1920, Florida had the highest rate of lynchings per capita,<ref name="davis"/> although the overall total had declined. Violence of whites against black people continued into the post-World War II period, and there were lynchings and riots in several small towns in the early 1920s. Florida had the only recorded lynching in 1945, in October after the war's end, when a black man was killed after being falsely accused of assaulting a white girl.<ref name="davis">{{cite journal|last=Davis|first=Jack E.|title='Whitewash' in Florida: The Lynching of Jesse James Payne and Its Aftermath|date=1990|journal=The Florida Historical Quarterly|volume=68|number=3|pages=277–298|jstor=30146708 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30146708|access-date=August 2, 2022}}</ref>

In the 1920s, many developers invested in land in the southern part of the State in areas such as Miami, and Palm Beach attracting more people in the Southern States. When the Crash came in 1929, prices of houses plunged, but the sunshine remained. Hurt badly by the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] and the land bust, Florida, along with many other States, kept afloat with federal relief money under the Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}

After World War II, the state would grow dramatically going from having a population of 2.7&nbsp;million in 1950 to 16 million by 2000 along with going from being the 20th most populated state in 1950 to being the 4th most by 2000<ref name=":2" /> and 3rd by 2014.<ref name=fund>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/395312/florida-leaves-new-york-behind-its-rear-view-mirror-john-fund|last=Fund|first=John|title=Florida Leaves New York Behind in Its Rear-View Mirror|date=December 23, 2014|website=NationalReview.com|access-date=October 23, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/23/florida-surpasses-ny-as-3rd-most-populous-state.html|title=Move over, NY: This state now 3rd most populous|first=Jacob|last=Pramuk|date=December 23, 2014|website=Cnbc.com}}</ref> Florida's strong population growth followed other states in the southern and western United States along with following the same trend as many residents moving to the state were from the Midwest and Northeastern US. Many new residents in Florida were elderly and as a result the average age in Florida would increase from 28.8 in 1950 to 39.3 by 2000. Technological reasons behind Florida's growth included air conditioning and [[DDT]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Mormino |first=Gary |date=Summer 2002 |title=Sunbelt Dreams and Altered States: A Social and Cultural History of Florida, 1950–2000 |url=https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol81/iss1/4/ |journal=The Florida Historical Quarterly |volume=81 |issue=1 |pages=3–21 |via=STARS}}</ref>

===Race relations===
{{See also|Rosewood massacre|Ocoee massacre|Perry race riot}}
<!-- [[WP:NFCC]] violation: [[File:Rosewood Florida rc12408.jpg|thumb|250px|alt=A black and white photograph of ashes from a burned building with several people standing nearby; trees in the distance|The remains of Sarah Carrier's house after the [[Rosewood massacre]].]] -->

After World War I, there was a rise in [[lynchings]] and other racial violence directed by whites against black people in the state, as well as across the South. It was due in part from strains of rapid social and economic changes, as well as competition for jobs, and lingering resentment resulting from the [[Reconstruction Era of the United States|Reconstruction]] after the Civil War, as well as tensions among both black and white populations created by the return of black veterans.<ref>{{cite book|last=Akers|first=Monte|title=Flames After Midnight: Murder, Vengeance, and the Desolation of a Texas Community|year=2011|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0292726338|url={{Google books|rQOs_jKyyZMC|page=151-152|plainurl=yes}}|pages=151–152}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Lois |title=Encyclopedia of the Harlem Literary Renaissance: The Essential Guide to the Lives and Works of the Harlem Renaissance Writers |year=2005 |publisher=Facts on File |isbn=978-0816049677 |url={{Google books|t910en1a7pkC|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref>

Whites continued to resort to lynchings to keep dominance, and tensions rose. Florida led the South and the nation in lynchings per capita from 1900 to 1930.<ref>{{cite book|first = Glenda Alice |last =Rabby|title =The Pain and the Promise: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Tallahassee, Florida|location= Athens, GA|publisher= University of Georgia Press|date= 1999|isbn = 978-0820320519| page= 3|url={{Google books|zKw0ltL5VaQC|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Julianne|last=Hare|title=Historic Frenchtown. Heart and Heritage in Tallahassee, Columbia, S.C.|publisher=History Press|date=2006|isbn=1596291494|page=68}}</ref>

White mobs committed massacres, accompanied by wholesale destruction of black houses, churches, and schools, in the small communities of [[Ocoee, Florida|Ocoee]], November 1920; [[Perry, Florida|Perry]] in December 1922; and [[Rosewood, Florida|Rosewood]] in January 1923. The governor appointed a special grand jury and special prosecuting attorney to investigate Rosewood and [[Levy County]], but the jury did not find sufficient evidence to prosecute. Rosewood was never resettled.

The [[Ku Klux Klan]] had several active Klaverns in Florida in the 1920s, starting in Jacksonville in late 1922. Like elsewhere in the south, Klan members terrorized African Americans, Catholics, immigrants and anyone else proclaiming racial equality. They also intimidated voters at polling locations and were direct participants in politics. For example, in the June primaries of 1922, the Klan had winning candidates for several offices throughout [[Volusia County, Florida|Volusia County]]. The three largest Klaverns in the state were in Jacksonville, Miami, and St. Petersburg.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chalmers |first1=David |title=The Ku Klux Klan in the Sunshine State: The 1920's |journal=The Florida Historical Quarterly |date=January 1964 |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=209–211 |url=http://palmm.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/ucf%3A22396 |access-date=14 February 2023}}</ref>

About 40,000 African Americans migrated from Florida to northern cities in the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]] from 1910 to 1940. That was one-fifth of their population in 1900. They sought better lives, including decent-paying jobs, better education for their children, and the chance to vote and participate in political life — escaping segregation, lynchings, and civil rights suppression. Many were recruited for jobs with the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]].<ref name=rosewood>{{cite web|url=http://mailer.fsu.edu/~mjones/rosewood/rosewood.html|title=Documented History of the Incident Which Occurred at Rosewood, Florida, in January 1923|date=December 22, 1993|publisher=Florida State University|page=5|access-date=March 28, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515152951/http://mailer.fsu.edu/~mjones/rosewood/rosewood.html |archive-date=May 15, 2008}}</ref>

===Boom of 1920s===
{{Main article|Florida land boom of the 1920s}}
The 1920s were a prosperous time for much of the nation, including Florida. The state's new railroads opened up large areas to development, spurring the [[Florida land boom of the 1920s]]. Investors of all kinds, many from outside Florida, raced to buy and sell rapidly appreciating land in newly [[plat]]ted communities such as Miami and Palm Beach. Led by entrepreneurs [[Carl Fisher]] and [[George E. Merrick|George Merrick]], Miami was transformed by [[land speculation]] and ambitious building projects into an emerging metropolis. A growing awareness in the areas surrounding Florida, along with the Northeast about the attractive south Florida winter climate, along with local promotion of speculative investing, spurred the boom.<ref>{{cite journal | first=James M. |last=Ricci| title=Boasters, Boosters and Boom: Some popular Images of Florida in the 1920s| journal= Tampa Bay History|year= 1984| volume=6 |issue =2|pages=31–57 | url = https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/tampabayhistory/vol6/iss2/5/}}</ref>

A majority of the people who bought land in Florida hired intermediaries to accomplish the transactions. By 1924, the main issues in state elections were how to attract more industry and the need to build and maintain good roads for tourists.<ref>{{cite journal | first=Victoria H. |last=McDonnell|title=Rise of the 'Businessman's Politician': The 1924 Florida Gubernatorial Race|journal=Florida Historical Quarterly|date=July 1973|volume= 52 |issue= 1|pages= 39–50 |jstor=30150977}}</ref> During the time frame, the population grew from less than one million in 1920, to 1,263,540 in 1925.<ref name=tebeau/>{{rp|361}}

By 1925, the market ran out of buyers to pay the high prices, and soon the boom became a bust. The [[1926 Miami Hurricane]], which nearly destroyed the city further depressed the real estate market.<ref>{{cite journal | first=Paul S. |last=George|title= Brokers, Binders, and Builders: Greater Miami's Boom of the Mid-1920s|journal= Florida Historical Quarterly|date=July 1986|volume= 65 |issue=1|pages=27–51|jstor=30146317}}</ref> In 1928 another hurricane struck Southern Florida. The [[1928 Okeechobee hurricane]] made landfall near [[Palm Beach, Florida|Palm Beach]], severely damaging the local infrastructure. In townships near Lake Okeechobee, the storm breached a dike separating the water from land, creating a [[storm surge]] that killed over 2,000 people and destroying the towns of [[Belle Glade, Florida|Belle Glade]] and [[Pahokee, Florida|Pahokee]].<ref name=tebeau/>{{rp|378}}

Tourists continued to arrive in Florida by train. The introduction of the automobile resulted in an increased number traveling on sometimes macadamized, sometimes dirt roads. The destination was usually Miami or Miami Beach. Roadside attractions included orange shops and alligator wrestling.<ref>{{Cite news | first=Michael | last=Stephens | title=In memory of our state's roadside attractions | url=https://www.gainesville.com/story/opinion/2020/12/14/michael-stephens-memory-floridas-roadside-attractions/3885773001/| newspaper=Florida Today | location=Melbourne, Florida| pages= 11A | date=December 22, 2020 | accessdate=February 19, 2021}}</ref> Tourism was confined to the winter months. Summers were uncomfortably hot for visitors.

===Prohibition===
[[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] had been popular in north Florida, but was opposed in the rest of the south, which became a haven for speakeasies and rum-runners in the 1920s. During 1928–32 a broad coalition of judges, lawyers, politicians, journalists, brewers, hoteliers, retailers, and ordinary Floridians organized to try to repeal the ban on alcohol. When the federal government legalized near beer and light wine in 1933, the wet coalition launched a successful campaign to legalize these beverages at the state level.<ref name="Guthrie 1995 23–39">{{cite journal | first=John J. Jr. |last=Guthrie|title=Rekindling The Spirits: From National Prohibition to Local Option in Florida: 1928–1935 | journal=Florida Historical Quarterly|year= 1995 |volume=74|issue=1|pages= 23–39 | jstor=30148787}}</ref>

Floridians subsequently joined in the national campaign to repeal the 18th Amendment, which succeeded in December 1933. The following November, state voters repealed Florida's constitutional ban on liquor and gave local governments the power to legalize or outlaw alcoholic beverages.<ref name="Guthrie 1995 23–39"/>

===Great Depression===
The [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] began with the Stock Market crash of 1929. By that time, the economy had already declined in much of Florida from the collapse three years earlier of the land boom.<ref name=tebeau/>{{rp|376}} During the late 1920s and early 1930s Florida would face a variety of problems with some of them stemming from the collapse of the Florida Land Boom and the Great Depression. Two hurricanes with one occurring in [[1926 Miami hurricane|1926]] and another in [[1928 Okeechobee hurricane|1928]] would hurt the state further economically.<ref name=":1">{{Cite thesis |last=Evans|first=Jon|date=2011|title=Weathering the Storm: Florida Politics during the Administration of Spessard L. Holland in World War II|type=PhD dissertation|publisher=Florida State University|url=http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-0438|access-date=January 8, 2022}}</ref> The state government would be in debt which was then a violation of Florida's Constitution and over 150 municipalities would also be in debt as they had defaulted on their municipal bonds<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Cox|first=Merlin|date=1964|title=David Sholtz: New Deal Governor of Florida|url=https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2931&context=fhq|journal=The Florida Historical Quarterly|volume=43}}</ref> which had mainly been issued as a way to pay for infrastructure during the Florida land boom.<ref name=":1" /> Many property owners often owed taxes to local governments which further worsened the situation. A separate issue would be with Florida's virgin timber crop being virtually cut down by the 1930s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Shofner|first=Jerrell|date=April 1987|title=Roosevelt's 'Tree Army': The Civilian Conservation Corps in Florida|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30147841|journal=The Florida Historical Quarterly|volume=65|issue=4|pages=433–456|jstor=30147841}}</ref>

During the [[New Deal]] (1933–40) a variety of projects would be built by the [[Works Progress Administration]] (WPA). There would be work camps for the young men of the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] (CCC).<ref name=tebeau/>{{rp|386}} Apart from the New Deal being implemented, Florida would see [[David Sholtz]] become elected as Governor in 1932. As governor, he would manage to implement social welfare programs while simultaneously expanding the amount of tax revenue received by the state government and getting it out of debt. He would also be strongly aligned with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and was a personal friend of his.<ref name=":0"/> Toward the end of Sholtz's tenure his reputation among Floridians which was previously positive would decline as his ethics became questioned. As a result, [[Fred P. Cone]] would become elected as governor in 1936. While being governor he would be incredibly hands-off and had a fiscally conservative approach.<ref name=":1" />

From 1930 to 1935, college students selected Fort Lauderdale, Daytona Beach, and Panama City Beach as great places to take a [[spring break]] and party. The 1960s film ''[[Where the Boys Are]]'' increased attendance in Fort Lauderdale to 50,000 annually. When this figure increased to 250,000 in 1985, the city began to pass laws restricting student activities. As a result, students moved to Daytona Beach from 1980 to 1990s. The figure for Fort Lauderdale dropped to 20,000; 350,000 visited Daytona Beach. Daytona Beach passed laws constraining underage drinking. Students then began patronizing Panama City, where 500,000 visited in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ben |last=Brotemarkle |title=Spring break fun in sun born in 1930s |url=http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2014/04/01/florida-frontiers-spring-break-fun-sun-born-s/7146479/ |newspaper=Florida Today |location=Melbourne, Florida |pages=11A |date=April 1, 2014 |access-date=April 1, 2014}}</ref>

Florida legalized gambling in 1931 allowing a [[Parimutuel betting]] establishment. By 2014, there were 30 such establishments, generating $200&nbsp;million in state taxes and fees.<ref name="ft140311">{{Cite news | first=Mike | last=Haridopolos | title=Legislature aims to rewrite gaming rules. 'Complex' issue affects billions of dollars in state revenue | url=http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20140311/COLUMNISTS0205/303110004/Legislature-aims-rewrite-state-gaming-rules| newspaper=Florida Today | location=Melbourne, Florida| pages= 1A | date=March 11, 2014 | access-date=March 11, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-03-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140312072136/http://www.floridatoday.com/proart/20140311/columnists0205/303110004/legislature-aims-rewrite-state-gaming-rules?pagerestricted=1}}</ref>

Anticipating war, the Army and Navy decided to use the state as a primary training area. The Navy chose the coastal areas, the Army, the inland areas.<ref name="i1108">{{Cite journal|first=Klyne |last=Nowlin |date=August 2011 |title=Historians Share Stories About FLorida in WWII |journal=The Intercom |volume=34 |issue=8 |page=9 |url=http://www.moaacc.org/Intercomaug11.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226065206/http://www.moaacc.org/Intercomaug11.pdf |archive-date=December 26, 2011 }}</ref>

In 1940, the population was about 1.5&nbsp;million. Average annual income was $308 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|308|1940|r=2}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars).
<ref name="i1108"/>
<!---
material needs to be grouped for WW II and then beyond. Loses its way at this point and jumps way ahead
--->

===World War II and the development of the space industry===
[[File:Flaglerstreet Miami 1945.jpg|thumb|Soldiers and crowds in [[Greater Downtown Miami|Downtown Miami]] 20&nbsp;minutes after Japan's surrender ending World War II (1945).]]
[[File:Aerial View of Launch Complex 39.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Kennedy Space Center]].]]

Prior to the United States entering World War II, Florida was found in polling by [[Gallup, Inc.|Gallup]] to be among the most supportive states for interventionism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rogers |first=Ben |date=1960 |title=Florida in World War II: Tourists and Citrus |url=https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2739&context=fhq |journal=Florida Historical Quarterly |volume=39 |issue=1 |access-date=October 18, 2022 |via=STARS}}</ref> In the years leading up to World War II, 100 ships were sunk off the coast of Florida.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100818/LIFE/8180314/New%20book%20highlights%20Florida%20s%20role%20during%20World%20War%20II?GID=TCY2fY/MRMEAyPMROOyxMqf8zGETKpCYE1wGrTNd+mI%3D |title=New book highlights Florida's role during World War II |first=Chris |last=Kridler |date=August 18, 2010 |work=Florida Today|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125015423/http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100818/LIFE/8180314/New%20book%20highlights%20Florida%20s%20role%20during%20World%20War%20II?GID=TCY2fY/MRMEAyPMROOyxMqf8zGETKpCYE1wGrTNd+mI%3D}}</ref> More ships sank after the country entered the war.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} About 248,000 Floridians served in the war. Around 50,000 of these were African Americans.<ref name="Brotemarkle 5A">{{Cite news | first=Ben | last=Brotemarkle | title=World War II's impact on Florida | url=http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2017/09/26/florida-frontiers-remembering-wwiis-impact-florida/705262001/| newspaper=Florida Today | location=Melbourne, Florida| page= 5A | date=September 27, 2017 | access-date=October 6, 2017}}</ref>

During the war, shipbuilding would make up two-thirds of all industrial growth seen in the state. Thousands of people would be hired by shipbuilding companies during the war to work in Pensacola, Panama City, Jacksonville and Tampa. There would be labor shortages during the war as many of those who worked at industrial jobs were now serving in the military. Local and migrant laborers who worked in the orchards and field would end up leaving for higher paying jobs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Florida in World War II {{!}} Homefront |url=https://www.floridamemory.com/learn/exhibits/wwii/homefront/ |access-date=October 18, 2022 |website=Florida Memory}}</ref>

The state became a major hub for the [[United States Armed Forces]]. [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]] was originally established as a naval station in 1826 and became the first American naval aviation facility in 1917. The entire nation mobilized for World War II and many bases, especially air bases, were established in Florida, to include:
* [[Naval Air Station Whiting Field]]
* [[Naval Air Station Ellyson Field]]
* [[Tyndall AFB|Tyndall Field]]
* [[Dale Mabry Army Airfield]]
* [[Naval Air Station Jacksonville]]
* [[Naval Station Mayport]]
* [[Naval Air Station Cecil Field]]
* [[Camp Blanding]]
* [[Daytona Beach International Airport|Naval Air Station Daytona Beach]]
* [[Naval Air Station DeLand]]
* [[Naval Air Station Sanford]]
* [[Orlando Executive Airport|Orlando Army Air Base]]
* [[McCoy AFB|Pinecastle Army Airfield]]
* [[Kissimmee Army Airfield]] 
* [[Patrick Space Force Base|Naval Air Station Banana River]]
* [[Naval Air Station Melbourne]]
* [[Lakeland Army Airfield]]
* [[Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale]]
* [[Coast Guard Air Station Miami|Naval Air Station Miami]]
* [[Naval Air Station Richmond]]
* [[Page Field Army Airfield]]
* [[Naval Air Station Key West]]
* [[Truman Annex|Naval Station Key West]]
* [[Homestead Air Reserve Base|Homestead Army Air Field]]

Numerous others were also established that exist today as military installations/facilities, civilian airports, or other facilities under different names.

Present day [[Eglin Air Force Base]], [[Hurlburt Field]], and [[MacDill Air Force Base]] (now the home of [[U.S. Central Command]] and [[U.S. Special Operations Command]]) were also developed as [[U.S. Army Air Forces]] installations during this time. During the [[Cold War]], Florida's coastal access and proximity to Cuba encouraged the development of these and other military facilities. Since the end of the Cold War, the military has closed some facilities, including major bases such as [[NAS Sanford]], [[McCoy AFB]], [[NAS Cecil Field]], and NTC Orlando, and realigned others such as Homestead AFB being transferred to the [[Air Force Reserve Command]] and realigned as [[Homestead Air Reserve Base]], or [[Saufley Field|NAS Saufley Field]] realigned as [[Saufley Field|NETPDC Saufley Field]], but their presence is still significant in the state and local economies.

Apart from military bases, Florida would also be home to 22 prisoner of war camps. Starting in May 1943, the Allied powers would send captured Nazi soldiers to the United States with about of 10,000 of them going to 22 camps in Florida. Many of these camps would be located in or near military bases.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kleinberg|first=Eliot|date=January 2, 2022|title=Florida history: German prisoners of war – the enemy in our midst|work=Yahoo! news|agency=Palm Beach Daily News|url=https://news.yahoo.com/florida-history-german-prisoners-war-130017076.html|access-date=January 2, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=War's Impact on Florida: German POWs Held in Camps in Florida|url=https://museumoffloridahistory.com/exhibits/permanent-exhibits/world-war-ii/florida-remembers-world-war-ii/wars-impact-on-florida-german-pows-held-in-camps-in-florida/|access-date=January 2, 2021|website=Museum of Florida History}}</ref>

The population increased by 46% during the 1940s.<ref name="Brotemarkle 5A" />

Because of Cape Canaveral's relative closeness to the equator, compared to other potential locations, it was chosen in 1949 as a test site for the country's nascent missile program. [[Patrick Space Force Base]] and the [[Cape Canaveral Space Force Station]] launch site began to take shape as the 1950s progressed. By the early 1960s, the [[Space Race]] was in full swing. As programs were expanded and employees joined, the space program generated a huge boom in the communities around Cape Canaveral. This area is now collectively known as the [[Space Coast]] and features the [[Kennedy Space Center]]. It is also a major center of the [[Aerospace engineering|aerospace industry]]. To date, all crewed orbital spaceflights launched by the United States, including those that carried the only persons to visit the [[Moon]], have been launched from Kennedy Space Center.

===Post-World War II growth, changes and the Civil Rights Movement===
[[File:Five flags of Florida.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Five flags of Florida, not including the current [[Florida State Flag|State Flag.]]]]

Florida's population mix has changed. After World War II, Florida was transformed as the development of [[air conditioning]] and the [[Interstate highway]] system encouraged migration by residents of the North and Midwest.<ref name=":2" />

In 1950, Florida was ranked twentieth among the states in population; 50 years later it was ranked fourth,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t2/tab01.pdf|title=US Census 2000 Table 1. States Ranked by Population|date=April 2, 2001|publisher=Census.gov|url-status=dead|archive-date=2003-10-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031008124943/https://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t2/tab01.pdf}}</ref> and 14 years later was number three.<ref name=fund/><ref>{{cite web |last=Pramuk |first=Jacob |date=December 23, 2014 |title=Move over, NY: This state now 3rd most populous |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/23/florida-surpasses-ny-as-3rd-most-populous-state.html |website=[[CNBC]]}}</ref> Due to low tax rates and warm climate, Florida became the destination for many retirees from the Northeast, Midwest and Canada.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Prior to development, Florida salt marshes were capable of producing large numbers of mosquitoes. The [[Aedes sollicitans|salt marsh mosquito]] does not lay its eggs in standing water, preferring moist sand or mud instead. Biologists learned to control them by "source reduction", the process of removing the moist sand needed by the mosquitoes to breed. To achieve this goal, large sections of coastal marshes were either ditched or diked to remove the moist sand that the mosquitoes required to lay eggs on. Together with chemical controls, it yielded a qualified success.<ref>{{cite book|last=Patterson|first=Gordon|title=The Mosquito Wars: A History of Mosquito Control in Florida|year=2004|publisher=University Press of Florida|location=Gainesville|isbn=978-0813027203}}</ref>

Dramatic changes would also be seen economically in Florida. Agricultural grew during the postwar years and even outpaced the growth of tourism in the state until 1965 when Walt Disney announced the creation of Walt Disney World. Citrus growers doubled their output, cattle ranching expanded in the Kissimmee Valley and farmers began to cultivate the [[Everglades Agricultural Area]] with sugar being the most prominent crop. Sugarcane cultivation would begin to grow significantly in that area after the United States placed an embargo on Cuban sugar in 1959<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Grunwald |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=olHjhlx0Em8C |title=The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2007 |isbn=978-0743251075 |pages=229–231 |via=Google Books}}</ref> (Cuba was the main supplier of sugar to the United States)<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Outman |first=Catherine Joan |year=2020 |title=Florida's Red Tide: The Hidden Costs of Land Development in the Everglades |journal=Student Theses 2015-Present |type=BA thesis |publisher=Fordham University |page=23 |format=PDF |url=https://research.library.fordham.edu/environ_2015/94/ |via=Fordham Research Commons}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2023}} and repealed the Sugar Act's limits on domestic production. Tourism grew in Florida from 3 million visitors to over 15 million by 1965.<ref name=":3" />

==== Changes in demographics ====
In the early postwar period, the state's population had changed markedly by migration of new groups, as well as emigration of African Americans, 40,000 of whom moved north in earlier decades of the 20th century during the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]].<ref name=rosewood/> By 1960 the number of African Americans in Florida had increased to 880,186, but declined proportionally to 18% of the state's population.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} This was a much smaller proportion than in 1900, when the census showed they comprised 44% of the state's population, while numbering 230,730 persons.<ref name="USCensusOffice1901">{{cite book |title=Bulletins of the Twelfth Census of the United States: No. 61-106; April 5 – Nov. 1, 1901 |date=1901 |publisher=United States Census Office |page=2 |url={{Google books|zqdCAQAAMAAJ|page=2|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref> The median age would also end up increasing as the state became a popular destination for retirees; going from 28.8 in 1950 to 39.3 by 2000.<ref name=":2" />

The [[Cuban Revolution]] of 1959 resulted in a large wave of Cuban immigration into South Florida, which transformed Miami into a major center of commerce, finance and transportation for all of Latin America. Emigration from [[Haiti]], other Caribbean states, and Central and South America continues to the present day.<ref name=tebeau/>{{rp|476–477}}

The population of Asian-Americans increased in Florida during the postwar years, growing from 1,142 counted by the US Census Bureau in 1950 to 154,302 by 1990. During the 1970s and 1980s Asian-Americans would end up becoming the largest foreign-born group of people in Florida.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mohl |first=Raymond A. |date=Winter 1996 |title=Asian Immigration to Florida |url=https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol74/iss3/3/ |journal=[[The Florida Historical Quarterly]] |publisher=[[Florida Historical Society]] |volume=74 |issue=3 |pages=261–286 |via=Showcase of Text, Archive, Research & Scholarship (STARS) from the University of Central Florida}}</ref>

==== Civil Rights movement ====
Like other states in the South, Florida had many African-American leaders who were active in the [[civil rights movement]]. In the 1940s and '50s, a new generation started working on issues, emboldened by veterans who had fought during World War II and wanted to gain more civil rights. [[Harry T. Moore]] built the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] ([[NAACP]]) in Florida, rapidly increasing its membership to 10,000. Because Florida's voter laws were not as restrictive as those of Georgia and Alabama, he had some success in registering black voters. In the 1940s he increased voter registration among black people from 5 to 31% of those age-eligible.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.crmvet.org/tim/timhis51.htm#1951moore|title=Murder of Harry & Harriette Moore|date=1951|publisher=Civil Rights Movement History|access-date=2008-03-30}}</ref>

But the state had white groups who resisted change, to the point of attacking and killing black people. In December 1951 whites [[Murder of Harry and Harriette Moore|bombed the house]] of activists Harry Moore and his wife Harriette, who both died of injuries from the blast. Although their murders were not solved then, a state investigation in 2006 reported they had been killed by an independent unit of the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. Numerous bombings were directed against African Americans in 1951–1952 in Florida.<ref>{{cite book |title=Speak Now Against the Day: The Generation Before the Civil Rights Movement in the South|date=1994|publisher= Alfred A. Knopf|pages=562–563|last=Egerton|first=John}}</ref>

===2000 presidential election controversy===
[[File:Butterfly Ballot, Florida 2000 (large).jpg|thumb|195px|"[[Butterfly ballot]]"]]
{{Main article|2000 United States presidential election in Florida}}
Florida became the battleground of the controversial [[2000 US presidential election]] which took place on November 7, 2000. The count of the popular votes was extremely close, triggering automatic recounts. These recounts triggered accusations of fraud and manipulation, and brought to light voting irregularities in the state.

Subsequent recount efforts degenerated into arguments over mispunched ballots, "[[hanging chad]]s", and controversial decisions by [[Florida Secretary of State]] [[Katherine Harris]] and the [[Florida Supreme Court]]. Ultimately, the [[United States Supreme Court]] ruled in ''[[Bush v. Gore]]'' to end all recounts, allowing Harris to certify the election results. The final official Florida count gave the victory to [[George W. Bush]] over [[Al Gore]] by 537 votes, a 0.009% margin of difference. The process was extremely divisive, and led to calls for [[electoral reform in Florida]]. Florida has the strictest laws penalizing and disenfranchising felons and other criminals, even if they have served their sentences. Together with other penalties, it excluded many minorities who may have voted for the Democratic candidate.

===Everglades, hurricanes, drilling and the environment===
<!---this subtitle needs to be changed to eliminate incoherence. Suggest separate sections on Everglades; separate on Hurricanes. Omit drilling as a subtitle - put it under "Environment."--->
Long-term scientific attention has focused on the fragility of the [[Everglades]]. In 2000 Congress authorized the [[Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan]] (CERP) at $8&nbsp;billion. The goals are to restore the health of the Everglades ecosystem and maximize the value to people of its land, water, and soil.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Everglades: An Environmental History|date=2000|url={{Google books|cuwlngEACAAJ|plainurl=yes}}|last=McCally|first=David|isbn=978-0813018270|publisher=University Press of Florida}}</ref> [[File:Destruction following hurricane andrew.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Destruction in [[Lakes by the Bay, Florida|Lakes by the Bay]] near Miami following Hurricane Andrew]]

[[Hurricane Andrew]] in August 1992 struck [[Homestead, Florida|Homestead]], just south of Miami, as a Category 5 hurricane, leaving forty people dead, 100,000 homes damaged or destroyed, more than a million people left without electricity, and damages of $20–30&nbsp;billion. Much of South Florida's sensitive vegetation was severely damaged. The region had not seen a storm of such power in decades. Besides heavy property damage, the hurricane nearly destroyed the region's insurance industry.<ref>{{cite book |title=In the Eye of Hurricane Andrew|date=2002|last1=Provenzo|first1=Eugene F. Jr.|last2=Provenzo|first2=Asterine Baker|isbn=978-0813025667|publisher=University Press of Florida}}</ref>

The western panhandle was damaged heavily in [[1995 Atlantic hurricane season|1995]], with hurricanes [[Hurricane Allison (1995)|Allison]], [[Hurricane Erin (1995)|Erin]], and [[Hurricane Opal|Opal]] hitting the area within the span of a few months. The storms increased in strength during the season, culminating with Opal's landfall as a Category 3 in October.

Florida also suffered heavily during the [[2004 Atlantic hurricane season]], when four major storms struck the state. [[Hurricane Charley]] made landfall in Charlotte County area and cut northward through the peninsula, [[Hurricane Frances]] struck the Atlantic coast and drenched most of central Florida with heavy rains, [[Hurricane Ivan]] caused heavy damage in the western Panhandle, and [[Hurricane Jeanne]] caused damage to the same area as Frances, including compounded [[Coastal erosion|beach erosion]]. Damage from all four storms was estimated to be at least $22&nbsp;billion, with some estimates going as high as $40&nbsp;billion. In 2005, South Florida was struck by Hurricanes [[Hurricane Katrina|Katrina]] and [[Hurricane Wilma|Wilma]]. The panhandle was struck by [[Hurricane Dennis]].

In 2016, [[Hurricane Matthew]] paralleled the east coast and caused an estimated $10 billion in damage. In 2017, [[Hurricane Irma]] made a catastrophic category 4 landfall in the [[Florida Keys]], followed by a category 3 landfall in [[Collier County]]. Irma caused over $50 billion in damage in Florida, making it the costliest in Floridian history, until being surpassed by [[Hurricane Ian]] in 2022. In 2018, [[Hurricane Michael]] hit the [[Florida Panhandle]] as a Category 5, the first landfall at that intensity in the [[United States]] since [[Hurricane Andrew]] in 1992. It caused over $20 billion in damage in Florida. In 2022, [[Hurricane Ian]] made landfall in [[Lee County, Florida|Lee County]], killing 146 people and causing over $113 billion in damage, making it the [[List of costliest Atlantic hurricanes|costliest hurricane]] to ever hit Florida and the deadliest since the [[1935 Labor Day Hurricane]].

Florida has historically been at risk from hurricanes and tropical storms. These have resulted in higher risks and property damage as the concentration of population and development has increased along Florida's coastal areas. Not only are more people and property at risk, but development has overtaken the natural system of wetlands and waterways, which used to absorb some of the storms' energy and excess waters.

<ref>{{cite web|url=http://marine.usgs.gov/fact-sheets/FLAwetlands/|title=Florida Wetlands|publisher=US Geological Survey|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120810134311/http://marine.usgs.gov/fact-sheets/FLAwetlands/|archive-date=August 10, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pielke|first1=Roger|last2=Gratz|first2=Joel|last3=Landsea|first3=Christopher W.|last4=Collins|first4=Douglas|last5=Saunders|first5=Mark A.|last6=Musulin|first6=Rade|date=2008|title=Normalized Hurricane Damage in the United States: 1900–2005|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251194283|journal=Natural Hazards Review|volume=9|issue=1|pages=29–42|doi=10.1061/(ASCE)1527-6988(2008)9:1(29)|access-date=2022-08-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/socasp/weather1/pielke.html|title=Trends in Hurricane Impacts in the United States|date=n.d.|publisher=University of Colorado|last=Pielke|first=Roger A. Jr.|access-date=2022-08-11}}</ref>

Environmental issues include preservation and restoration of the Everglades, which has moved slowly. There has been pressure by industry groups to drill for [[Crude oil|oil]] in the eastern [[Gulf of Mexico]] but so far, large-scale drilling off the coasts of Florida has been prevented. The federal government declared the state an agricultural disaster area because of 13 straight days of freezing weather during the growing season in January 2010.<ref>{{Cite news| title=Crist wants ag disaster declared in Florida| url=http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/national/story/Crist-wants-ag-disaster-declared-in-Florida/LKG_5mjyM0KQcqpawqnCUg.cspx| work=Florida Today| agency=[[Associated Press]]| location=Melbourne, Florida| pages=6B| date=January 16, 2010| access-date=March 10, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116174612/http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/national/story/Crist-wants-ag-disaster-declared-in-Florida/LKG_5mjyM0KQcqpawqnCUg.cspx| archive-date=January 16, 2010| url-status=dead| df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Oranges have been grown and sold in Florida since 1872.<ref name=morton>{{cite web|author=Morton, J|url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/orange.html|title=Orange, ''Citrus sinensis''|date=1987|publisher=NewCROP, New Crop Resource Online Program, Center for New Crops & Plant Products, Purdue University|pages=134–142}}</ref> Production dropped 59% from the 2008–09 season to the 2016–17 season. The decline was mostly due to [[canker]], [[citrus greening disease]], and hurricane damage.<ref>{{Cite news | first1=Dave | last1=Berman | first2=Wayne T.|last2=Price|title=Citrus growers feel the squeeze | url=http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2017/11/10/brevard-county-florida-citrus-growers-feel-the-squeeze-oranges-grapefruits/840813001/| newspaper=Florida Today | location=Melbourne, Florida| pages= 1A, 10A | date=November 12, 2017 | access-date=November 12, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-11-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111235735/http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2017/11/10/brevard-county-florida-citrus-growers-feel-the-squeeze-oranges-grapefruits/840813001/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=}}</ref>

===Fishing===
In 2009–2010, "there were hardly any fish off Florida...they are finding fish all over Florida" in 2016.{{who|date=March 2024}} The federal government believes this is due to federal restraints on fishing.<ref>{{Cite news | first=Ledyard | last=King | title=Scientist:Fish counts suffer from 'perception issue' | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/22/noaa-scientist-says-federal-fish-counts-suffer-perception-issue/79172444/| newspaper=Florida Today | location=Melbourne, Florida| pages= 1A | date=January 23, 2016 | access-date=January 23, 2016}}</ref><!---somewhat informal narrative of fishing off Florida, reported in a USA Today article, so soft copy won't match hard copy source, but is the same article--><!---article should probably be used in higher level article on fishing in the US-->

===Infrastructure===
Consistent with usage throughout the country, more than 51% of homes in Florida in 2015 use mobile phones or wireless only.<ref>{{Cite news | first=Jim | last=Saunders | title=Floridians continue pulling plug on landlines | url=https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2017/08/03/floridians-continue-pulling-plug-on-landlines| newspaper=Florida Today | location=Melbourne, Florida| page= 3A | date=August 6, 2017 | access-date=August 7, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808034042/https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2017/08/03/floridians-continue-pulling-plug-on-landlines|archive-date=2017-08-08}}</ref>