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Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I

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Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class,

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Speaker 1: a show that uncovers a little bit more about history

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Speaker 1: every day. I'm Gay Bluesier, and today we're talking about

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Speaker 1: the first Hispanic person to serve at one of the

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Speaker 1: highest levels of American government. The day was September two.

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Speaker 1: Joseph Marion Hernandez became the first Hispanic member of the

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Speaker 1: United States Congress. In this role, he helped guide Florida's

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Speaker 1: transition from a Spanish colony to a US territory. He

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Speaker 1: was originally named jose Mariano Hernandez and was born in

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Speaker 1: sevent in the Spanish settlement of St. Augustine, Florida. His

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Speaker 1: parents were immigrants from the island of Minorca and had

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Speaker 1: originally traveled to Florida as indentured servants. In his youth,

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Speaker 1: Joseph worked with his father as a carpenter and later

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Speaker 1: attended school in both Georgia and Cuba. Over time, the

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Speaker 1: family would improve its fortunes and use their wealth to

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Speaker 1: buy property and numerous enslaved workers. Despite his family's humble origins,

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Speaker 1: much of Joseph's success, like that of so many others

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Speaker 1: of the era came at the expense of other people's freedom.

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Speaker 1: In eighteen fourteen, Hernandez doubled down on this lifestyle by

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Speaker 1: marrying Anna Hill Williams, a wealthy widow who owned a

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Speaker 1: thirty two hundred acre sugarcane plantation near present day Daytona Beach.

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Speaker 1: As the years went by, Hernandez continued to grow this

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Speaker 1: already vast property by acquiring a series of land grants

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Speaker 1: in exchange for his service to the Spanish military. Meanwhile,

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Speaker 1: on the other side of the battlefield, the United States

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Speaker 1: was busy trying everything it could to ouse the Spanish

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Speaker 1: and take control of the Florida territory. After multiple failed attempts,

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Speaker 1: the US finally succeeded during the First Seminal War in

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Speaker 1: eighteen eighteen. Joseph's exact movements during this time are uncertain,

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Speaker 1: but we do know he fought against American forces during

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Speaker 1: the war and exchanged for those large plots of land

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Speaker 1: I mentioned from the Spanish government. By the time the

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Speaker 1: US had won the war, Hernandez controlled more than twenty

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Speaker 1: five thousand acres in the region, and, amazingly, when Florida

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Speaker 1: officially changed hands in eighteen nineteen, Joseph was allowed to

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Speaker 1: pledge allegiance to the United States and keep his extensive

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Speaker 1: land holdings. He had effectively played both sides of the

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Speaker 1: conflict and still come out ahead. After casting his lot

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Speaker 1: with the new American regime, he changed his name from

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Speaker 1: jose Mariano to Joseph Marion. Once the Florida Territory had

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Speaker 1: been organized, it was allowed to elect a delegate to Congress,

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Speaker 1: although that delegate would not be able to vote like

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Speaker 1: other members. Florida's Legislative Council elected her Nandez as the

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Speaker 1: territory's representative, and he was approved by President James Monroe

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Speaker 1: on September two. For the next six months, Hernandez played

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Speaker 1: a crucial role in the transition from Spanish to American

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Speaker 1: government in the newly acquired territory. As mentioned before, her

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Speaker 1: Nandez was able to keep the property he owned prior

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Speaker 1: to the annexation, and in Congress he helped extend those

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Speaker 1: same property rights to other Floridians who had chosen to stay.

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Speaker 1: He also fought for infrastructure bills to build new roads, bridges,

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Speaker 1: and canal which would not only help unite the territory

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Speaker 1: but also boost its chances of becoming a full fledged state.

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Speaker 1: In the end, Hernandez lost his bid for reelection and

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Speaker 1: left Congress after less than a year on the job,

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Speaker 1: but his wish for Florida to attain statehood would eventually

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Speaker 1: come to pass in eighteen forty five, when it became

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Speaker 1: the twenty seven state in the Union. After his loss,

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Speaker 1: Hernandez shifted his focus to regional politics and was appointed

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Speaker 1: the presiding officer of the Territories Legislative Council, which was

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Speaker 1: the precursor to the Florida House of Representatives. During this time,

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Speaker 1: he also continued to manage his three plantations, which produced

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Speaker 1: cash crops like sugarcane and cotton. A decade later, war

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Speaker 1: once again broke out between white settlers and the Seminoles.

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Speaker 1: In eighteen thirty five, Hernandez rejoined the conflict, this time

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Speaker 1: on the side of the U. S. Army. During the war,

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Speaker 1: two of his plantations were destroyed by Seminoles and black

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Speaker 1: fugitives who had escaped enslavement. Hernandez later embarked on an

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Speaker 1: apparent mission of revenge that resulted in the ambush and

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Speaker 1: capture of the men who had planned the attack on

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Speaker 1: his property. A year later, he came under fire for

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Speaker 1: ignoring a truce with Seminal leaders. In eighteen thirty eight,

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Speaker 1: Hernandez retired from the army with the rank of brigadier

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Speaker 1: general after asking to be relieved from duty in light

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Speaker 1: of the financial losses the war had caused him. Seven

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Speaker 1: years later, Hernandez tried to break back into politics by

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Speaker 1: running for a Senate seat in the newly formed state

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Speaker 1: of Florida, but he was unsuccessful. Reports of his unsavory

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Speaker 1: conduct during the Second Seminal War had tarnished his political

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Speaker 1: reputation on the national stage, but there was still a

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Speaker 1: place for him in local politics. In eighteen forty eight,

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Speaker 1: Hernandez was elected mayor of his hometown of St. Augustine.

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Speaker 1: After completing his term, he retired to his family's estate

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Speaker 1: in Matenzas, Cuba, where he remained until his death on

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Speaker 1: June eighth, eighteen fifty seven, at age sixty nine. Hernandez

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Speaker 1: was a complicated figure, as attested by his house biography,

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Speaker 1: which reads, in part quote his complex life and career

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Speaker 1: as a slave owning Indian fighting politician cut from Jacksonian cloth,

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Speaker 1: embodied conflicting attitudes towards statehood representation, and territorial conquest and yeah,

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Speaker 1: that's putting it lightly. I'm Gabe Louzier and hopefully you

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Speaker 1: now know a little more about history today than you

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Speaker 1: did yesterday. If you're a fan of the show, consider

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Speaker 1: i HC Show, And if you have any feedback for

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Speaker 1: how we're doing so far, you can drop us a

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Speaker 1: line at this day at I heart media dot com.

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Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler May's for producing the show, and thank

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Speaker 1: you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow

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Speaker 1: for another Day in History class. For more podcasts from

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