Florida Constitutional Convention of 1838
A handwritten copy of the 1838 Constitution or "Form of Government for the People of Florida," signed by Convention President, Robert Raymond Reid, and Convention Secretary, Joshua Knowles resides at the State Archives of Florida. Considered "a secretary's copy" this document is the only known copy of the 1838 Constitution. The original Constitution, signed by all the delegates, has never been found. The preamble to the Constitution of 1838:
South Florida
As with all vernacular regions, South Florida has no official boundaries or status and is defined differently by different sources at different times. A 2007 study of Florida's regions by Ary Lamme and Raymond K. Oldakowski found that Floridians surveyed identified "South Florida" as comprising the southernmost sections of peninsular Florida. That area includes the Miami metropolitan area (generally defined as Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties), the Florida Keys included in Monroe county, and the interior region known as the Glades. Additionally, Southwest Florida, representing the state's southern Gulf Coast, has emerged as a directional vernacular region. Some respondents from as far northwest as the southern Tampa Bay area identified their region as being in South Florida rather than Southwest or Central Florida. However, the University of South Florida, founded in 1956, is located in Tampa. At that time, prior to the changes quickly brought by the Florida Constitution of 1968, south Florida was much less important politically, and the term was used more loosely. Tampa is not considered part of south Florida.