Florida
Florida had become a burden to Spain, which could not afford to send settlers or garrisons. Madrid therefore decided to cede the territory to the United States through the Adams–Onís Treaty, which took effect in 1821. President James Monroe was authorized on March 3, 1821 to take possession of East Florida and West Florida for the United States and provide for initial governance. Andrew Jackson, on behalf of the U.S. federal government, served as a military commissioner with the powers of governor of the newly acquired territory for a brief period. On March 30, 1822, the U.S. Congress merged East Florida and part of West Florida into the Florida Territory.
By the early 1800s, Indian removal was a significant issue throughout the southeastern U.S. and also in Florida. In 1830, the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act and as settlement increased, pressure grew on the U.S. government to remove the Indians from Florida. Seminoles offered sanctuary to blacks, and these became known as the Black Seminoles, and clashes between whites and Indians grew with the influx of new settlers. In 1832, the Treaty of Payne's Landing promised to the Seminoles lands west of the Mississippi River if they agreed to leave Florida. Many Seminole left at this time.
History of Leon County, Florida
On March 30, 1822, the United States merged East Florida and part of West Florida into the Florida Territory. Originally part of Escambia and later Gadsden County, Leon County was created in 1824. It was named for the Juan Ponce de León, Spanish explorer who was the first European to reach Florida.Leon County in the 1820s and 1830s was the destination of a number of northern planters. Besides the aforementioned R.K. Call and John Branch, names such as Francis W. Eppes, William Bailey, the Chaires brothers, the Bradford brothers, George Taliaferro Ward, and many others began large cotton plantations in Leon County. At the center of what was then called Middle Florida, there was much less population than in East Florida and West Florida, and no problem with the memories of the more lenient treatment of slaves under Spain. Building a plantation, slave-based economy in Middle Florida was much easier.