LIVING HISTORY
9
ing but a load of worthless swamp. Soon the
public wanted out of what was perceived as
a useless war.
ARMED OCCUPATION ACT
In faraway Washington, men in power
looked for ways to bring the troops back
home. U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton
of Missouri came up with a plan. He was
particularly interested, because volunteers
from his home state suffered in the sawgrass
with Zachary Taylor at the bloody Battle
of Okeechobee. Benton’s solution was to
drum up a bunch of land-hungry pioneers,
loan them weapons and let them replace the
troops. To lure applicants, the government
would give heads of household a big piece of free land in a dangerous
Indian buffer area, if they could hold onto it for five years.
“In the first place,” Sen. Benton explained, as reported in the
Congressional Record, “it is the cheapest mode … Almost the only
expense would be in the land … land that the settlers must conquer
for us before we can give it to them.”
Benton’s proposed legislation was called the Armed Occupation
Act, and it took Congress a few years to push through. By 1842, the
War Department grew weary of wasting its diminishing budget
trying to remove the last few hundred Seminoles from swamps surrounding
Lake Okeechobee. President John Tyler bit the bullet and
ended the Florida War in May 1842 “to reduce the demands upon
the Treasury.”
“The further pursuit of these miserable beings by a large military
force seems to be as injudicious as it is unavailing,” President Tyler >>
10.6.18 – 1.6. 19
HOLMES, TITELMAN GALLERIES,
AND STARK ROTUNDA
ART SINCE 1980
FROM THE RUBELL
FAMILY COLLECTION
Thomas Schütte, Grosse Geister #2 Big Spirit #2, Polished bronze, 96 x 56 x 34 in. (243.8 x 142.2. x 86.4cm),
Courtesy of Rubell Family Collection
ADULT WORKSHOP: HOW TO LOOK AT CONTEMPORARY ART
What is contemporary art and why is it significant? Participants will explore contemporary
art, gain an understanding of how to view and discuss this kind of art, and create their
own work of art inspired by the Made In Germany exhibition.
Friday, November 16 or
Saturday, November 17, 1-4pm
$45 for Members, $60 for Non-Members
To register visit vbmuseum.org or call (772) 231-0707 ext. 136
CRARY COLLECTION
In 1842, President John Tyler removed federal troops from Florida
and allowed armed settlers to take their place in hostile territory.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Sen. Thomas Hart Benton
authored the Armed Occupation
Act that brought settlers
to the Treasure Coast.
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