Inextricably Intertwined: The history of Tallahassee, American slavery, and Native American Removal

There are multiple ways in which the history of Florida State University and the history of slavery in the United States and Native American removal directly intertwine. The land upon which Florida State University sits is the ancestral home to the Muskogee peoples. Geopolitics between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries forced continual political and social realignments. In the end, the U.S. government compelled Native Peoples to relocate to newly designated areas that were unconnected to their ancestral homes.

Tallahassee, Florida's capital, was at the center of a political, cultural, and social system that extracted the unpaid labor of African Americans. Enslaved persons built the building that became West Florida Seminary, the first predecessor to Florida State University. However, West Florida Seminary, which was a public institution, was not open to African Americans. Nor would Florida State University be until 1962.

This exhibit explains the roots of Florida State University. Its ties to slavery and the removal of Native Americans make it unexceptional within the larger history of the development of the United States. Nonetheless, every story has unique features, and this is ours.

As you move through the pages, you can click on the images to learn more about these items.