It was an uneasy time in America, late summer 1939. The Roosevelt Recession—in which industrial production had tumbled by 40 percent, unemployment had jumped by four million, and stock prices had plunged by nearly 50 percent—was barely more than a year past. The jobless rate hovered above 17 percent; personal income and total economic output were no higher than they had been a decade before; and the unemployed streamed in to California’s heartland, taxing public services of all kinds.

Full Story >>

The lure of white sand beaches, citrus groves, and the glitter of Disney World and Miami, has often diverted the spotlight from Florida’s rich historical heritage.

Full Story >>