Florida is the 27th state in our country. It played an important role in several wars, most notably the American Civil War and World War II. Comparing the two, Florida had a greater impact on World War II than the Civil War due to the amount of troops trained and enlisted and supplies and war machines sent to the front lines. The Civil War was also significant to Florida, but not as significant as World War II. Florida has had quite a checkered history. Its first human inhabitants are believed to have been several Native American tribes, including the Panzacola, Chatot, Apalachicola, Apalachee, Timucua, Calusa, and Matecumbe. These tribes occupied lands throughout Florida. Then, in the early 16th century, Juan Ponce de Leon, a Spanish explorer, sailed to the peninsula in search of the Fountain of Youth. He never discovered it, but he established a new territory for Spain, calling it Florida, which translates to “Flowering Land” (Christian 21). Although Juan claimed new lands for Spain, the task of building settlements was very difficult. He and many other Spanish explorers attempted to build towns and cities in Florida, but were unsuccessful due to the harsh climate and violent Native Americans who fought for their land. It took the Spanish 52 years to finally establish a permanent colony in Florida. In 1565, Pedro Menedez de Aviles built the city of St. Augustine (Knotts 7). According to Sandra J. Christian's book, Florida was "the first permanent European settlement in North America." This city survived the others thanks to Pedro's great skill with politics and combat. He agreed to give gold to nearby Native Americans in exchange for food and supplies. He also had the ability to effectively defend his city from enemies (Knotts 8). Soon, wo...... middle of paper ......a had a greater impact on World War II than the Civil War. Florida established air bases and trained thousands of troops to help fight against the Axis powers. Over 250,000 Floridians were drafted into the Army during World War II, compared to 16,000 during the Civil War. Additionally, although Florida sent supplies to the troops in both wars, Florida helped more in World War II because it sent food and clothing to the front lines along with warships, planes, and tanks for use in battle. Comparing the effects of the wars on Florida, both resulted in an increase in population, but World War II helped Florida out of an economic crisis, which is much more important. Despite playing an important role in both wars, Florida had a greater impact on World War II due to producing war machines and training and enlisting larger numbers of soldiers than the Confederacy..