157 lines
8.1 KiB
Plaintext
157 lines
8.1 KiB
Plaintext
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Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 12 Num. 40
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=======================================
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("Quid coniuratio est?")
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THE PLOT TO STEAL FLORIDA
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=========================
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(*The Plot To Steal Florida* by Joseph Burkholder Smith. New
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York: Arbor House, 1983. ISBN: 0-87795-477-1)
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In the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, then-Secretary of
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State James Madison and his assistant, James Monroe, connived in
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making the eastern boundaries of that territory uncertain. They
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were plotting to eventually use the pretext of unclear boundaries
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as part of the justification for seizing "the Floridas."
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Like with later U.S. covert operations (such as the
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Spanish-American War, such as the overthrow of Salvador Allende
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in Chile, such as the Bay of Pigs fiasco, such as the Gulf of
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Tonkin incident, such as the Persian Gulf War), a similar pattern
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occurred during President James Madison's Florida intrigues: "a
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preliminary propaganda phase -- working up excitement in and
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about the target -- then the organizing of a 'patriot government'
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opposed to the group we wished to get rid of, then an armed
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attack by the 'patriots' on the nearest legitimate authority...
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then an appeal to the United States government to assume control
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and restore 'order,' a call which the United States government
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usually answered." From the Florida plot, to the Bay of Pigs and
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beyond, the basic technique has remained the same.
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James Madison, married to the extravagant Dolley Madison (she, 17
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years his junior), was as opposite to his wife as night and day.
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A taciturn, morose man, James Madison may have been sexually
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impotent, suggests author Joseph Burkholder Smith in his book,
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*The Plot To Steal Florida*. Dolley Madison, according to some
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indications, may have had a history of sexual indiscretions.
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Madison and his cronies also liked their liquor, often drinking
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to excess. He also suffered from hemorrhoids and was often
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accused of "living on laudanum" (an opium derivative).
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According to James Madison, the Floridas would sooner or later
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belong to the U.S. "because their position and the MANIFEST
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COURSE OF EVENTS guarantees an early and reasonable acquisition
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of them." (Emphasis added.) This concept of "manifest course of
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events" later, in subsequent administrations, became known as
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"Manifest Destiny."
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Instead of a direct invasion of the Floridas, which would have
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caused diplomatic problems, Madison decided on a more subtle
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approach. He sent secret agents to the Floridas to stir up a
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"patriotic movement." These agents offered bribes, principally
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promises of land, to Americans already living in the region. The
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"patriots" were to declare independence from Spain and "request
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support and assistance from the United States."
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Chief among the secret agents sent by Madison was the aged
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Revolutionary War general, George Mathews. General Mathews, "a
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short old man who spoke with an Irish brogue... and who insisted
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on wearing one of the three-cornered hats that everyone wore when
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George Washington was president," was assigned the task of spying
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on the Spanish government in the area and assessing the chances
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for the planned coup d'etat.
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In December of 1810, "West Florida," an area roughly
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corresponding to the Florida panhandle, was successfully annexed
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into the United States, as part of the Territory of Orleans. But
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"East Florida," the large peninsula jutting out into the oceans,
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could not be so easily claimed as already included in the
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Louisiana Purchase. Ponce de Leon had established the Spanish
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claim to the area in 1521, and large cattle ranches thrived in
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East Florida. By 1810, East Florida enjoyed increasing
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prosperity and this led to its being coveted by persons north of
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its border.
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On January 15, 1811, Congress passed an Act "to enable the
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President of the United States, under certain contingencies, to
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take possession of [East Florida], and =for other purposes.="
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(Emphasis added) "Those last three little words," writes Smith,
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"were fateful. They gave Madison blank-check authority for
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covert action." Those last few words, "and for other purposes,"
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bring to mind the National Security Act of 1947 which established
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the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]. The CIA was originally
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meant to function only as a central clearinghouse of intelligence
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already provided to it by other agencies. Yet the 1947 Act
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establishing CIA also, incidentally and in passing, allowed CIA
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to "perform such services of common concern... and such other
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functions... as the NSC [National Security Council] may from time
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to time direct." Those last little, "incidental," words, both in
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the 1811 Act and the 1947 Act, opened up a pandora's box.
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General Mathews circulated amongst U.S. citizens already owning
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property in East Florida, and especially recruited his "patriot
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army" from settlers in southern Georgia. In return for their
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assistance, offers of free land were given. Mathews sought to
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stir up a "rebellion" as pretext for U.S. troops coming in and
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"restoring order." But British spies by now were aware of what
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was going on. British minister to Washington William Wyllys
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wrote a stern letter to James Monroe, charging secret agent
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Mathews with "corresponding with traitors, and... endeavoring by
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bribery and every act of seduction to infuse a spirit of
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rebellion into the subjects of the King of Spain." Since the
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British were allied with Spain against the French, they did not
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look kindly on U.S. attempts to grab East Florida. Understand
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too that Spain was a hugely Catholic country and that the Vatican
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must have had some interest in the affair. (British spies and
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Catholic spies later swarmed throughout the south, just prior to
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the American Civil War.)
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In East Florida lived a large colony of escaped slaves. These
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escaped slaves worked as tenant farmers for the Seminole Indians,
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who also resided in the region. If East Florida were to be
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annexed by the United States, both the escaped slaves and the
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Seminoles feared what would come next.
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The upshot is that the "spontaneous rebellion" and consequent
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hopes of seizing East Florida for the U.S. were thwarted. Part
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of what derailed the plot was the arrival of The War of 1812,
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during which British troops burned Washington, D.C. to the
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ground. President Madison had other worries on his mind, so the
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grab of East Florida was put aside. Another factor was the
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resistance put up by escaped black slaves and Seminole Indians:
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"Bowlegs," half-brother of Chief Payne, went on the warpath. The
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Spanish Governor helped instigate the Indian uprising by claiming
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he was unable to deliver his usual gifts to the Seminoles due to
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"the disruption of the Indian trade" caused by "white invaders."
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Bands of Indian and black warriors began killing the "white
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invaders." Fearing for the safety of their families, the
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"patriot army" shouldered their muskets and headed north to
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protect their homes.
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+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
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For related stories, visit:
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http://www.shout.net/~bigred/cn.html
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Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those
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of Conspiracy Nation, nor of its Editor in Chief.
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I encourage distribution of "Conspiracy Nation."
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New mailing list: leave message in the old hollow tree stump.
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Want to know more about Whitewater, Oklahoma City bombing, etc?
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(1) telnet prairienet.org (2) logon as "visitor" (3) go citcom
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Aperi os tuum muto, et causis omnium filiorum qui pertranseunt.
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Aperi os tuum, decerne quod justum est, et judica inopem et
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pauperem. -- Liber Proverbiorum XXXI: 8-9
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