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Watch It Tonight: The Florida Dream

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 18, 2007

If you want to know how Florida went from a sparsely populated backwater state to a booming, multicultural destination point, then tune in tonight for a new documentary on Florida's topsy-turvy modern history.

Based on the work of noted historian Gary Mormino and produced by WEDU and the Florida Humanities Council, the documentary seeks to give a brief history of Florida's fast-forward evolution after World War II.

Mormino, a University of South Florida professor who writes a history column for The Tampa Tribune, has poetically dubbed Florida 'everyman's land.' But few of us who live here understand how modern Florida came to be.

In the last half century, Florida's population grew from 2 million people to about 18 million. Its unscathed landscape, once best known for its swamps and mosquitoes, gave way to suburbs brimming with transplants, each seeking his or her own air-conditioned corner of paradise.

Whether it was the World War II pilots who trained in Florida and vowed to return with their families after the war, the waves of Northeast retirees seeking to spend their days in leisure or Cuban exiles fleeing Castro's regime, all have helped shape this unique state. And don't discount the role that Disney, swampland sales and, of course, Florida's beaches have played in drawing millions to this sunny state.

It's tough to cram more than a half century of history into a one-hour documentary, but 'The Florida Dream' might motivate you to learn more about our state's rich history.

'The Florida Dream' will air on WEDU at 9 p.m. It's well worth watching.

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