RA - The Crackers: Their Origin, Culture, and Role in Florida History

The Renaissance Academy is a learning program
through Florida Gulf Coast University. All lectures at The Brooks
are specifically selected for our Membership.  

Please contact The Renaissance Academy with all reservations at (239) 745-4512 

You can also register online 24 hours a day at  https://RegisterRA.fgcu.edu 
Want other opportunities to take different courses? 
Stop by the Enrichment Center and get the full booklet
of classes offered by The Renaissance Academy. 

The Crackers: Their Origin, Culture,
and Role in Florida History

Tuesday, May 14th

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Instructor: Mary Lou Williams, $20 per person

When Florida became an American territory in 1821, only three kinds of people lived south of Gainesville: Indians, the military, and idiots. Who were these idiots, the pioneers who inhabited the uninhabitable? They were the Crackers. Where did they come from? They were the poor whites of the Southern states. Who were these poor white Southerners? They were the Scots-Irish who came to the colonies in five waves from 1717 to 1775. They were called hillbillies, rednecks, and crackers. This is their story.