Armed Occupation Act, 1842: 160 acres to a "white man... able to bear arms" (Washington and East Florida, Aug. 4, 1842)

SUMMARYArmed Occupation Act, 1842: 160 acres to a "white man... able to bear arms" (Washington and East Florida, Aug. 4, 1842) [Connections: Tallahassee & Orlando, Nov 5, 2026]

RECORD"An Act to provide for the armed occupation and settlement of the unsettled part of the peninsula of East Florida" (5 Stat. 502), signed by President John Tyler on August 4, 1842, granted 160 acres to a settler who would live there five years, build a house, and clear and cultivate 5 acres in the first year, at least two miles from a garrisoned post; the total was capped at 200,000 acres. The Seminole Tribe of Florida's Tribal Historic Preservation Office summarizes the requirement as "white man over 18 years of age and able to bear arms" and calls the grants "Seminole land." Wikipedia's Second Seminole War article says 1,317 grants totaling 210,720 acres were registered in 1842–43

PATTERNCongress handed Seminole land to armed white men by statute; race was a written condition

LENS (WW9)The law said it plainly: white, armed, and on our land

OPENRead the operative text of 5 Stat. 502 to quote the race and arms language directly; the grant counts differ by source (THPO: "over 300" by Aug. 1843; Wikipedia: 1,317 registered)

SOURCEArmed Occupation Act (Wikipedia); Seminole History Story: Armed Occupation Act (Seminole Tribe of Florida THPO), citing the Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office (US Senate, April 27, 1848); Second Seminole War (Wikipedia).