wikipedia | Forty-six states in the United States have adopted the castle doctrine, that a person has no duty to retreat whatsoever when their home is attacked.[3][4] Twenty-two states go a step further,[5]
removing the duty of retreat from other locations outside the home.
Such "stand your ground", "Line in the Sand" or "No Duty to Retreat"
laws thus state that a person has no duty or other requirement to
abandon a place in which he has a right to be, or to give up ground to
an assailant. Under such laws, there is no duty to retreat from anywhere
the defender may legally be.[6] Other restrictions may still exist; such as when in public, a person must be carrying firearms in a legal manner, whether concealed or openly.
"Stand your ground" governs[citation needed] U.S. federal case law in which right of self-defense is asserted against a charge of criminal homicide. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Beard v. U.S.[7] (158 U.S. 550
(1895)) that a man who was "on his premises" when he came under attack
and "...did not provoke the assault, and had at the time reasonable
grounds to believe, and in good faith believed, that the deceased
intended to take his life, or do him great bodily harm...was not obliged
to retreat, nor to consider whether he could safely retreat, but was
entitled to stand his ground."[8][9] However, the Supreme Court decision did not create case law impugning a state's authority to either adopt or invalidate stand-your-ground law.
wikipedia | The Florida Armed Occupation Act of 1842 (5 Stat. 502) was passed as an incentive to populate Florida.
The Act granted 160 acres (0.6 km²) of unsettled land south of the line separating townships 9 and 10 South. (a East/West line about three miles (5 km) north of Palatka and about ten miles (16 km) south of Newnansville) to any head of a family as long he satisfied the following conditions:[1]
- be a resident of Florida and not having 160 acres (0.6 km²) of land in Florida when asking for the permit;
- get a permit from the Lands Office;
- he or his heirs reside for five consecutive years on the grant ;
- clear, enclose and cultivate 5 acres (20,000 m2) of land during the first year;
- build a house on the lot during the first year;
- the land should be two or more miles away from a garrisoned military post.
The last statement implied that the person should bear arms for his own protection.
The total land to be granted should not be more than 200,000 acres (800 km²) under the act.
wikipedia | The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and the blacks who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army. The First Seminole War was from 1814 to 1819 (although sources differ), the Second Seminole War from 1835 to 1842,
and the Third Seminole War from 1855 to 1858. They were the largest
conflicts in the United States between the War of 1812 and the American
Civil War.
The first conflict with the Seminoles arose out of tensions relating to General Andrew Jackson's attack and destruction of Negro Fort in Florida in 1816. Jackson also attacked the Spanish at Pensacola. Ultimately, the Spanish Crown ceded the colony to United States rule.
