Making Modern Florida fills a gap in the scholarship and literature by examining how Florida’s Constitution was revised in 1968. The changes and growth churning through Florida in the mid-twentieth century overwhelmed Florida’s outdated 1885 Constitution and its ability to manage modern Florida. Leaders attempted, ambitiously but unsuccessfully, to reform the constitution; their efforts were thwarted regularly by the “Pork Chop Gang,” a tight band of rural legislators who ran the state. Court-imposed legislative reapportionments and the hard work of a team of farsighted leaders, including Ches ... More

Making Modern Florida fills a gap in the scholarship and literature by examining how Florida’s Constitution was revised in 1968. The changes and growth churning through Florida in the mid-twentieth century overwhelmed Florida’s outdated 1885 Constitution and its ability to manage modern Florida. Leaders attempted, ambitiously but unsuccessfully, to reform the constitution; their efforts were thwarted regularly by the “Pork Chop Gang,” a tight band of rural legislators who ran the state. Court-imposed legislative reapportionments and the hard work of a team of farsighted leaders, including Chesterfield Smith, finally allowed a new Constitution to become reality. The constitution provides that every twenty years, a Constitution Revision Commission should look critically at the entire document to determine what changes are needed. The next Commission will be appointed in 2016 or 2017 for revision and adoption in 2018. Therefore, this book is timely and important for persons interested in Florida’s Constitution.