The term "cracker" was in use during the Elizabethan era to describe braggarts. The original root of this is the Middle English word crack, meaning "entertaining conversation" ; this term and the Gaelicized spelling "craic" are still in use in Northern England. It is documented in William Shakespeare's King JohnAct II. Scene I. : "What cracker is this same that deafs our ears/ With this abundance of superfluous breath?" By the 1760s, the ruling classes, both in Britain and in the American colonies, applied the term "cracker" to Scots-Irish and English American settlers of the remote southern back country, as noted in a letter to the Earl of Dartmouth: "I should explain to your Lordship what is meant by Crackers; a name they have got from being great boasters; they are a lawless set of rascalls on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who often change their places of abode." The word was later associated with the cowboys of Georgia and Florida, many of them descendants of those early frontier people who had migrated South. Also used by Florida cowboys, as with picture of Florida cracker Bone Mizell. Many of these original Florida ranchers preferred to be known as Cowmen, as their terrain and climate was significantly different from the well-known cowboys of the American West.
Cracker cowmen
In Florida, those who own or work cattle traditionally have been called cowmen. In the late 1800s, they were often called cow hunters, a reference to hunting for cattle scattered over the wooded rangelands during roundups. At times the terms cowman and Cracker have been used interchangeably because of similarities in their folk culture. Today the western term "cowboy" is often used for those who work cattle. The Florida "cowhunter" or "cracker cowboy" of the 19th and early 20th centuries was distinct from the Spanish vaquero and the Western cowboy. Florida cowboys did not use lassos to herd or capture cattle. Their primary tools were cow whips and dogs. The Florida Cracker horses was smaller than western breeds as was the Florida Cracker cattle, also known as the "native" or "scrub" cows, who averaged about and had large horns and large feet. Another version of the origin for the term "cracker" was that while rounding up cattle the cowmen used long, braided leather bullwhips to get the cattle out from the brush or while on drives. They would flail the whips creating a cracking sound and they became known as “crackers”. The cowmen annually drove cattle over the Florida Cracker Trail from Fort Pierce to Bradenton so they could be shipped to Cuba. During the American Civil War Florida’s cattle were a chief source of meat, leather and hides for the Confederate States Army. Florida crackers were recruited into the “Cow Cavalry” to make cattle drives to Georgia and to protect them from Union attacks. The Florida crackers were made more famous by Frederic Remington's artwork and his 1895 Harper's New Monthly Magazine article about the cowmen.
Modern usage
Among some Floridians, the term is used as a proud or jocular self-description. Since the huge influx of new residents into Florida in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, from the northern parts of the United States and from Mexico and Latin America, the term "Florida Cracker" is used informally by some Floridians to indicate that their families have lived in the state for many generations. It is considered a source of pride to be descended from "frontier people who did not just live but flourished in a time before air conditioning, mosquito repellent, and screens." The portion of the Gulf of Mexico that touches the western Florida coast is referred to as Cracker Bay.
Since the late 20th century, the Cracker Storytelling Festival has been held annually in the fall at Homeland Heritage Park in Homeland, Florida. The year 2013 marked the 25th anniversary of the festival. The Cracker Storytelling Festival includes many storytellers from around Florida who come to share their stories with visitors. The majority of visitors who attend this event are students, because storytelling is part of the Florida curriculum. The festival also incorporates local crafts and artwork, food vendors and a cracker whip-cracking contest. During the cracker whip-cracking contest, participants compete to see who can crack the most buttery flaky crackers. The winner receives the title of "Head Cracker"
Notable Florida crackers
Morgan Bonaparte Mizell – “Bone” was from Horse Creek. He was one of the top cowmen in Florida and the subject of Fredrick Remington’s 1895 drawing A Cracker Cowboy.
Ben Hill Griffin Jr. – "A Cracker millionaire from Frostproof, Florida"
