The New State of Georgia

Georgia’s Land Native Americans once controlled much of present-day Georgia. Against the wishes of their people, many Native American leaders sometimes gave up their land in treaties with the British. Much of this Native American land was later given to the colonists.

Headright System Such colonists received land grants under the headright system. The Headright System granted between 200 and 1,000 acres of land to the heads of the families. By giving men land, they were able to obtain power. Farmers soon came looking for fertile farmland.

Headright System Ranchers also flocked to Georgia in search of grazing areas for their livestock. These ranchers and farmers often got their businesses off the ground with land grants that were given to Revolutionary War veterans. This practice, however, quickly led to corruption.

Yazoo Land Sale The government of Georgia had been weakened by the Revolutionary War. It was not strong enough to defend settlements in the western part of the state. The Georgia government thought it had found a solution to this problem with the Yazoo land sale in In the Yazoo land sale, the government planned to sell 35 million acres of land in western Georgia, near the Yazoo River, to four companies for $500,000.

Yazoo Land Sale In return for this cheap land, the companies would be able to establish a presence in the western part of the state. This presence would help keep the frontier of Georgia safe. Settlers would be more likely to move to western Georgia if the area was secure and had the jobs and products that the companies had to offer. Georgia Governor George Mathews signed the Yazoo Act on January 7, 1795.

Yazoo Land Fraud The Yazoo land sale backfired. Bribes had been paid to many important Georgians in exchange for their support of the Yazoo Act. When the bribery came to light, Many Georgians were shocked by the corruption. They protested in the streets and collected signatures on petitions that opposed the Yazoo land and sale. Despite the public outcry, the Yazoo land sale was completed.

Yazoo Land Fraud Georgian Senator James Jackson heard about the Yazoo deal and resigned his seat in the Senate. He returned home to Georgia and set out to reverse the sale. Jackson and his Jeffersonian Republican allies were soon voted into office. They used their control of the legislature to pass the 1796 Rescinding Act.

Yazoo Land Fraud This act reversed the Yazoo land sale. As part of the agreement that reversed the Yazoo land sale, the United States government promised to help remove the remaining Creek Indians from within Georgia’s borders. In this way, the Yazoo land fraud led to the Trail of Tears in 1838.

Land Lottery After the disaster of the Yazoo land fraud, the state of Georgia implemented a lottery system to determine who could buy land. A person’s age, war service, marital status, and years of residence in Georgia were all factors that determined who was eligible for the land lottery. The land lottery was restricted to white men, orphans, and widows.

Land Lottery Georgia held multiple land lotteries between 1805 and During this time, Georgia sold three- fourths of the state to 100,000 families and individuals. These Georgians paid an average of seven cents per acre.

Land Lottery Ordinary Georgians could gain control of large areas of land through these lotteries. This led to a shift in power. As a colony, Georgia had been ruled by wealthy planter aristocrats. Through the land lottery, almost any man could become a landowner. Power and wealth began to be distributed more evenly among white men of Georgia.

Results of the Land Lottery Much of the land that was sold in Georgia’s land lotteries was originally sold in the Yazoo land fraud and the War of 1812, the creek and Cherokee Indians were effectively eliminated from within Georgia’s borders. Much of land purchased through these land lotteries was used for tobacco farming. The introduction of cotton and the invention of the cotton gin would change that, and the history of Georgia.

Results of the Land Lottery Agriculture soon shifted from small farms to large plantations. These plantations required a great deal of labor. Within twenty years of the first land lottery in Georgia, enslaved people made up 44% of Georgia’s population.

Religion Religion strongly influenced Georgia’s growth. The Second Great Awakening swept the United States, from 1790 to During this time, interest in religion in the U.S. increased, especially for Protestantism. Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and the Anglican Church participated. In the south, the religious revival fostered the development of Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches, creating the regional nickname of the Bible Belt.

Methodists and Camp Meeting Grounds Tent revivals were a new form of religious meeting that began during this time. A revival is a meeting meant to interest people in religion. Revivals happened in camp meeting grounds, which are outdoor meeting places for religious services. Most camp meetings were held by Methodist churches. The revivals helped the Methodist Church grow.

Georgia Baptist Convention There were many different Christian groups in Georgia at this time. Baptist leaders wanted to unite all the different Baptist groups. The groups formed the Georgia Baptist Convention. It was the largest group of Baptists in the state.

Georgia Baptist Convention The convention brought together different types of Baptists. One type was called the Primitive Baptists. They did not like missionary work or Sunday school. They believed that life happened according to a plan set in motion by God.

Georgia Baptist Convention Free Will Baptists were also part of the Georgia Baptist Convention. They liked missionary work and education. They believed that people had free will.

Georgia Baptist Convention Despite disagreements in their ideas, most Baptist churches joined the Georgia Baptist Convention. Eventually, the Georgia Baptists Convention participated in the Southern Baptists Convention. Today, this group is the country’s largest Protestant body.

Anglican Church Anglicans were another large religious group in the state at this time. The Anglican Church is an extension of the Church of England. Anglicans were among the first settlers in the state.

Anglican Church After the revolution, Anglicans were the biggest religious group in the state, especially in Savannah. Even though Georgia was no longer ruled by the British, Anglicans did not want to give up their British religion. In 1789, they decided to change their name to the Protestant Episcopal Church of the U.S., to mark their break from England. This church is known today as the Episcopalian Church.

Education in Georgia Improvements in Georgia’s educational system helped the growth of the state. One of the first things the state of Georgia did after the Revolutionary War was to open a university. The state set aside a plot of land for the school. Abraham Baldwin wrote the plan for the school. It was named the University of Georgia.

Education in Georgia Baldwin thought that education was necessary for a free government. He believed that everyone should have a good education, not just the wealthy. He thought that government had a duty to provide education to everyone.

Education in Georgia Baldwin’s ideas were new. Other colleges were private and too expensive for the average person. The University of Georgia was the first school open to lower-income people, and significantly, the first public university in the U.S. The University of Georgia held its first classes in September Soon afterward, other states followed Georgia’s example and built public universities

Louisville, Georgia After the Revolutionary War, many people moved to northern Georgia. State legislators for this region demanded that the state capital be moved further west than Savannah, where it was located at that time. In 1786, a commission, which included William Few, Jr., was given the job of finding a new site for the government.

Louisville, Georgia The commission purchased 1,000 acres near the Ogeechee River. Louisville was named after King Louis XVI, a French king who helped the patriots during the revolution. At first, Louisville did well economically. Tobacco was a big cash crop.

Louisville, Georgia After the invention of the cotton gin, many people in Louisville began growing cotton. The city was a popular trading area for cotton and tobacco. By the end of the 1790s, the city was booming. It had multiple newspapers, a coffeehouse, and a theater and a population of 550.

Louisville, Georgia In 1796, Louisville was named Georgia’s capital. However, the city began to have problems with malaria, a disease spread by mosquitoes. Trade was not as brisk in the region as some had hoped. In 1807, the state decided to move the capital to Milledgeville. Subsequently, a railroad was built, but did not pass through Louisville.

Summary Explain the establishment of the University of Georgia, Louisville, and the spread of Baptist and Methodist churches. Evaluate the impact of land policies pursued by Georgia; include the headright system, land lotteries, and the Yazoo land fraud.