Georgia and the American Experience Chapter 4: Settlement of the Thirteenth Colony Study Presentation Part 2

Section 3: The Colonization of Georgia Section 4: Building a New Home Georgia and the American Experience

Section 3: The Colonization of Georgia ESSENTIAL QUESTION – Why was the Georgia colony founded?

Section 3: The Colonization of Georgia What words do I need to know? –trustee –charter –regulations

Section 3: The Colonization of Georgia What people do I need to know? –James Edward Oglethorpe –Robert Castell –Dr. Thomas Bray –King George II –Chief Tomochichi

Section 3: The Colonization of Georgia What places do I need to know? –Yamacraw Bluff –Savannah

Georgia Becomes a Colony James Edward Oglethorpe and 20 other influential men in Great Britain made a plan to create a colony for the working poor. They envisioned a colony for people who faced jail time for bad debts. In 1732, King George II created a charter allowing 21 Trustees, including Oglethorpe, to create a Georgia colony and oversee it for 21 years. It included the land between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers and extended west to the Pacific Ocean. Oglethorpe promised that silk, dyes, wine, spices, and semi-tropical fruit would be sent from Georgia back to England.

King George II Monarchs believed that they ruled by divine right. This is the belief that one is chosen by God to rule.

The First Georgia Colonists Few debtors, former prisoners, or working poor ever made it to Georgia during its early settlement. Georgia’s first settlers were given land, tools, and food. They promised to defend the colony from invaders and to grow trees that would attract silk worms. About 120 settlers sailed form England on the ship Ann in Oglethorpe befriended Tomochichi, chief of the Yamacraw Indians. Tomochichi led the settlers to Yamacraw Bluff overlooking the Savannah River. This became the first settlement of the new Georgia colony.

Oglethorpe and Tomochichi

Savannah: Georgia’s Planned City Oglethorpe, surveyor Noble Jones, and Colonel William Bull designed the city of Savannah and built along the Savannah River to facilitate shipping. The city was laid out in wards, Oglethorpe’s “building blocks” for Savannah. The center of each ward was a public square for social, political, and religious gatherings. All but three of Oglethorpe's original squares exist in Savannah today. The fourth has been reclaimed and includes underground parking for several hundred cars. Today, nearly 150,000 people live in Savannah.

Row houses are found on tithing lots. Most of the downtown mansions are located on trust lots.

Oglethorpe Monument in Chippewa Square tells the story of GA’s founding.

Tomochichi’s Rock, Wright Square

Section 4: Building a New Home ESSENTIAL QUESTION – In what ways did Georgia expand and succeed as a colony?

Section 4: Building a New Home What words do I need to know? –artisan –militia

Section 4: Building a New Home What people do I need to know? –Dr. Samuel Nunis –John Martin Bolzius –John & Charles Wesley –William Stephens

Section 4: Building a New Home What places do I need to know? –Ebenezer –New Ebenezer –Frederica

New Colonists Arrive in Georgia Catholics were not allowed to settle in Georgia under the charter signed by King George II. Forty original settlers died in the first year. In 1733, 42 Jews were allowed to settle in Georgia, including a much- needed doctor, Samuel Nunis. In 1733, a group of German protestants from Salzburg arrived and settled a town called Ebenezer, about 25 miles from Savannah. Three years later they moved to Red Bluff and settled New Ebenezer. Oglethorpe and Chief Tomochichi returned from a trip to England in 1736 with 300 more settlers, including German protestants from Salzburg and Saxony. Religious leaders John and Charles Wesley also arrived in Georgia.

Tomochichi visited England with Oglethorpe and was presented to King George II.

Plan for the town of Ebenezer.

Ebenezer is the site of Jerusalem Church, the oldest standing church in GA, and the Salzburger Museum.

Georgia’s Colonists Become Discontent Regulations enforced by Oglethorpe did not allow rum trade, buying large tracts of land, or use of slave labor. South Carolina used slave labor to successfully grow rice, tobacco, and cotton on large plantations. Farmers in Georgia wanted the same “success” that South Carolina farmers had. Many Georgians moved to places in the colony where they basically could live as they wished. By 1742, Georgians were allowed to buy and sell rum. Slavery was introduced in The colony named for King George II was changing.

Hampton Plantation, a rice plantation located in South Carolina.

Rice fields were very dangerous places. Hazards included disease-carrying insects, back-breaking labor, and dangerous animals.

Slaves on a rice plantation.

The War Against Spain The War of Jenkin’s Ear broke out between Great Britain and Spain in Oglethorpe organized an army of about 2,000 men with plans to capture Spanish forts in Florida. Spain responded and forced the Georgians, South Carolinians, and their Indian allies to retreat to St. Simon’s Island. The Battle of Bloody Marsh in 1742 caused the Spanish to flee Georgia, marking the end to Spanish threats. Georgia’s southern border was protected. Oglethorpe left the Georgia colony for England in 1743 and never returned.

Scottish Highlanders at the Battle of Bloody Marsh. Oglethorpe’s victory here ended Spanish ambitions in GA. Highlanders’ Barracks, Ft. Frederica

The Post-Oglethorpe Era Begins Three different men served as president of the Georgia colony from the time Oglethorpe left the colony until 1754: William Stephens, Henry Parker, and Patrick Graham. In 1752, one year before the initial 21-year charter was to expire, the trustees returned Georgia to the authority of King Georgia II. In its first 20 years as a colony, Georgia’s population grew to 5,500 people, of which one-third were slaves. Protestants from Europe found safe haven in Georgia. Treaties with Native Americans and victory over the Spanish settlers in Florida provided security to the Georgia colonists.

Early Georgia Colony Accomplishments The Bethesda Orphans Home was established in Ebenezer. The orphanage later became Bethesda House School, where many of Georgia’s early leaders were educated. The Methodist Church was founded by John and Charles Wesley. The first Sunday School in America was established by the Wesley brothers. A successful court system was established and maintained. Women were able to inherit property.

Bethesda was largely funded by speculation in slaves. John and Charles Wesley George Whitfield