Georgia and the American Experience Chapter 6 An

Georgia and the American Experience Chapter 6: An Age of Expansion, 1783 -1838 Study Presentation

Georgia and the American Experience Section 1: Creating A New Government Section 2: Land Fever in Georgia Section 3: Economic Growth in Georgia Section 4: Georgia At the Dawn of a New Century

Section 1: Creating A New Government • Essential Question – What was Georgia’s role in the Constitutional Convention?

Section 1: Creating A New Government • What words do I need to know? – U. S. Constitution – Bill of Rights – General Assembly

Constitutional Convention of 1787 • William Few and Abraham Baldwin represented Georgia at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia; George Washington presided • U. S. Constitution established three governmental branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial • Senate and House of Representatives established; only three-fifths of slave population would count toward representation

U. S. Constitution Ratified in 1788 • Georgia was fourth state to ratify (approve) the new Constitution • Constitution could be amended (changed); first 10 amendments became Bill of Rights • George Washington became the first President

Postwar Georgia • Economy in ruin; government provided food basics as farmers tried to reestablish their farms • Capital moved to Augusta • Georgia delegates met in 1788 and 1789; adopted state constitution similar to national government, with three branches (executive, general assembly, judicial) • General Assembly had two houses, Senate and House of Representatives; appointed governor and judges; controlled spending decisions

Section 2: Land Fever in Georgia • Essential Question – How did many Georgians obtain land in the twenty years following the end of the American Revolution?

Section 2: Land Fever in Georgia • What words do I need to know? – headright system – Yazoo land fraud – Louisiana Purchase

Headright System • Indian land in Georgia east of the Oconee River was given to settlers • Every white male counted as a head of household and had the “right” to receive up to 1, 000 acres • This was generally replaced in 1803 by a land lottery for government-owned land west of the Oconee • All white heads-of-household could buy a lottery chance and win land; millions of acres in several states were given away (widows and families with children were given additional chances.

Yazoo Land Fraud • Around 1795, four companies bribed the Georgia governor, George Matthews and legislators • Bought millions of acres in western Georgia (today’s Alabama and Mississippi) for 1½¢ an acre • The public found out and protested; the legislators involved were voted out of office • General Assembly repealed the law approving the sale; the federal government paid more than $4 million to help Georgia settle Yazoo land claims

The Western Territory • In 1802, Georgia ceded (gave up) its land claims west of the Chattahoochee River to the federal government for $1. 25 million • President Thomas Jefferson doubled the nation’s size in 1803 with the Louisiana territory purchase; the U. S. paid France $15 million for land that stretched to the Rocky Mountains Click to return to Table of Contents

Section 3: Economic Growth in Georgia • ESSENTIAL QUESTION – How did Georgia rebuild and expand its economy in the late 17 th and early 18 th century?

Section 3: Economic Growth in Georgia • What words do I need to know? – depression – turnpike – cotton gin – mechanical reaper

Cotton and the Cotton Gin • Eli Whitney in 1793 invented a machine for separating cotton seeds from its fiber • Increased the amount cotton growers could process each day from 6 pounds to 50 pounds • The gin used wire teeth on a turning cylinder to separate the seed from fiber

The Mechanical Reaper • Cyrus Mc. Cormick invented a machine to cut grain in a field • Wooden paddles attached to a horse’s harness allowed six times more grain to be cut per day than previous methods • Georgia farmers could work larger and more profitable farms with these agricultural machines

Depression and the Panic of 1837 • Many Georgia banks failed between 1837 and the early 1840 s • This happened during a depression (a sharp economic downturn) • Many business failed; many farmers and planters lost their land • Many banks didn’t have enough cash to pay out money their depositors had entrusted to them

Early Roads in Georgia • Railroads, most built after 1830, replaced horses, stagecoaches, and boats • Most Georgia roads ran east to west; they were former Indian footpaths • Plank roads over wetlands that featured “pikes” or gates were called turnpikes • Travelers paid a toll, or fee at each pike; the Old Federal Road connected Athens north to Tennessee

Terminus • Located at the southern end of a rail line that originated in Chattanooga, Tennessee • Later renamed Marthasville, after the daughter of former Governor Wilson Lumpkin • Marthasville became Atlanta, and the capital of Georgia • Rail lines greatly reduced travel time for people and freight

Section 4: Georgia at the Dawn of a New Century • ESSENTIAL QUESTION – How did lifestyles differ in Georgia between frontier families and town dwellers?

Section 4: Georgia at the Dawn of a New Century • What words do I need to know? – pioneers – frontier Georgia – cultural refinements – townsfolk

Frontier Georgia • Undeveloped land in central and western Georgia • Few settlers; much land given away in land lotteries • Far-flung trading posts were only stores • Often danger lurked from hostile attacks • Social activities often centered around necessary work • The country store became the center of activity; few luxuries were available

Life in Georgia’s Towns • Cultural refinements (higher level living) create the difference in frontier and town lifestyles • Newspapers, theater, and debate societies • Fancy balls, barbecues, camp meetings, and horse racing • Orphanages, hospitals, and facilities for people with special needs were operated

Religious Activities • Anglicans, Quakers, and Methodist circuit riders (traveling ministers for frontier dwellers) grew in number • Georgia’s first Roman Catholic Church established in Wilkes County in 1796 • Savannah had active Jewish synagogue • As more towns were established, churches become central to community life • Springfield Baptist Church – established 1787 in Augusta by free blacks, became the original home of Morehouse College (which later moved to Atlanta) and the church is still located in its original site.

Religious Activities • In other parts of America, the Mormon church – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was started by Joseph Smith • African Methodist Episcopal (A. M. E. ) churches were started by a former slave, Richard Allen

Education in Georgia • The Academy of Richmond County chartered in 1783 is the oldest educational institution in Georgia • The University of Georgia chartered in 1785 as nation’s first land-grant university; opened for classes in 1801 in Athens Georgia • UGA was often called Franklin College in its early days • By 1820, there were forty academies (schools) across the state • Georgia Female College (later Wesleyan College) opened in 1836

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