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About two thirds of Georgians remained loyal to England during the
American Revolution
They were known as Tories
In 1777 a constitution was adopted for Georgia at a meeting in Savannah
Georgia’s first 8 counties were formed
Burke, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glyn, Richmond, Wilkes &
Liberty
How many counties does Georgia have today?
(159 counties)

Georgia Timeline 10,000 B.C.E to 1776
Who?
: Paleo Indians
When?
: 10,000-8000
BCE arrive in GA from land bridge across Bering Strait
Where?
: Did not settle in one place/ nomadic people
Why?
: following food supply
Who:
Archaic(Early
, Middle & late) Indians
When : 8000-
1000BCE
Where?
:
Why :
Who ? : Spanish explorer Hernando
De Soto
When ?: 1540 about
50 years after
Columbus
Where???????
Why ?: Looking for
Gold, Glory & God
Where ? Travelled
Georgia looking for gold died near
Mississippi River

Who ? King
George II &
James
Oglethorpe
What;? Charter of 1732
When:? 1732
Why:??????
Where:????
Who ? Royal governors (John
Reynolds,
What: Royal
Governors to
Georgia by King
George II of
England?
When: 1752?
Where??????
Why?????
?
Who :?
England v.
France fight in
7 years War/
……… War)
What?
When?:
Where?
Why???

Who ? King George III
What? Taxes for debt from? And new land acquired
When?
Where?
Why? Because he believed that defending the colonies from France
& Indians came at a cost to England
Who ? American colonists/rebels/ patriots
(Gwinnett
Button, ……)
What? (Sign agreement to do what?)
When??
Where?
Philladelphia
Why???
Who ? George
Washington
What? Battle of Yorktown
British
Surrender ends War of
Independence
When?
Where?
Why?

What do you know ?(K)
What do you want to Know ?(W)
What have you learned ?(L)

Georgia’s Constitution of 1777
 Strengths Weaknesses
 Still have legislative branch
 Three branches have separate power
 Established counties replaced parishes
 Established local county governments
Legislature ( unicameral only I house)
No checks & balances in legislative branch
Governor served only 1 year
Executive branch or governor was too weak he could not veto laws passed
Legislative council had power to veto
3 branches of government but legislative had more power

 The first constitution of the United States of America
 Ratified (approved) on July 4 th 1776
 Went into effect on January 1781 when Maryland &
Virginia approved it
 Who was the 1 st president of the U.S.A
 John Hanson or George Washington

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Strengths
First written constitution in the
U.S of America
 Had a legislature
 Had strong governments (state)
Weaknesses
 Weak central government
 No executive or judicial branch to enforce laws or hear disputes
 Central government could not levy (impose) taxes
 No checks & balances
 No taxes collected so there was no military
 All power lied with states
 Each state had equal vote in congress regardless of size or population

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Why? Because the Articles of Confederation were too weak
William Few and Abraham Baldwin represent Georgia at the convention in Philadelphia
George Washington presided over convention
U.S government establishes 3 branches of government
(Executive, Legislature & Judiciary)
Each branch could check the power of the other branches
(checks & balances)
Senate & house of representatives established. Only three fifths of slave population would be counted towards representation of state

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After much debate between Federalists & Anti-Federalists the
Constitution was adopted in 1788
Georgia is the 4 th State to ratify
The Constitution could be changed or amended
The first 10 changes to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights
George Washington becomes first president under the
Constitution of the United States of America
How many amendments have been made to the U.S Constitution to date?
27 times to date

Similarities & differences between Georgia Constitution and the U.S
Constitution (174-175) (
)
Georgia Constitution of 1789 The U.S Constitution of 1787

 Economy was in ruins not much farming
 Capital city moved from Savannah to Augusta
 Georgia delegates meet in 1788 & 1789 and adopt state constitution similar to national constitution with 3 branches
 General assembly was a bicameral legislature (Senate
& house of representatives), governors and judges appointed and spending managed