Post-Revolution Georgia and
Westward Expansion
September 24, 2014
After the Revolution…
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Years of hardship and change followed the
war in Georgia
The war proved that the state government
was not equipped to handle problems
Educational growth was slow
The war ruined the state’s economy
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Food was scarce because many farmers had left
their farms to fight and no food had been grown
during that time
Government in Georgia
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Georgia had adopted its first constitution in
1777 to help the colony transition into a state
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Looked very much like the Articles of
Confederation (weak central government)
Governor had very little power
Georgians soon realized that they needed to
change their constitution to make it more like
the national one
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Established 3 branches of government
Lyman Hall was elected governor
Georgia’s Capital City
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For much of the state’s early history,
the capital had rotated between
Savannah and Augusta
As the population moved further west,
the legislature appointed a commission
to find a site for a permanent, centrally
located capital
Louisville
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The new capital, Louisville, was located in
what is today Jefferson County
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It was named after French King Louis XVI for his
help in the Revolutionary War
Louisville served as the capital for 10 years
As people moved farther and farther west, a
new capital was needed
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In 1804, a new capital, Milledgeville, was built in
Baldwin County
Education in Georgia
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Very few people had any education
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Some only had a few years of elementary
education
Governor Hall recommended that land
be set aside to build schools, but few
were built
In 1784, the government set aside
20,000 acres of land for a state college
The University of Georgia
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In 1785, UGA was chartered as a land-grant
university
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Land-grant university: a school for which the
federal government donated the land
It is the oldest school of its kind in the
country
UGA opened for classes in 1801
It was an all-male, all-white school
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Women were not admitted until 1918, black
students were not admitted until 1961
Religion in Georgia
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After the war, many ministers left to
return to Great Britain
However, churches continued to grow,
both in size and importance to their
communities
There were Jewish synagogues, Roman
Catholic churches, African Baptist
churches, and Methodist churches
The spread of Baptist and
Methodist churches
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These were the two largest denominations in
Georgia
Ministers often traveled long distances to
conduct church services
Slaves often attended church with their
masters
Slavery caused a divide in both churches
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Methodists formed the Methodist Episcopal Church
Baptists formed the Southern Baptist Convention
Moving West…
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After the war, many Georgians
developed a huge appetite for land
There were 2 major systems for
distributing land in Georgia
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Headright system
Land Lottery
Headright System
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Under the headright system, each white male
counted as “head” of a family, so they had
the “right” to receive up to 1000 acres of land
This was used from the time of settlement of
the colony up until the early 20th century
However, it was largely replaced by land
lotteries in 1803
Land Lotteries
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When land owned by the state or federal
government was opened to settlement,
Georgia surveyed land lots of different sizes
For a small fee, any white male (over 21
years old) could buy a chance, and on the
spin of a wheel, win land
People with children, war veterans, and
widows were given extra chances
Greed gets out of hand…
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In 1795, Georgia’s western boundary
extended to the Mississippi River and
the Yazoo River
However, both South Carolina and
Spain claimed some of that same land
The matter went to court for settlement
Yazoo Land Fraud
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Before the case got to court, four land
companies went to the Georgia
legislature and bribed them to pass a
bill allowing the land companies to buy
the western lands
When the assembly enacted the bill, the
companies bought the land for about ½
cent an acre and sold it to the public
Public Reaction
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When many people learned about this
cheap sale, there were protests all over
the state
As a result of public pressure, the
legislators were voted out of office
The new legislature repealed the law
All records of these sales were burned
in public
State reaction…
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The state offered to refund the money from
the land sales
Many people who had bought land, though,
didn’t want their money back
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They wanted to keep their land
These people sued the state to keep their
land
The federal government stepped in and paid
over $4 million to settle the Yazoo land
claims
Aftermath of the Yazoo Land
Fraud
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The state of Georgia lost a large part of its land
and lot of money
When Spain renounced its claim to the area, the
Federal government contested Georgia’s claim to
the land
In 1802, under public pressure, Georgia gave up
its claim to land west of the Chattahoochee River
for $1.25 million
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The Chattahoochee was now Georgia’s new western
boundary
The federal government also promised to help clear all
Georgia lands of Native Americans so white settlers
could have it
Questions…
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1) Why was food scarce in post-Revolution Georgia?
2) What did Georgia model its state Constitution after?
3) How long was Louisville the capital of Georgia?
4) When was UGA chartered?
5) What is a land-grant university?
6) Why did the Baptist and Methodist churches split?
7) What were Georgia’s 2 major systems for distributing land?
8) Describe the headright system.
9) Describe land lotteries.
10) How were land companies able to buy land during the Yazoo Land
Fraud?
11) How did the state react to the Yazoo Land Fraud?
12) After the Yazoo Land Fraud, Georgia’s western border was which
river?
13) What was promised to Georgia by the federal government that
convinced the state to give up its claim to those western lands?