Resource Allocation Strategies
Strategy
Handout
Description
Advantage
Disadvantage
price
resource goes to those
who use market
mechanisms such as
trade, barter, monetary
compensation
great for those who
have money or a job
with income
not good for those who
don’t have income or
aren’t entrepreneurs
majority rule
resource goes to those
who win an election;
voting; consensus;
largest number of
people are satisfied
great for those who
are popular and
those who have
many members
not good for the
unpopular; those who
don’t have the skills to
form alliances
competition
resource goes to the
most competitive –
winner of a race or arm
wrestling; survival of
the fittest
great for those who
are talented and
skillful
not good for those who
aren’t competitive;
unskilled
force
resource goes to the
one who is strongest
(physical, mental,
political)
great for those who
are strong, powerful,
bullish
not good for those who
are weak, small, easily
intimidated
sharing
resource goes to
multiple parties by
dividing the resource
great in that
everyone gets an
equal part; no one is
left out
not good in that some
resources can’t be
divided; no party may
get enough; not
everyone wants some
of every resource
lottery
resource goes to the
luckiest; random; fair
great for those who
are lucky and win
things; everyone has
an equal chance;
random winners
not good for those who
are unlucky or who
“never win anything”
command
resource goes where
directed, ordered, told
by another person
great for those who
are liked by the
commander or if the
planner is always
fair
not good if the planner
isn’t fair
first-come,
first-served
resource goes to the
early bird; first in line
great for those who
are quick, willing to
get ahead of the
crowd
not good for the
procrastinator; those
who are late in
planning/ preparing
METHODS FOR DISTRIBUTING THE LAND
Handout, page 1
Headright System
Georgia's offer of free land to early settlers was generous and fair. The head of a family was
granted two hundred acres of land, together with fifty additional acres for each member of his
family and for each slave up to ten. However, no family would be granted more than a thousand
acres of farm land. This system of distributing farm land in Georgia was known as the Headright
system.
During the Revolutionary War, Georgia also offered farm land to men who would come to the
defense of the struggling state. In 1776, the offer was one hundred acres for each soldier who
enlisted for three years. To those who should remain in the service until the end of the war, two
hundred and fifty more acres were granted.
After Georgia was rid of its foreign enemies in 1783, it also granted land as rewards to many
men who had fought during the Revolutionary War. Some of these men were prominent leaders.
They received grants ranging in size from a thousand to twenty thousand acres. Elijah Clarke,
Count d'Estaing, Nathaniel Greene, Anthony Wayne, and many others were given such grants.
Allocation by Price
In 1794, the General Assembly passed the Yazoo Act authorizing four land companies to buy
Georgia's land west of the Chattahoochee. By bribing the members of the legislature, the
companies were authorized to purchase over 30 million acres of land for about 1 1/2 cents per
acre.
As the citizens of Georgia learned of this fraud, they grew angry and elected new members to the
legislature who promised to repeal the act. The Legislature repealed the Act by passing the
Rescinding Act of 1796 and regaining the land. Controversy still swirled around the Yazoo
Land; so, in 1802, an agreement was worked out between the state of Georgia and the United
States’ government.
This agreement stated that Georgia would cede to the United States its land west of the
Chattahoochee in exchange for $1.25 million and removal of the Indians remaining in the
boundaries of Georgia.
Land Lottery System
In 1802, land-hungry men pushed the Indians out of the land west of the Oconee River. The
state wanted good citizens to settle the western lands and gave tracts away freely. The land was
laid out in lots of 202 acres each.
In 1803, a new system of granting farm lands called the land lottery was begun. Each piece of
land was given a number. Each lot number was placed on a piece of paper. These pieces of
paper, all of the same size, were put in a box. Other pieces of paper without numbers were added
to the box since there were always more citizens desiring free land than there were tracts of land
METHODS FOR DISTRIBUTING THE LAND
Handout, page 2
available. All pieces of paper were thoroughly mixed. Then the drawing began. Some men
drew blank pieces of paper and got no land at that drawing. A man who drew a paper with a lot
number received as a farm the piece of land bearing that number.
This lottery system proved to be a good means of dividing Georgia's land among those who
wanted to start farm homes.
The land lines of many farms in Georgia today still show marks of the two systems of granting
farm lands to the original settlers. Going north or west from Savannah where the Headright
System was used, land lines often are irregular and difficult to follow. On the other hand, the
land lines of farms where the lottery system was used are straight and farm corners have right
angles.
It is evident that Georgia started out to convert its vast areas of land into farms as rapidly and as
fairly as possible. Because of bad use of the land laws in some cases, however, dishonesty
prevailed for some years. Some state officials ignored the farm limit of a thousand acres as set
by law. Certain families were granted ten-thousand acre tracts. Land speculation became
common.
Land speculation was an easy means by which those who had money could buy a large quantity
of land when the price was low, and hold it until the price rose. They could resell it later for
extravagant prices and thereby increased their own bank accounts at the expense of the poor.
The worst political scandal in Georgia's history occurred as a result of this type of evil doing. It
was called the Yazoo Land Fraud because the lands involved extended to the Yazoo River.
Nevertheless, even with some corruption in the distribution of Georgia's lands, the tracts of land
sold rapidly. One reason was that the cotton gin increased land value by giving the people an
important money-making crop, cotton. As a result, the state's population increased tremendously
during this period, rising from 162,686 in 1800 to 516,812 in 1830.
Cherokee land lots were parceled out to white
Georgians in one of the two state land lotteries
held in 1832. The state conducted a total of
eight lotteries between 1805 and 1833. Sketch
by George I. Parrish Jr., circa 1832.
Artwork by George I. Parrish Jr. Courtesy of Cindy
Parrish, Maryville, TN in The New Georgia Encyclopedia
(www.newgeorgiaencyclopedia.com)
Source: Changing Culture - Georgia History, Atlanta Public Schools, 1971, pp. 104 - 105.