SS8H5: The student will explain
significant factors that affected
the development of Ga. as part of
the growth of the U.S. - between
1789- 1840
B- Evaluate the impact of
land policies by Ga., include:
Headright System, Land
Lottery System, and the
Yazoo Land Fraud
Headright System
• After the Rev. War……… Ga. wanted people to
move to the state.
• For defense against Native Americans on the
frontier & for greater representation in the House
of reps @ the national level.
• Headright System gave the head of each
household 200 acres of land and 50 more acres for
every child and slave.
• Up to 1000 acres and only cost was the surveyor’s
fee.
• System was corrupt---more land was given
• New settlers came to Ga. for the free almost land.
The Yazoo Land Fraud
• 1795- States worst political scandal.
• Ga.’s boundaries extended to the Miss.
River at this time.
• State legislators wanted to open this land to
WHITE settlement.
• BUT, Creeks and Cherokees were on this
land.
• Several land businesses bribed state
legislators to sell them this western Ga. land
very cheaply.
• They speculated the land to rise in price so
they could sell it and make massive profits.
Yazoo land Fraud ( Cont.)
• Legislators sold 35 million acres of land to
the speculators – 2 cents per acre ( after
being bribed).
• The land extended to the Yazoo River- Miss
• Millions of acres were sold.
• Ga. citizens were outraged about this deal.
• Citizens voted the law breaking legislators
out of office in the next election.
• The Yazoo Land deal law was repealed and
the documents destroyed by use of sunlight.
Destroying the Yazoo Land
Fraud by Sunlight
Yazoo Land Fraud ( Cont.)
• People who bought this fraudulent land
were not willing to give up their new land.
• They went to the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Federal Government agreed to take over the
disputed land and paid Ga. $1,250,000.00
for the land.
• Also, U.S. gov’t. promised to remove all
Native Americans from the territory.
• This ruling was Called the COMPACT OF
1802• Left Ga. with the boundaries that it has today.
The Land lottery System
• Headright System and Yazoo Land Fraud
were very corrupt
• New method called land lottery system
was used to distribute land in 1803.
• Name placed in a barrel, land lot placed in
another barrel.
• Drawing would determine what parcel of
land you get.
• 490 acres for less arable - 202 acres for
fertile land. - 160 acres if land had gold on
it.
Land Lottery and Headright Land Grants
Land Lottery Eligibility
• Every free white male living in Ga. for one
year, a U.S citizen, and 21 years of age was
given one chance in lottery.
• A Man with a family or a widow with
children got two chances.
• 100,000 people got land using this system.