Unit 4: Statehood

Unit Essential Question: What significant factors affected the

development of Georgia as part of the growth of the United States between

1789 and 1840?

• Manifest Destiny:

The belief that it was the nation’s “destiny” and right to expand westward.

The acquisition of land represented freedom and unlimited opportunities for Americans.

Much of the land that was settled during this expansion was taken after forcing eastern tribes of Native Americans to the West.

The Impact of Land Policies

• Each time the Native Americans ceded land to the state, Georgia officials had to decide how to distribute it.

• Selling land would bring in money, but giving it away would bring people to the state.

• Headright System

• Yazoo Land Fraud:• Georgia state leaders wanted to open land in the

western part of the state to white settlers. They had to persuade Native Americans to leave Georgia.

• Leaders knew that if the land came available, there would be a huge land rush and the population of Georgia would increase.

• In 1795, four private land companies bribed members of the General Assembly to pass a law allowing them to buy 35 million acres of Georgia’s western lands, extending to the Yazoo River.

• The companies made profits by selling the land to the public.

• Georgians were outraged by the scandal. Legislators met the next year and repealed the law authorizing the Yazoo land sale. The Yazoo Land Act was publicly burned and money was returned to citizens that purchased the land.

• Land Lotteries:• 1803: Surveyors divided the land into

square lots.• The state held a lottery. Every white male

citizen who had lived in Georgia for 12 months and was at least 21 years old was allowed to draw. If he had a wife and child, he could have two chances. Widows and orphans were also given a chance.

• The name of each person was written on a ticket and placed in a barrel. The number of each lot was also written on a ticket and placed in another barrel.

• A state official randomly drew names and numbers from the barrels.

Technological Developments

a. The Cotton Gin• In 1786, cottton was introduced to Georgia.• The cotton gin was invented in 1793 by Eli Whitney

– This invention made it possible to grow and process cotton on land throughout Georgia’s interior.

b. The Steamboat, 1820http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=20F998E2-F140-4F44-AE02-F443C3CD3011&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

c. Railroads– By the 1840s, railroads gave cotton planters

the ability to transport cotton north of the Fall Line into the Piedmont.

– Railroads boosted Georgia’s economy.• 1833- Georgia’s General Assembly chartered two

railroads: The Georgia Railroad Company and the Central of Georgia Railroad

• 1836– the General Assembly passed a law to build a railroad from Chattahoochee River to Chattanooga, called the Western and Atlantic– The W&A would connect other lines traveling through

Georgia– The southern end was marked with a stake and called

“Terminus”; this area would later become Atlanta

Conflict Over Indian Lands

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The Creeks• The Creeks were a loose confederation of tribes

and chiefdoms.– Two distinct groups: Upper Creeks and Lower

Creeks• Many Georgians resented the Creeks following the

Revolutionary War; demanded that the Creeks give up land

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• Alexander McGillivray– led Creek fight for land– Was eventually persuaded by President

Washington to cede land between the Ogeechee and Oconee Rivers

• War of 1812– Red Sticks

• William McIntosh– Creek chief killed for selling land to the

Americans

The Cherokee

• Progressive Nation– Sequoyah (George Guess)

• Cherokee language; syllabary• New Echota• Cherokee Phoenix

• Discovery of gold– Worcester v. Georgia

• The Trail of Tears– 1838: U.S. troops under General Winfield

Scott forced 15,000 Cherokees to leave Georgia– The Cherokees were forced to march to the

west in the dead of winter; many died from disease and cold