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Georgia State Constitution: 1789. Resembled new US Constitution Called for a bicameral legislature and three branches of government: executive, judicial, and legislative Included plans for local governments Responsible for keeping records and establishing a system of law
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Georgia State Constitution: 1789 • Resembled new US Constitution • Called for a bicameral legislature and three branches of government: executive, judicial, and legislative • Included plans for local governments • Responsible for keeping records and establishing a system of law • County seat was the center of local government: courthouse and jail located there • Counties had to be small enough so that citizens could make it back home in one day • As counties grew, they were divided into 2 seats • Amendments • Changed the way of electing governor: both houses would elect • Legislature would meet in January • Louisville (present-day Jefferson County) would be the new state capital
Post-Revolutionary Georgia Education Slow growth; many not schooled Governor Lyman Hall recommended state set aside land for schools; few built 1784: set aside land and named trustees for a state college Land Grant University: federal government gave land 1785: University of Georgia (Oldest school of its kind) First Building: Franklin College 1786: Georgia Legislature required all counties to open schools Wealthy could afford colleges Females not admitted to UGA until 1918 The building of the University of Georgia
Creating a Capital City • For much of Georgia’s early history, the capital rotated between Savannah and Augusta • Savannah became difficult to get to for citizens who moved inland • Augusta was too far east • 1786: legislature appointed a commission to find a site for the new, centrally located capital • Funds to purchase 1000 acres of land—city was to be modeled after then-US capital of Philadelphia • Legislature required that the new location be 20 miles from an Indian trading post on the Ogeechee River (present-day Jefferson County) • Insisted the new capital be called “Louisville” to honor King Louis XVI of France (helped in the Rev. War) • 1796: New Capital in Louisville finished; served as capital for 10 years • February 21, 1796: Holy Fire From Heaven (Yazoo land sales records burned in front of the capital steps) • 1804: With western expansion, legislature voted to build a new capital in Baldwin County (Milledgeville)