Georgia and the American Experience

Georgia and the American Experience Chapter 6: An Age of Expansion, 1783-1838 Study Presentation Mr. Smith’s Classes

Georgia and the American Experience Section 1: Creating A New Government Section 2: Land Fever in Georgia Section 3: Economic Growth in Georgia Section 4: Georgia At the Dawn of a New Century Section 5: The War of 1812 Section 6: Native Americans in Georgia

Section 1: Creating A New Government • Essential Question • What was Georgia’s role in the Constitutional Convention?

Section 1: Creating A New Government • What words do I needtoknow? • U.S. Constitution • Bill of Rights • General Assembly

Constitutional Convention of 1787 • William Few and Abraham Baldwin represented Georgia at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia; George Washington presided • U.S. Constitution established three governmental branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial • Senate and House of Representatives established; only three-fifths of slave population would count toward representation (Three-fifths Compromise)

The Three Branches of Government: Legislative - makes the law; Judicial – interprets the law; Executive – enforces the law.

It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle. It is illegal to wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church. The penalty for jumping off a building is death. Some laws are unusual!

Actual Questions Asked in Court Was it you or your brother that was killed in the war? The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he? Were you alone or by yourself? Q: I show you exhibit 3 and ask you if you recognize that picture.A: That's me.Q: Were you present when that picture was taken? Q: Now, Mrs. Johnson, how was your first marriage terminated?A: By death.Q: And by whose death was it terminated? Q: Do you know how far pregnant you are now?A: I'll be three months on November 8.Q: Apparently, then, the date of conception was about August 8?A: Yes.Q: What were you doing at that time?

Cops during embarrassing moments

U.S. Constitution Ratified in 1788 • Georgia was fourth state to ratify (approve) the new Constitution • Constitution could be amended (changed); first 10 amendments became Bill of Rights • George Washington became the first President

Postwar Georgia • Economy in ruin; government provided food basics as farmers tried to reestablish their farms • Capital moved to Augusta • Georgia delegates met in 1788 and 1789; adopted state constitution similar to national government, with three branches • General Assembly had two houses, Senate and House of Representatives; appointed governor and judges; controlled spending decisions

Section 2: Land Fever in Georgia • Essential Question • How did many Georgians obtain land in the twenty years following the end of the American Revolution?

Section 2: Land Fever in Georgia • What words do I needtoknow? • headright system • Yazoo land fraud • Louisiana Purchase

Headright System • Indian land in Georgia east of the Oconee River was given to settlers • Every white male counted as a head of household and had the “right” to receive up to 1,000 acres • This was generally replaced in 1803 by a land lottery for government-owned land west of the Oconee • All white heads-of-household could buy a lottery chance and win land; millions of acres in several states were given away

Indian land in Georgia east of the Oconee River was given to white settlers.

Yazoo Land Fraud • Around 1795, four companies bribed the governor, George Matthews, and legislators • Bought millions of acres in western Georgia (today’s Alabama and Mississippi) for 1½¢ an acre • The public found out and protested; the legislators involved were voted out of office • General Assembly repealed the law approving the sale; the federal government paid more than $4 million to help Georgia settle Yazoo land claims

GA’s governor burning the deeds from the Yazoo Land Fraud.

The Western Territory • In 1802, Georgia ceded (gave up) its land claims west of the Chattahoochee River to the federal government for $1.25 million • President Thomas Jefferson doubled the nation’s size in 1803 with the Louisiana territory purchase; the U.S. paid France $15 million for land that stretched to the Rocky Mountains

In 1802, Georgia ceded (gave up) its land claims west of the Chattahoochee River to the federal government for $1.25 million.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition explored the new lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase.

Sacagawea served as a guide for Lewis and Clark. National Geographic: Lewis & Clark is an informative web page detailing the journey of the Corps of Discovery.

Section 3: Economic Growth in Georgia • ESSENTIAL QUESTION • How did Georgia rebuild and expand its economy in the late 17th and early 18th century?

Section 3: Economic Growth in Georgia • What words do I need to know? • depression • turnpike • cotton gin • mechanical reaper

Cotton and the Cotton Gin • Eli Whitney invented a machine for separating cotton seeds from its fiber in 1793 at Savannah’s Mulberry Grove Plantation • increased the amount cotton growers could process each day • The gin used wire teeth on a turning cylinder to separate the seed from fiber • He also pioneered mass production

Eli Whitney and his cotton gin (engine). It increased production from about a pound a day to as much as fifty pounds per day.

The introduction of Whitney’s cotton gin provides a graphic view of cause and effect. • The gin caused slavery to become very profitable; the effect was increased political tension between the industrialized North and the agricultural South. • Why had the North industrialized?

The Mechanical Reaper • Cyrus McCormick invented a machine to cut grain in a field • Wooden paddles attached to a horse’s harness allowed six times more grain to be cut per day than previous methods • Georgia farmers could work larger and more profitable farms with these agricultural machines

Depression and the Panic of 1837 • Many Georgia banks failed between 1837 and the early 1840s • This happened during a depression (a sharp economic downturn) • Many businesses failed; many farmers and planters lost their land • Many banks didn’t have enough cash to pay out money their depositors had entrusted to them

Early Roads in Georgia • Railroads, most built after 1830, replaced horses, stagecoaches, and boats • Most Georgia roads ran east to west; they were former Indian footpaths • Plank roads over wetlands that featured “pikes” or gates were called turnpikes • Travelers paid a toll, or fee at each pike; the Old Federal Road connected Athens north to Tennessee

The SS Savannah was the first steam-powered vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

Terminus • Located at the southern end of a rail line that originated in Chattanooga, Tennessee (Atlantic and Western Railroad) • Later remained Marthasville, after the daughter of former Governor Wilson Lumpkin • Marthasville became Atlanta, and the capital of Georgia • Rail lines greatly reduced travel time for people and freight

Section 4: Georgia at the Dawn of a New Century • ESSENTIAL QUESTION • How did lifestyles differ in Georgia between frontier families and town dwellers?

Section 4: Georgia at the Dawn of a New Century • What words do I need to know? • pioneers • frontier Georgia • cultural refinements • townsfolk

Frontier Georgia • Undeveloped land in central and western Georgia • Few settlers; much land given away in land lotteries • Far-flung trading posts were only stores • Danger often lurked from hostile attacks • Social activities often centered around necessary work • The country store became the center of activity; few luxuries were available

Life in Georgia’s Towns • Cultural refinements (higher level living) set apart frontier and town lifestyles • Newspapers, theater, and debate societies • Fancy balls, barbecues, camp meetings, and horse racing • Orphanages, hospitals, and facilities for people with special needs were operated

Religious Activities • Anglicans, Quakers, and Methodist circuit riders (traveling ministers for frontier dwellers) grew in number • Georgia’s first Roman Catholic Church established in Wilkes County in 1796 • Savannah had active Jewish synagogue • As more towns were established, churches become central to community life • In other parts of America, the Mormon church and the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) churches were started

Education in Georgia • The University of Georgia chartered in 1785 as nation’s first land-grant university; opened for classes in 1801 • UGA was often called Franklin College in its early days • By 1820, there were forty academies (schools) across the state; Richmond Academy (Augusta, 1783) is the first in GA • Georgia Female College (later Wesleyan College) opened in 1836

Section 5: The War of 1812 • ESSENTIAL QUESTION • What were the causes of the War of 1812?

Section 5: The War of 1812 • What words and people do I need to know? • embargo • President James Madison • war hawks • Treaty of Ghent

Unhappy with French and British Trade Policies • Years of war between Great Britain and France prompted both countries to try to block U.S. trade with its enemy • British ships made American sailors serve with the British Navy • President Thomas Jefferson ordered an embargo in 1807 to stop trade with foreign countries; this proved disastrous to American shipping

The War Hawks • Land-hungry Southerners and Westerners • Believed British were stirring up the Indians in the western territories • Argued for war against Great Britain • Believed the British should be driven from Canada to eliminate the problems in the western territories • President James Madison pushed Congress to declare war on Great Britain in 1812; the war declaration narrowly passed

War Breaks Out • War lasted for two years; neither side gained advantage during first two years • In 1814, British attacked and burned Washington, the young national capital • British later attacked Baltimore harbor; “The Star Spangled Banner” written during The Battle of Fort McHenry • The Battle of New Orleans, fought after the Treaty of Ghent ended the war, was a decisive American victory • The war united the American states as one nation; Andrew Jackson became a national hero

Georgia and the American Experience