Georgia Essay

Written by James C. Cobb, a distinguished history professor at the University of Georgia named B. Phinizy Spalding, Georgia Odyssey is a revolutionary book covering the state of Georgia from its humble beginnings as a colony in 1732 to the beginning of a new millennium in 2000. The book discusses James Oglethorpe’s original intentions for the colony, then through the ugly side beginning in 1751, when slaves were permitted into the colony. Slavery directly impacted the ever developing definition of American freedom, which is what Cobb conveys throughout the entire book. Personally, I had not given much thought to the reason of Georgia’s success as a state was because of the phenomenon of slavery.

One of the most important events that had occurred in the state of Georgia that would forever shape its history begun shortly after the American Revolution. When the cotton gin was invented, Georgia’s economy had transformed into a cotton and tobacco based plantation economy. In order to keep with the demands of the economy and citizens, Georgia had adopted the Headright System. The Headright System granted every head of household large acreages of land, which would quickly replace the small farms in Georgia. Then in 1783, the Treaty of Paris had formally ended the American Revolution. Although the war had ended, the nation was still troubled with various issues. The state of Georgia would see shortly after the Revolutionary War that although the Treaty of Paris had given the Floridian territory back to Spain, they were to be left to settle an international dispute once Spain asserted their ownership of land east of the Mississippi and north of the Yazoo River. Georgian’s who were eager to purchase the large amounts of land found west of the Mississippi to either begin plantations or to sell lands to planters. This would soon cause the climax of much trouble in Georgia when state legislators and land companies would work together to essentially set the prices to sell the land in what would be known as the “Yazoo Sale” scandal, which would indirectly result in the Trail of Tears. The most important themes and trends in Georgia’s history from the end of the American

Button Gwinnett was born in 1735 in Gloucester, United Kingdom (wikipedia). He was one of America’s founding fathers and was one of the delegates chosen to be in the second continental congress. He was also the provisional president of Georgia for a short while before he died (wikipedia). Gwinnett served in the Georgia state legislature, and in 1777 he wrote the original draft of Georgia's first State Constitution. He soon became Speaker of the Georgia Assembly (wikipedia). In 1765, Button acquired a large area of land in Georgia that he used for farming. (Signers) Gwinnett enjoyed little success in farming or business, but found a great interest in the revolutionary politics of his adopted colony (signers). In 1776 he was offered a position as commander of Georgia's continental militia, however he had to decline the offer because of a political commitment. He was also elected

The American Revolution marked the beginning of a new era for the colonies. The newly established states were met with a set of unique challenges. One of the challenges Georgia encountered was settling an international land dispute with Spain. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris formally ended the Revolutionary War and Spain was given back their Florida territory. However, Spain had also asserted ownership of land east of the Mississippi and North of the Yazoo River which Georgia had also claimed. Georgia was left to settle this international land dispute on their own. Georgia’ solution to this land dispute was to settle the Yazoo Lands. Georgia legislatures needed to ensure that they could quickly settle these lands and began taking offers from land speculators. However, the process by which these land speculating companies would acquire these lands would ultimately have a significant impact on the state of Georgia. The Yazoo Land Sale Scandal had many effects, yet one of the most significant events to indirectly come from this scandal would be the Trail of Tears (NGE: Yazoo Land Fraud). The most important themes and trends in Georgia’s history from the end of the American Revolution through the late 1830s are symbolized by the Yazoo Sale, its origin, and its aftermath.

Georgia received its name, in 1732, in honor of George II, King of England the Georgia territory had previously been at the center of a conflict between Britain and Spain. The creation of the colony of Georgia made it the last of the original 13 American colonies. Under the direction of the trustees, Georgia survived but did not prosper. Georgia was the last of the thirteen colonies to be planted. Georgia was used as a buffer to protect Caroline’s from dangerous Spaniards from Florida and unfriendly French from Louisiana. Georgia suffered through the must buffering especially when the wars broke out between Spain and Britain in the European arena. Georgia was a place to start a new life and also a place to also achieve financial success. The

James Oglethorpe was a man who greatly influenced Georgia's history. He was the founder of the colony of Georgia and had founded it for charity and defense. He had served in the army as a general and was the first governor of the colony. Eventually, he left Georgia and returned to England, where he got married. He lived to see the US become an independent country and died a peaceful death.

The book also focuses on the FBI investigation which was quite poorly conducted and also lacked the co-operation of state officials. One also has to consider that Georgia was the home of that arch-segregationist William Russell who

Stewart writes, “A fundamental argument of this book is that planters used the environment and appropriated knowledge about it to reinforce their own class interests, and that slaves created counterstrategies to promote their own interests” (Stewart xii). This book proves that without slavery, the Georgia settlers could not have succeeded. They also used slavery to reinforce class systems. Even though slaves had more knowledge on the subject matter, they were not allowed to live as well as the settlers and were treated as lower than the others. Chapter three goes into detail about slavery and how the Georgia coast thrived due to slave help.

Talking about charity, Georgia helped many people get a new life on it’s land. Georgia was roamed by many people from all over the world. People like Christopher Columbus and James Oglethorpe, helped Georgia be the best Colony it can be. Some Jews gave out some support to Oglethorpe’s

Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe for relief for poor English in 1732. Was named after King George II of England.Original name of Georgia was the Province of Georgia, later Georgia. Georgia was the last to be established, 50 years after the other 12 of the English colonies in America. The British government allowed the charter to establish the Georgia Colony in an effort to help protect the South Carolina Colony from invasions of the French in Louisiana and the Spanish in Florida. The only religion not welcome in the Georgia Colony was the Roman Catholic religion. As James Oglethorpe served as the Georgia Colony’s governor for 12 years which slavery and alcohol were banned. The Georgia Colony’s major city was Savannah.

A man of the name James Oglethorpe that lived in Britain wanted to start a new life in the New World with a few other people due to a lack of jobs and poverty. James went to the king of Britain, King George II, so he could get permission to venture to America. James and King George II eventually made a deal that James would have to claim land for Britain in America. Later, Georgia was named after the

During this time, there was serious concerns over the presence of the Spanish to the southern colony. Due to these concerns, Oglethorpe became a colonel in the British army in 1737 (de Vorsey, 2016). Georgia became a military buffer to protect Britain’s southern colonies. The Spanish military continued to grow in St. Augustine, Florida, destroying Oglethorpe’s vision of Georgia being an ideal agrarian society (Debtors in Georgia, 2016). Due to the heightening threat of Spanish invasion, Oglethorpe focused more on defending Georgia. With no financial support from Britain, Oglethorpe decided to mortgage his personal landholdings back in England to finance the needs of Georgia (de Vorsey, 2016). He strongly felt the need to protect Georgia and was committed to seeing that the colony was successful. Just like the other trustees who came to Georgia, Oglethorpe was not able to hold office in the new colony. However, due to his leadership and commitment to Georgia, Oglethorpe was clearly the leader of the colony, subject to instructions and rules promulgated by the Trustees back in London (Jackson, 2016). In honor of his dedication to the new colony, he was regarded as Georgia’s first governor. Like all strong, successful leaders, Oglethorpe worked endlessly to protect the colony of Georgia against Spanish forces that threatened British

The civil rights movement was a time of great upheaval and change for the entire United States, but it was especially so in the South. The civil rights movement in the American South was one of the most triumphant and noteworthy social movements in the modern world. The civil rights movement was an enduring effort by Black Americans to obtain basic human and civil rights in the United States. Black Georgians formed part of this Southern movement for civil rights and the wider national struggle for racial equality. From Atlanta to Albany to the most rural counties in Georgia, black activists, and their white allies, protested white supremacy in a myriad of ways

In 1732, James Oglethorpe founded the 13th colony. Can you guess which state the colony became? That’s correct, he founded what we know today as Georgia! Georgia was originally founded to hold prisoners that didn’t have room in the prisons of Great Britain, where Oglethorpe came from. The

Georgia was admitted as a state in 1788 and was one of the Confederate States of America. It was once primarily a farm state, producing large amounts of cotton, but has since become a major manufacturing and service industry state. Georgia is named for George II of England. It is bordered by Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida.