Chapter 9Growth and Prosperity

The U.S. held it first census in 1790. The

Constitution mandated that a count of the population in each state be taken every 10 years.

US population 1790 – 3,929,214 1800 – 5,308, 483 1810 – 7,239,881 1820 – 9,638,453 1830 – 12,866,020 1840 – 17,069,453

Chapter 9

Americans believed they had a right to Indian

lands west of the Appalachians. This religious belief was known as manifest destiny.

In 1773, the Creeks and Cherokees gave up more than 2 million acres of land in the backcountry region of Georgia. The Georgia state government continued to pressure the Native Americans to cede, or give up, their land.

Chapter 9

In 1795, private land companies bribed members of

the General Assembly to pass a law allowing companies to buy 35 million acres of Georgia’s western land extending to the Yazoo River (much of Alabama and Mississippi). Land speculators made a huge profit buying land and at a low price and selling it at to innocent citizens. This was known as the Yazoo Land Fraud.

The law authorizing the Yazoo land sale was repealed (abolished), but many of the buyers weren’t willing to give up their land. The case eventually went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Chapter 9 – Yazoo Land Fraud

The largest land gain in the U.S. was the

Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The land area of the United States was almost doubled.

Originally land was distributed under the headright system. Each person receiving a land grant was free to go out and claim the best land available; therefore, the plats of land were often irregular shapes.

Chapter 9

In 1803, Georgia changed its method of

distributing all public lands. Under the new system surveyors divided as much of the land as possible into square lots.

Next the state held a lottery – drawing for a prize. Every white male US citizen who had lived in Georgia for 12 months and was at least 21 years old was allowed one draw or chance. Widows and orphans also got chances.

Chapter 9

Georgia’s capital moved several times:

Savannah 1733 Augusta 1786 Louisville 1796 Milledgeville 1807 Atlanta 1868

Chapter 9 – GA’s capital

In 1785, the nation’s first state chartered

institution of higher education was created: The University of Georgia

Chapter 9

As America (and Georgia’s) population grew, new and

better methods of transportation were needed to travel west: Georgia’s waterways served as inland “highways” for

transportation to and from the frontier. Oconee boxes Steamboats

Roads were needed for settlers to travel west. Georgians generally followed transportation routes first used by Native Americans (old Indian trails).

The invention of the railroad boosted Georgia’s development. Georgia’s first railroads were private businesses, but the General Assembly later chartered railroads. Steam-powered locomotives

Chapter 9 - Transportation

Writing Prompt: Discuss how the early

nineteenth century was a time of growth and prosperity for Georgia. Support your argument with specific examples of land expansion, population growth, economic growth, and transportation improvements.

Chapter 9