Georgia History: Unit 8: Antebellum Notes

This unit is about the growth of Georgia and the United States from 1789 – 1840 This time period is also referred to as AntebellumAntebellum means: ___________________ ___________ _____________

Growth in Education and ReligionUniversity of GeorgiaChartered in 1785The charter was written by Lyman HallAbraham Baldwin was the UGA president from 1785 – 1801 UGA opened its doors in 1801* First state-supported college in the nation* First ____________________ university … meaning it was open to lower-income people

Baptist and Methodist ChurchesBoth grew rapidly in Georgia because of their ____________ _____________________

Other religions required specially ordained and trained ministersBaptist and Methodist churches were more flexiblethey allowed ___________________ to lead without being ordained

Missions were held on plantations to convert slaves.Both held camp meetings. These were whole day events with sermons and plenty of social time. This was a relief from weeks of labor.

Methodists used “circuit riders” who traveled the countryside preaching and performing ceremoniesThese methods were easier for rural, frontier families

Both opened _____________________ and __________________________________ Baptist – Mercer University (1839)Methodist – Emory University (1834)

Louisville3rd capital location (#1 Savannah, #2 Augusta) Made the capital of Georgia in 1786 – 1807 Named after the King of _______________________ for his help in the RevolutionWas the center of Georgia’s population*Notice our population is moving ______________

West is that way, away from the ocean

Land Policies

The American Revolutionary War caused a lot of debate about who owned what ________________.Georgia gained a portion of land from ________________________ who sided with the British during the war… the state had to settle land issues and give out land in the west that Georgians desiredThey used two systems during this time to distribute land, the Headright System and Land Lotteries.

Headright SystemSoldiers who fought in the Amer. Rev. War were given land White males who were considered to be the head their of families were granted _____________ acres

Those with families and slaves were given moreThey were expected to make it productive (farming, building mills etc)Lasted until 1803

Land LotteriesUsed between 1805 and 1833 there were 8 lotteries totalPeople could gamble for _____________War veterans, widows, & white males could purchase chances to buy land from the government3/4 of Georgia’s land is sold to 100,000 families using this system

The Yazoo Land FraudAfter the Revolutionary War Georgia’s land stretched far into the _______________This land was called the “Yazoo lands” after a _________________Governor Matthews tried to transfer the land to the federal government but it failed

He feared fighting with the natives for the land

Four land companies wanted to purchased the land very cheap to sell for a profitThe land companies bribed ____________________________ to support the plan Senator James Gunn owned part of one of the companies looking to buy the landSenator James Gunn arranged distribution of money and land to legislators, state officials, and other influential Georgians.

In 1795 the Yazoo Act passed and sold 35 million acres for $500,000Georgians are upset with the bribery and corruption and protested.They also voted many officials out of office.In 1796 the General Assembly passed the Rescinding Act to reverse the Yazoo sale.In 1802 Georgia leaders transferred the Yazoo lands to the federal government for $1.25 million

In return the Federal government agreed to remove Native Americans out of the areaProblem … many people had already bought some of the _____________!These landowners sued and the case when to the _______________________ Court

Map of the

Yazoo lands … Georgia’s

border stretched

though present day

Alabama and Mississippi.

Ruling: the Yazoo deal was corrupt; however, it was a __________________ ____________________Federal government struck down the rescinding act and paid the land owners roughly $5 million Georgian’s are mad again … the federal government basically trashed a state law.This will start a lot of resentment for the federal government exerting power over state government.

The land eventually becomes Alabama and Mississippi

Creeks and Cherokees The Creeks

Most populous tribe in Georgia with the largest amount of landMany Creek’s sided with the British during the Amer. Rev.Creek civil war “the Red Stick War”

The Red Sticks wanted to fight the white settlersThe White Sticks did notU.S. troops and state militia got involved (supporting the White Sticks)The Final battle was fought at Horseshoe BendThe Treaty of Fort Jackson ended the war and seceded 22 million acres of Creek land to Georgia

Chief Alexander McGillivray (1750 – 1793)Creek mother and a European father Creek leader in the 1780s and 1790sSigned the Treaty of New York creating friendship between the U.S. and the Creek Nation

It ceded some Creek land to the U.S.In return the U.S. promised to honor the boundaries of the remaining Creek land

Had a mixed lifestyle between the two cultures (Native and European)He traded deerskin, owned slaves, herded cattle, was literate, and ran a plantation like white settlersHe had multiple wives, took part in rituals, and believed in natives keeping their.Led the Creeks in resisting white __________________________________Supported the ___________________ during the Amer. Rev.

Chief William McIntosh (1778 – 1825)Son of a Georgia Scot and a Creek womanAlso known as “Tustunnuggee Hutkee” which translates to “White Warrior” Chief of lower CreeksSupported the idea of “civilized” CreeksSigned the Treaty of Indian Springs in 1825

The treaty gave up all ______________ ____________________ to the state of Georgia for $200,000The Upper Creek chief and 200 Creek warriors stabbed and shot McIntosh to death for signing the treaty. They also burned his home.

*The Creeks gave up all lands to the Georgia gov’t … they knew they couldn’t fight them for it and win.*Creeks were forced to move west into Oklahoma 1837

The CherokeeLived mostly in __________________ GeorgiaMost adapted tribe in Georgia to the European ____________________Lived in houses, farmed, some even owned slavesBy the end of the Amer. Rev. War they had already given up over ½ of their land to Europeans

Sequoyah (1770 – 1840 *these dates are estimates and are not known for certain)

Cede: to surrender or give up something

Literate: having the ability to read

A.K.A. George Gist Native mother and a European fatherRejected the European lifestyle Impressed by communication over long distances through writingcreated a ________________________ language for the CherokeeThis system was called a syllabary and consisted of symbols for each syllable *not an alphabetMade the Cherokee the first Native American tribe with a written language

Chief John Ross (1790 – 1866)Became the Cherokee chief in 1827 and set up a government modeled on the ______ _____ governmentMixed heritagePracticed many European customsWas a businessman and owned a plantation Sold goods to the U.S. GovernmentFought Indian removal until 1838Accompanied his people on the Trail of Tears (a.k.a “The trail where they cried”)His wife died on the trail from exposureHelped create farms, businesses, and _____________________________ in the new territory in Oklahoma

Dahlonega Gold Rush1829 ____________________ was discovered in Cherokee territoryWhite towns sprung up including Dahlonega (Cherokee word for _____________________)The General Assembly began passing laws denying the Cherokee _____________ to their land and the gold

Samuel WorcesterA white MissionaryWorked to translate the Bible into the Cherokee language Became good friends with Cherokee leaders

Often advised them on their political and legal _____________________ Georgia Assembly created a law requiring whites living in Cherokee territory to swear an oath of allegiance to the state of Georgia and obtain permission to _______________in the Cherokee territorySamuel Worcester refused to meet these requirementsHe and several other missionaries were arrested multiple timesThe Cherokee leaders hired lawyers to represent the missionaries

… this leads to the Worcester V. Georgia court case …

Worcester V. Georgia – 1832John Marshall Chief justice of the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the _________________________________ in Worcester V. GeorgiaSupreme court decided that the Cherokee were a sovereign nation and should be allowed to rule itself and should have federal protection from other states’ laws

Andrew Jackson President of the U.S. from 1829 – 1837 Signed the Indian Removal act in 1830He refused to enforce John Marshall’s ruling and pressured the Cherokee to move westBy refusing to support a Supreme Court ruling Jackson was not meeting his constitutional requirements as president

Technological DevelopmentsThe Cotton GinCreated in 1793 by Eli Whitney Seeds could be separated from cotton much fasterIncreased the rate at which cotton could be ____________________________ and _________________Increased the need for __________________________Cotton and slavery became essential to the Georgia ________________________

RailroadsGeorgia began building railroads in the 1830s to compete with South Carolina’s system_________________ could be transported faster and easier **including cottonMany of these railroads connected in one town giving it a lot of business and increasing its population It will also be the heart of Sherman’s attack during the Civil War.This city is ____________________________

Trail of Tears