GSE SS8H4

Westward Expansion in Georgia

 GSE SS8H4

Explain significant factors that

affected westward expansion in
Georgia between 1789 and 1840.
 GSE SS8H4.a
Explain reasons for the
establishment of the University
of Georgia, and for the westward
movement of Georgia’s capitals.
 Lesson Preview
• During this time period, Georgia
established the FIRST state
supported public University ever!
• At the same time, Georgia was
involved in one of the most
infamous examples of
government corruption in history
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
• Established on January 27, 1785
• Georgia’s General Assembly approved
the charter.
• UGA is America’s FIRST public university
• Lyman Hall - Georgia’s Governor
• Improved Education - Growth of the State
• Granted land to create university
Governor Lyman Hall

• Governor of
Georgia
• Allocated
land for UGA
• Abraham Baldwin
• Wrote the University’s charter
• First president of the University
Abraham
Baldwin
Founder of the
University of
Georgia
Franklin College/Old College
One of UGA’s first buildings
UGA Campus Tour
• After the Civil War, the University was
designated as a “land grant institution”
• Land is set aside by the federal
government to create a university
Famous UGA Alumni

• Saxby Chambliss
• Former U.S. Senator
Famous UGA Alumni
LINK TO GA STORY

• Crawford W. Long

• First to use ether as

an anesthetic for
surgery
Famous UGA Alumni
• Henry W. Grady

• First editor of AJC

• Grady Hospital is
named for him
Famous UGA Alumni

• Nathaniel Harris
• Founder of
Georgia Tech
GEORGIA’S CAPITALS
 Savannah, GA

• GA’s 1st capital

• Savannah was named after the
Savannah River
Savannah, GA
 Augusta, GA

• GA’s 2nd capital

• Oglethorpe named Augusta in honor
of Princess Augusta, wife of Frederick,
Prince of Wales.
Augusta, GA
 Louisville, GA

• GA’s 3rd capital

• Named for French King Louis XVI for
his support during the American
Revolution
Louisville, GA
 The Capitals
• Continued moving westward

• Where the people moved, the capitals

followed

• Eventually, Atlanta will become the

capital of Georgia
 What was the first public
university to receive a charter in
the United States?

A. Emory University
B. Harvard University
C. The University of Georgia
D. The University of North Carolina
 Why was UGA established?

A. Georgia needed a university to match

other states education programs
B. Land grants made it possible to provide
public education opportunities
C. To compete against Georgia Tech
D. Without it, Athens would have died.
 What was the sole purpose of the changing
of location for the state capital?

A. The people kept moving west, and so

went the capital with the people.
B. It needed to be moved away from the
ocean in case of an attack.
C. The citizens wanted it to be Atlanta and
needed to slowly move the capital closer.
D. To hide it from our enemies.
 GSE SS8H4.b
Evaluate the impact of land
policies pursued by Georgia;
include the headright system,
land lotteries, and the Yazoo
Land Fraud.
 Land Policies:
The Headright System, Land Lotteries,
and the Yazoo Land Fraud

• After the Revolutionary War, Georgia

gained access to a large amount of
land
• Land came from American Indians who
sided with the British.
• Land stretched all the way to the
Mississippi River.
 Land Policies:
The Headright System, Land Lotteries,
and the Yazoo Land Fraud

• War veterans and others believed

they had the right to new land

• What was the best way to distribute

land to the people of the state?
HEADRIGHT SYSTEM
 Headright System
• Heads of households = up to 200 acres
of FREE land
• Men who had families or slaves received
even more.
• 50 Acres per servant or family member
• Soldiers could receive more land
 Headright System
• White men over the age of 21 OR
• Soldiers who had fought during the Revolution

We have a problem!

• Too many claimants

• Not enough land to offer
 Headright System
Y
E
E
A
A
H
H
Headright System
V. Land Lottery
LAND LOTTERY
 Land Lottery

• Land lottery systems

• From 1805-1833, Georgia had 8
land lotteries
• Almost anyone could buy
chances to “get” land
Land Lottery
 Land Lottery

• Gave average Georgians opportunity

to gain large amounts of land
 Land Lottery
• Eligible names sent to the state
• Participants paid for ticket
• Participants’ names were placed
in one drum
• The lots bearing a number would
be placed in a second drum.
Land Lottery Drawing
Land Lottery Drawing
 Land Lottery

People could buy more tickets based on:

• Age
• Marital status
• War service
• Orphans and widows eligible
Land Lottery
Land Lottery
YAZOO LAND FRAUD
Yazoo Land Fraud
 Yazoo Land Fraud
• GA government weakened by
Revolution
• Not strong enough to defend western
GA (Miss./AL)
 Yazoo Land Fraud

Land is sold to
companies for
unbelievably low
prices.

Governor and General

Assembly had been
bribed
 Yazoo Land Fraud

The Yazoo Act (1795)

• Much of the land that would become
Alabama and Mississippi was sold to:
Four land companies for $500,000.
 Yazoo Land Fraud

• General Assembly passed a bill

• 4 land companies bought 35-50
million acres
• One and half cents per acre
 Yazoo Land Fraud

• Gov. George Mathews signed

the Yazoo Act into law
• Georgians protested the sale

“Something was not right…”

 Yazoo Land Fraud
• Land companies = BRIBED the GA
General Assembly and the governor
• Bribing the General Assembly is
ILLEGAL
Yazoo Land Fraud
 George
Mathews
Governor of Georgia
Took Bribes as the
Governor
 Yazoo Land Fraud

William Few
Part of the Bribed Legislators?
 Yazoo Land Fraud
• The bribed legislators chose to continue
with the sale
• James Jackson, a US Senator was
contacted
• Outraged, he resigned and returned to
GA
James Jackson
Georgia senator who stops the
Yazoo Land Fraud
Yazoo Land Fraud

• Jackson got elected to the

General Assembly
• He and his political allies
took control
 Yazoo Land Fraud

• General Assembly NULLIFIED

(Refused to Enforce) the Yazoo Act.
• “Known” as the Yazoo Land Fraud
• Federal (U.S.) gov’t got involved
 Yazoo Land Fraud
• 1802 - Georgia CEDED (gave away)
the disputed land to the U.S. gov’t (AL
and Miss.)
• GA got 1.25 million dollars
• GA was promised the U.S. would
remove ALL American Indians from
Georgia
 Burning of
the Yazoo
Land Act
Symbolic Burning of the
Illegal Document
“Holy Fire from Heaven”
Burning the Yazoo Land Act
“Holy Fire from Heaven”
 What was the purpose of the
headright system in Georgia?

A. Distributed Indian lands to new settlers

B. Administered voting and election districts
C. Established a method of counting population
D. Provided an organized system of collecting taxes
 Events in which Georgians had the
chance to win the right to buy land
from the state were known as

A. Yazoo deals
B. land lotteries
C. freedom fighters
D. headright systems
 The Yazoo Land Fraud occurred
because land companies

A. claimed land that had been acquired illegally

B. took land from the Native Americans by force
C. made illegal treaties with the Native Americans
D. bribed legislators so they could buy land
cheaply
 GSE SS8H4.c

Explain how technological

developments, including the
cotton gin and railroads, had an
impact on Georgia’s growth.
 The U.S. Grows

• 1789 - George Washington

elected 1st President
• Begins U.S. expansion period
(1789-1840)
 George
Washington
Portrait Saved by Dolley
Madison when the British
burned the White House in
the War of 1812
 The U.S. Grows

• American Indians CEDED (Voluntarily

gives up) land to the U.S.
• American Indians given plots of land
in the West (reservations)
 The U.S. Grows

• 1803-Louisiana Purchase from France

• U.S. gained 10 current U.S. states
• LA, AR, MO, IA, MN, ND, SD, NE, MT, WY
Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase, 1803
 Thomas Jefferson
3rd President
Authorized Louisiana Purchase
 The U.S. Grows

• Farmers now had access to Miss. River

• Opened new land for farming
THE COTTON GIN
 The Cotton Gin

• Tobacco had destroyed the soil

• Georgia was looking for ways to
make growing cotton profitable
The Cotton Gin
The Cotton Gin
 The Cotton Gin

• Cotton had to be “deseeded” by hand.

• This process took too long
• Most farmers could not produce more
than one pound of cotton a day.
 The Cotton Gin

• Invented by Eli Whitney in 1793

• Cotton gin could remove the seeds
from 50 pounds of cotton a day.
• Cotton became profitable in Georgia
and the rest of the South.
Eli Whitney
Inventor of the Cotton Gin
The Cotton Gin, 1793
The Cotton Gin, 1793
 The Cotton Gin

• Farmers began to seek out land

to grow cotton
• The South grew a large majority
of the world’s cotton by 1800
 The Cotton Gin

POSITIVE EFFECT
Invention of the Cotton gin =
• better economy/ more growth
 The Cotton Gin

NEGATIVE EFFECTS
• dependent on one crop
• more slaves in GA, & the south
 The Cotton Gin

• Increase in cotton = Need for more

slaves
• Led to the South’s dependence on
slavery
• Later one of the causes of the Civil War
The Cotton Gin
RAILROADS
 Railroads

• Railroads help create many GA cities

• Created as a better way to transport
cotton & people
 Railroads

• Atlanta - Named for the Western and

Atlantic Railroad
• Originally called Terminus (End of the
Line)
• Grew so much, it became the HUB
(Center) of the railroads in the South
Western and Atlantic Railroad
Western and Atlantic Railroad
Railroads
 What impact did cotton have
on Georgia’s economy
during the 1800s?

A. It decreased in importance as more textile mills opened

B. It decreased the need for slaves because the state had less
rice plantations
C. It became the most important crop to the state’s economy
and ensured that the state remained dependent on slavery
D. It led to the state’s increased dependence on trade as
Georgia imported most of their supply of cotton from other
states and overseas
 Increased markets, more efficient
trade, and the rise of Atlanta
can all be attributed to

A. the Yazoo Land Fraud

B. Sherman’s “march to the sea”
C. the establishment of the
railroads in the 1800s
D. conflicts between Georgians and
American Indians
 GSE SS8H4.d

Describe the role of William

McIntosh in the removal of the
Creek from Georgia.
THE CREEKS
 The Creeks

•Largest nation of Indians in GA

•Tomochichi’s Yamacraw were a
part of Creek Nation

•Occupied the most land in GA

Tomochichi
 The Creeks
• Creeks got along with GA colonists
• Creeks did not like slavery either
• Great Trading Partners

What changed?
 The Creeks
• The Creek sided with Britain during the
Revolution
• Hurt relationships with many
Georgians
• End of deer trade & Overhunting
 The Creeks
• Georgians became jealous of Creek land
• Wanted them gone
• Several major Creek land

CESSIONS - “Willingly” gave up their land

 The Creeks

• 1813 - civil war starts between the Creek

Indians.
• Red Stick War
• Named for Creeks who wanted to fight
the White settlers
 The Creeks

• Red Sticks said whites were trespassing

• White Sticks said to leave the whites alone

• United States Army gets involved

Red Stick War
 The Creeks

• Creek defeated by U.S. troops

• Led by General Andrew Jackson
• Battle of Horseshoe Bend
• Creeks forced to give up 22 million acres of land
General Andrew Jackson
Red Sticks Surrender to
General Andrew Jackson
 General
Andrew
Jackson
War of 1812 “Hero”

Battle of New Orleans

Creek land ceded to the U.S.
CHIEF WILLIAM MCINTOSH
Chief William McIntosh
• Creek chief
• Scottish father and Creek mother
• Cousin to Georgia governor
George Troup
• Related to several high ranking
Georgia families
 William
McIntosh
Creek Chief
 Governor
George Troup
Cousin of William McIntosh

Co-Signed Final Treaty

with U.S. Government
Chief William McIntosh

• Angered fellow Creeks

• Constantly sided with U. S.
• Creek suffered through a terrible famine
• McIntosh became friends with a U.S.
Indian agent
Chief William McIntosh

• Friendship allowed Creek to gain food

and supplies
• Smoothed over bad opinions for awhile
• Wanted Creek to conform to white
society
Chief William McIntosh

•McIntosh owned 2 plantations

•Owned Slaves
•Creeks were unhappy with him
Chief William McIntosh

• Creek chief could not make

decisions by himself
• Must consult counsel, especially if
it involved land
Chief William McIntosh

1825
• Second Treaty of Indian Springs
• Signed by McIntosh and six other
chiefs
Chief William McIntosh

• All Creek land in Georgia was sold to the

U.S. for $200,000.
• McIntosh received extra cash (bribe)
• Creek council ordered execution of
McIntosh
 Chief William McIntosh

• 200 Creek warriors assassinated the

Chief, William McIntosh
• U.S. still enforced the illegal treaty
• Creek nation was now gone from GA
Murder of McIntosh
Chief William McIntosh
 Who was
William McIntosh?
A. The inventor of the McIntosh computer
B. Chief of the Cherokee Indians who
traded away all their land
C. Chief of the Creek Indians who sold
away all their land
D. The BEST of all the Chief’s of the Creek
Indians
 Why did Chief William
McIntosh die?
A. He fought bravely in a battle with
another American Indian tribe.
B. He was very old, as Chiefs are.
C. He did not look before falling into a
Creek.
D. He sold the Creek land without tribal
permission.
 GSE SS8H4.e
Analyze how key people (John
Ross, John Marshall, and Andrew
Jackson) and events (Dahlonega
Gold Rush and Worcester v.
Georgia) led to the removal of the
Cherokees from Georgia known
as the Trail of Tears.
CHIEF JOHN ROSS
 John Ross

• Principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.

• Mixed heritage
• Spoke English and practiced many
European customs
 John Ross

• Sold goods to the U.S. Government in

Chattanooga
• Used the profits to buy a plantation
• Created a ferry business
 John Ross

• Used his wealth and connections to

win several governmental positions
• Became principal chief in 1827
• White Georgians were lobbying to
remove the Cherokee from the state
John Ross
Last Chief of the
Cherokee in Georgia
DAHLONEGA GOLD RUSH
Dahlonega Gold Rush

1828 - Dahlonega, GA
• America’s first gold rush began
• This discovery did not bode well
for the Cherokee.
Dahlonega Gold Rush
Dahlonega Gold Rush

• Thousands of miners fought for Cherokee

land
• Began to settle there without permission
• Cherokee called it “The Great Intrusion”
Dahlonega Gold Rush

• Many whites wanted land in the area

• Georgia held a land lottery in 1832
• The Cherokee still lived on the land
Dahlonega Gold Rush

• whites demanded removal of Cherokee

• wanted their gold
Dahlonega Gold Rush

• General Assembly passed laws

concerning Cherokee land
• If gold was discovered, then the
land belonged to the state
• Cherokee law was declared
invalid
Dahlonega Gold Rush

• Cherokee could not speak against

whites in court
• Whites could hurt or kill Cherokee
• Cherokee had no right to any land
that contained gold
Dahlonega Gold Rush

• Gold Rush lasted 20 years

• U.S. government set up a mint
• Produced almost 1.5 million gold coins
 Dahlonega Gold Rush

• Gold became much more difficult to mine

• 1849 - California Gold Rush began
• Thousands of Americans moved out west
to find their fortunes
WORCESTER VS. GEORGIA
Worcester vs. Georgia
Cherokee Nation vs. GA
 Worcester vs. Georgia

• 1832 - a landmark Supreme Court

case
• Should have protected the
Cherokee from removal
 Worcester vs. Georgia

Law: Whites cannot live on

Cherokee land without signing oath
of allegiance to the governor
• 11 missionaries refused to sign
• Postmaster: Samuel Worcester
 Worcester vs. Georgia

• Everyone who refused to sign was

thrown in jail
• Sentenced to a hard labor work detail
• Chained and had to walk 80 miles to
courthouse in Lawrenceville
 Samuel
Worcester
Challenged Pledge of
Allegiance to Governor
 Worcester vs. Georgia

Samuel Worcester
• Northern Missionary that lived
with the Cherokee
• Arrested (several times) for living
amongst the tribe without
Georgia’s permission
 Worcester vs. Georgia

• State prosecuted Worcester and

other missionaries
• Sentenced them to four years of
hard labor in Milledgeville
• Cherokee hired lawyers to appeal
their sentence
 George
Gilmer
Governor who fought
Cherokee missionaries
 Worcester vs. Georgia

• Supreme Court ruled in the

Cherokee’s favor
• Chief Justice John Marshall
condemned legislators
 Worcester vs. Georgia

• It declared the Cherokee Nation was

SOVEREIGN

(Subject to their own laws)

• State of GA could not interfere in their

affairs
 Worcester vs. Georgia

• Ruled that Cherokee Nation was

a legal country
• Georgia law DID NOT APPLY to
the Cherokee
 John
Marshall
Chief Justice of the
U.S. Supreme Court

Decided Georgia Law

did NOT apply to the
Cherokee
 Worcester vs. Georgia

• Missionaries remained in prison

• GA continued to push the federal
government for removal
• Governor Wilson Lumpkin
pardoned the missionaries
 Worcester vs. Georgia

• Marshall freed the two non-signers

• Marshall ordered the Cherokee to be left
alone
• Governor Wilson Lumpkin refused to
enforce Marshall’s decision
 Wilson
Lumpkin
Georgia Governor

Refused to enforce
John Marshall’s
decision in Worcester
vs. GA
 Worcester vs. Georgia

• President Andrew Jackson is asked to

enforce Marshall’s decision
• President Jackson refused

“States should be in charge of Indian affairs”

 Worcester vs. Georgia

Jackson’s famous quote:

“John Marshall has rendered
his decision, now let him
enforce it!”
Cherokee’s time is running out
 Worcester vs. Georgia
STORY TIME
The Cherokee leadership hoped the decision would persuade the
federal government to intervene against Georgia and end the talk
of removal. Georgia ignored the Supreme Court's ruling, refused
to release the missionaries, and continued to press the federal
government to remove the Cherokees. President Jackson did not
enforce the decision against the state and instead called on the
Cherokees to relocate or fall under Georgia's jurisdiction.
(Although Jackson is widely quoted as saying, "John Marshall
has made his decision; now let him enforce it," his actual words
to Brigadier General John Coffee were: "The decision of the
supreme court has fell still born, and they find that it cannot
coerce Georgia to yield to its mandate.")
Worcester vs. Georgia
 PRESIDENT
ANDREW JACKSON
President Andrew Jackson

1830 - Indian Removal Act

• All Native Americans were to be
moved to the western territories
• GA senators and reps. pushed
hard for this bill to be passed
President Andrew Jackson

• Act allows GA to remove Indians

• Act allows president to negotiate
with Indians as to how they would
be removed
President Andrew Jackson

• Bill only passed by 14 votes

• Jackson signed the bill into law
• Congress authorized $500,000 to
enforce the removal
 Andrew
Jackson
7th President of the
United States

Signed the Indian

Removal Act of 1828
TRAIL OF TEARS
Trail of Tears
 Trail of Tears

• 1835 - All Cherokee tribes told to come to

New Echota
• Treaty would be signed
• Would CEDE (Give Up) all land to the US
 Trail of Tears
• If you did not show up....
• It meant you agreed with the
treaty
• Only 500 of the 17,000 Cherokee
were present
 Trail of Tears

• Treaty of New Echota

• 1835-ALL Cherokee land ceded to U.S.
• Major Ridge and son, John signed treaty
 Major
Ridge
Cherokee Chief
 John
Ridge
Cherokee Leader
 Trail of Tears

• President Martin Van Buren sent in troops

• Troops led by General Winfield Scott
• 2,000 Cherokee left willingly
Trail of Tears
 Martin
Van Buren
8th President of the U.S.

Actually Enforced the

Removal of the Cherokee
 General
Winfield
Scott
Led Military in Removal
of the Cherokee
 Trail of Tears
• 7,000 troops sent in
• American Indians forced to move
from Georgia to Oklahoma
• 4,000 Cherokee died
• Fever, dysentery, and cholera
 Trail of Tears

• Cherokee actually felt fear, despair, & hurt

• Called it “the trail where they cried”
• We now refer to the move from GA to
Oklahoma as the “Trail of Tears”
Trail of Tears
 What did
John Ross demand?

A. The US to give back all lands taken.

B. The US to honor treaties and protect all
American Indians.
C. The US to leave the New World.
D. The US to call them “American Indians.”
 What did
John Marshall decide?
A. That Georgia law did not apply to the
American Cherokee Indians.
B. All American Cherokee Indians could
remain in Georgia.
C. All American Cherokee Indians could
not remain in Georgia.
D. Chocolate ice-cream is better than
vanilla ice-cream.
 What did
Andrew Jackson sign?

A. The Indian relocation act.

B. The Indian protection act.
C. The Indian removal act.
D. The Indian Holiday act.
 The Dahlonega
Gold Rush provided

A. gold and land to white settlers.

B. gold to white settlers.
C. land to white settlers.
D. gold, god, and glory to white settlers.
 What did
Worcester v. Georgia
declare?
A. Cherokee Nation had to leave Georgia.
B. Cherokee Nation was sovereign.
C. Cherokee Nation was allowed to stay.
D. Cherokee Nation had to start the Trail of
Tears.
 What was the
Trail of Tears?
A. Propaganda by the American Indians to
fight removal from Georgia.
B. A trail in which many clothes were torn.
C. A trail in which one could track the
movements of the American Indians.
D. The forced removal of American
Indians.
THE END