Post-War Georgia/Indian Removal Notes

Conditions
Capital moved to Augusta
Economy in ruin; government provided food basics as farmers tried to re-establish farms
Georgia delegates meet in 1788 and 1789; adopted a new state constitution similar to the National Constitution (3 Branches)
Georgia General Assembly: 2 Houses, appointed governor and judges, controlled spending decisions

Headright System
Indian land in Georgia east of the Oconee River was given to settlers
Every male was counted as head of a household and was given up to 1,000 acres in land
Generally replaced in 1803 by the land lottery for land west of the Oconee River
All white heads of households could buy a lottery chance to win land; millions of acres were given away in several states

Yazoo Land Fraud
1795: Four companies bribe the legislature and government to buy millions of acres in west Georgia (Alabama and Mississippi) for 1 ½ cents an acre
The public found out and protested; legislatures involved were voted out of office
General Assembly repealed the law approving the sale; Federal Government paid more than $4 Million to help Georgia settle the Yazoo Land Fraud

Western Territory
1802: Georgia ceded land claims west of the Chattahoochee River to the Federal Government for $1.25 Million
Compact of 1802: President Thomas Jefferson doubled the nation’s size in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase; U.S. paid France $15 Million for the land which stretched to the Rocky Mountains

Cotton and the Cotton Gin
1793: Eli Whitney invented a machine for separating cotton seeds from fibers
This increased the amount of cotton growers could process each day

Mechanical Reaper
Cyrus McCormick invented a machine to cut grain into a field
Wooden pedals attached to a horse harness; allowed six times more grain to be cut per day than before
Georgia farms became more profitable

Depression and Panic of 1837
Many Georgia banks failed between 1837 and the early 1840s
During the depression many businesses failed; many farmers and planters lost their land
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, replaces horses, stagecoaches, and boats
Most Georgia roads ran East to West along former Indian footpaths
Plank roads over wetlands featured pikes and turnpikes
Travelers paid a toll (fee) at each pike; Old Federal Road connected Athens to North Tennessee

Terminus
Southern end of a rail line that originated in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Renamed Marthasville after a governor’s daughter
Became Atlanta and Georgia’s capital
Rail lines greatly reduced travel time for people and freight

Education in Georgia
UGA was chartered in 1785 as the Nation’s first land-grant university; it opened for classes in 1801
It was founded by Abraham Baldwin
UGA was often called Franklin College in its early days
By 1820, there were 40 academies across the state
Georgia Female College opened in 1836, now known as Wesleyan College

Creek Indians
Series of clashes between the Creek, led by Alexander McGillivary, and the Settlers. Known as the Oconee War
Treaty of New York: Creeks give up all land east of the Oconee River, but could keep land west of the Oconee; angered settlers felt betrayed by the government
Land treaties were often broken
Red Stick Creeks were endorsed war fighters for the land; White Stick Creeks wanted