Transcript Georgia and the American Experience

Georgia
Studies
Unit 4
Standard
• Explain the importance of James
Oglethorpe, the Charter of 1732, reasons
for settlement, Tomochichi, Mary
Musgrove, and the city of Savannah
James Oglethorpe
• Former British soldier and a
member of British
Parliament
• Interested in prison reformtoo many people in prison
for being poor (debtors)
• Thought debtors deserved a
chance at a new life and the
best chance was a new
American Colony
Charter of 1732
• On April 21, 1732, King George signed the
charter to establish the colony of Georgia
• Established a governing board and created
the trust to run the colony
• 71 men served as trustees and were not paid
• Trustees could not hold office or land in
Georgia
• Did not establish a local government, said
colonists had same rights as British Citizens
Limits of the Charter
• Catholics, blacks, liquor dealers, and
lawyers could not become colonists
• The colony belonged to the crown- England
• Couldn’t pass laws unless King George
agreed
• Oglethorpe and Trustees could not earn
profit from the colony
Reasons for Settlement
• Charity- trustees paid for debtors to go
to Georgia instead of prison; thought
removing debtors would help economy
of England
• Motto: “Non sibi sed aliis” meaning “Not
for self, but for others”
• Economics- hoped new settlers would
produce raw materials to send back to
England
• Defensive-A buffer to protect British
colonies from the Spanish and Native
Americans- mainly protect the Carolinas
Voyage to Georgia
• Between 114-125 people left London on
November 17, 1732 on a voyage that
took 88 days
• Ship was the Ann, carried sheep, hogs,
ducks, geese, and dogs
• 2 died on voyage
• February 12, 1733 Tomochichi led the
settlers to Yamacraw Bluff overlooking
the Savannah River. This became the
first settlement of the new Georgia
colony.
11-7
Tomochichi
• Oglethorpe befriended
Tomochichi, chief of
the Yamacraw
Indians, before the
Ann arrived.
• The Yamacraw Indians were struggling
to survive and had became dependent
on European goods. Tomochichi
believed that befriending Oglethorpe
would benefit his people and form a new
trading partnership.
• 1734 went to England with Oglethorpe,
help set up school for Native Americans
and help conduct peaceful negotiations
between tribes and British
Mary Musgrove
• Mary Musgrove and her husband John
had created a trading post near the
Yamacraw Bluff where they would trade
British goods to the Native Americans.
• Tomochichi spoke very little English so
Mary Musgrove served as the interpreted
between Oglethorpe and Tomochichi.
Savannah
• When Oglethorpe and settlers arrived
they put up 4 large tents for shelter
• On land gain by treaties with Native
Americans Oglethorpe planned the city
• Originally built a
small fort and
trained a small
militia
• Oglethorpe worked with William Bull and
Noble Jones to design a city based on
squares
• This connected neighborhoods and
allowed land to be equally distributed
Georgia Stories
• http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/story/exp
ectations_versus_reality
• http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/da
ily_life_in_georgia
Writing Assignment
• You are one of the original 88 colonists that
has settled in Georgia with James
Oglethorpe in 1733. Write a Journal entry
that describes what life is like in Georgia
during your first month in the new colony.
• Entry needs to be a minimum of 3
paragraphs and written in 1st person
Questions
• Pg. 119 It’s Your Turn Questions #2-6
Standard
• Evaluate the Trustee Period of Georgia’s
colonial history, emphasizing the role of
the Slazburgers, Highland Scots,
malcontents, and the Spanish threat
from Florida.
The Trustee Period
• Began when King George II gave
permission to establish the colony in 1732
• First 21 years colony was governed by
group of trustees- someone who oversees
property on behalf of someone else
• James Oglethorpe received the charter,
written permission to begin an English
colony
• Colony was named Georgia after King
George
• Originally tension
between Spain and
England over land
but Georgia
became part of
English colonial
land
The Salzburgers Arrive
• Forty original settlers died in the first
year. In 1733, 42 Jews were allowed to
settle in Georgia, including a muchneeded doctor.
• http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/%252
Fstory/georgias_oldest_congregation
• In 1733, a group of German protestants
from Salzburg arrived, and settled a
town called Ebenezer, about 25 miles
from Savannah. Three years later they
moved to Red Bluff and settled New
Ebenezer.
• http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/story/
stone_of_help
• Oglethorpe and Chief Tomochichi
returned from a trip to England in 1736
with 300 more settlers, including
German protestants from Salzburg and
Saxony. Religious leaders John and
Charles Wesley also arrived in Georgia.
• The Wesley’s founded the Methodist Church
The Highland Scots and
the Malcontents
• The Highland Scots (from Scotland) arrived
and settled in Darien, GA in 1735 with the
Salzburgers.
• A group of malcontents (mainly from
Scottish descent) became unhappy with
the Trustees. Malcontents wanted to
purchase additional land and enslave
people to help them achieve greater
wealth.
• The Trustees aided many of the
colonists but did not aide the
malcontents as they were wealthy
enough to pay for their own voyage to
Georgia.
• Malcontents were not loyal to the
trustees or Britain
Georgia Stories
• http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/story/scot
tish_highlanders
Threats from the
Spanish in Florida
• After the explorations of Hernando
DeSoto and other Spanish conquistadors,
Florida was colonized by Spain.
• The Spanish were interested in the land
north of their colony that
later became Georgia.
• The British built Fort
Frederica in Georgia
in an effort to protect
the colony.
• Georgian soldiers led an attack on St.
Augustine, Florida in 1740. Two years
later the Spanish attacked Fort
Frederica.
• The Battle of Bloody Marsh was the main
battle between British Georgia and
Spanish Florida. James Oglethorpe led
the Georgia soldiers to victory (though
he did not capture St. Augustine) and
Spain never again attacked a British
colony on the eastern coast.
End of the Trustee
Period
• In 1743, Oglethorpe was called to Great
Britain to answer charges that he had not
acted correctly when he failed to capture St.
Augustine.
• Oglethorpe was cleared of the charges but
he did not return to Georgia.
• Georgia still had many problems. People
were also allowed to begin buying and
selling rum (alcohol) in 1742.
• People still wanted to own more land and
slaves. By 1750 laws against land
ownership (each person could only own 500
acres of land) and slavery were repealed.
People were now able to own as much land
and as many slaves as they could afford.
• In 1752, one year before the end of the
Charter of 1732, the trustees returned
Georgia to the authority of King George II
and Georgia enters the Royal Period.
Standard
• Explain the development of Georgia as a
royal colony with regard to land
ownership, slavery, government, and the
impact of the royal governors
End of the Trustee Period and
a Change in Government
• Georgia became a Royal Colony when the
Trustee Period ended in 1752.
• Definition: Royal Colony – A Colony
overseen by the crown of England.
• The British Parliament had to pass a charter
in order for Georgia to become an official
Royal Colony. This process took two years.
Georgia would not get its first official royal
governor until 1754.
• The government of Georgia would
change drastically as the people, under
the leadership of the Royal Governors,
would have to learn to govern
themselves.
Three Royal Governors:
John Reynolds
• John Reynolds – Georgia’s first royal
governor.
• Governed from 1754 to 1757.
• Governor Reynolds introduced the idea
of self-government to the colonists and
assisted in the creation of a bicameral
(two houses) legislature and the creation
of a court system.
Georgia’s First Assembly
• Met in 1755 in Savannah (capital)
• Delegates reorganized the militia and
passed bills so roads could be built
• Drew up codes that restricted the rights
of slaves
• Worked well with Governor Reynolds at
first
• The lower house was called the
Commons House of Assembly (elected)
the upper house was called the
Governor’s council (members appointed
by the king)
• To vote settlers had to own 50 acres of
land
• To become a member of the Assembly
settlers had to own 500 acres of land
• Reynolds had poor political skills and could
not interact well with Native Americans
which caused many attacks on settler of
Georgia, especially during the French and
Indian War
• Eventually, due to a disagreement between
Governor Reynolds and the legislature the
legislature was sent home. Reynolds tried
and failed to rule Georgia himself.
• The British Parliament recalled Reynolds in
1757 and said that he was ineffective.
Three Royal Governors:
Henry Ellis
• Henry Ellis – Georgia’s second royal governor.
• Governed from 1757-1760.
• Governor Ellis tried to learn from the mistakes of
John Reynolds. Ellis set up a budget and
regulated trade with the Native Americans.
• Built forts and tried to abolish slavery
• Great communication with Native American
leaders within the state
• Henry Ellis also worked to increase the size
and productivity of the colony of Georgia.
By 1759, the population of the colony had
increased to over 10,000, including 3,600
slaves.
• In 1759, Henry Ellis became ill and returned
to Great Britain. He was replaced as the
governor of Georgia in 1760.
Three Royal Governors:
James Wright
• James Wright – Georgia’s third (and last) royal
governor.
• Governed from 1760-1776.
• Very popular, former attorney general of South
Carolina
• During Governor Wright’s term in office the
size of Georgia increased. After the French
and Indian War ended in 1763, Georgia gained
a large amount of land. Governor Wright
believed Georgia could be even more
profitable for England by allowing farmers
(and their slaves) to live and work on this land.
• Completed the defenses around
Savannah by building palisades
• James Wright continued to serve as the
Royal Governor of Georgia until the
beginning of the American Revolution.
Problems within the
colony
• Many women died in childbirth
• School was only for upper class
• A group called “undesirable people”
moved from Virginia and the Carolinas
settled in the western part of the colony,
became known as crackers- meant as an
insult for the lower class; many thought
they didn’t obey the law and were not
welcome in the colony
Georgia Stories
• http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/story/bac
k_country_settlers
Timeline Assignment
• #1 Oglethorpe’s Georgia pgs 114-128
(needs to have 12 dates and events on the
timeline)
• #2 Royal Colony pgs 142-148 (needs to
have 10 dates and events on the timeline)
Land Ownership
• Settlers who came to colony of Georgia
during the Trustee Period were limited in
the amount of land they could own.
• People who came by way of the Trust’s
charity were limited to 50 acres of land.
People who paid their way could have up to
500 acres of land.
• During the Trustee Period of Georgia’s
history only men could own or inherit land.
Many colonists were angry about this and
wanted women to be able to own/inherit
land.
• As Georgia continued to develop as a Royal
Colony citizens were given the opportunity
to purchase more land (and use slaves to
work the land) and women were allowed to
inherit land.
Slavery
• During the beginning of the Trustee Period,
Georgia’s state law prohibited slavery
(slavery was not allowed).
• Wealthy colonists who could afford to buy
enslaved people demanded to be allowed
to bring them to Georgia. Many farmers
believed that in order to compete with
neighboring states (like South Carolina)
they had to be allowed to own slaves.
• Between 1750 and 1775, the number of
Africans living in slavery increased from 500
to 18,000. These slaves had no rights,
were not allowed to marry, were not allowed
to live where they wanted, and were not
allowed to learn to read or write. Slaves
who broke these rules were punished,
including beatings, whippings, separation
from friends and family, and even death.
• http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/story/geo
rgias_african_heritage