Transcript Georgia Land Policies

Georgia Land Policies
Mrs. Kim West
8th Grade Georgia Studies
Chapter 6, Section 2
GPS: SS8H5b
Georgia Land Policies
• Georgia Performance Standard:
– SS8H5b:
Evaluate the impact of land policies pursued by Georgia
to include the headright system, land lotteries and Yazoo
land fraud.
• Essential Questions:
1) What are the differences between the headright
system and the land lottery system of land distribution
and how did each impact the growth of Georgia?
2) What was the Yazoo Land Fraud and how did it
change Georgia’s boundaries?
Setting the Stage
• What was going on in Georgia?
– Time Period: 1789 – 1840, after the American
Revolutionary War.
– Georgia is the 4th U.S. state.
– Most of Georgia was “owned” and occupied by the
Cherokee and Creek Native Americans.
• Native Americans were giving up their land to the colonists
or signing treaties with the British. Many Creeks and
Cherokees did not agree with this.
• Native Americans were giving up their land to the colonists
or signing treaties with the British. Many Creeks and
Cherokees did not agree with this.
Setting the Stage
• What was going on in Georgia?
– Creeks and Cherokees were thought to be
savages (wild, uneducated) by the Georgians
and other Americans.
– Farmers, ranchers and others wanted to own
land in Georgia for power and monetary
reasons.
Map of Georgia 1789
Yazoo River
Savannah River
Mississippi River
Picture Credit:
pantherslodge
.com
Georgia Land Policies
• What were the policies used by Georgia to
distribute land?
– Headright System
– Land Lotteries
– Yazoo Land Sale (Fraud)
Headright System
• Each white male counted as “head” of a family
and had a “right” to receive up to 1,000 acres of
land.
• By giving men land, they could obtain power.
• Farmers and ranchers wanted land.
• Land was also given to veterans of the
Revolutionary War.
• Land east of the Oconee River.
• Replaced by land lottery in 1803.
Yazoo Land Sale (Fraud)
• The Georgia government planned to sell 35 million
acres of land to 4 companies in western Georgia
for $500,000 – a steal, to good to be true.
• Spain and South Carolina claimed to own the land
Georgia was selling.
– Georgia wanted to get rid of the land before they could
claim it.
• Government wanted the companies to establish a
presence in western Georgia.
– That would make settlers feel safe from the Creek and
Cherokee.
Yazoo Land Sale (Fraud)
Photo Credit:
http://www.clanmcalist
er.org/images/yazoom
ap.jpg
Yazoo Land Sale (Fraud)
• Georgia Governor George Matthews signed the
Yazoo Act on January 7, 1795.
• Many settlers protested the sale of this land at
such cheap prices.
• Legislators involved in the sale of the land had
to resign because of corruption.
• The land sale was reversed.
• The U.S. government promised to move the
Creeks out of Georgia – to ensure that western
Georgia would be safe for the settlers.
Yazoo Land Sale (Fraud)
• As a result of the Yazoo Land Sale (Fraud)
Georgia ceded (gave up) its land west of the
Chattahoochee River for $1.25 million.
Burning of the Yazoo Land Act in
Louisville (then the capital of Georgia).
Photo Credit: http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/media_content/m-8201.jpg
New Georgia Boundaries
Picture
Credit:
http://www.
bodley.ox.a
c.uk/users/
nnj/usa1.gif
Land Lottery
• After the disaster of the Yazoo Land Sale
(Fraud) Georgia implemented a land lottery
system for people to fairly purchase land.
• A person’s age, war service, marital status and
years of residence determined who could
purchase land.
• The land lottery was open to white men,
orphans, and widows.
Land Lottery
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Land lotteries occurred between 1805 to 1833.
Sold land from Yazoo Land Sale.
Georgia sold ¾ of the state to 100,000 families.
Georgians paid 7 cents per acre.
Most land was purchased for tobacco farming.
With “regular” people owning the land, power
and wealth began to be distributed more evenly
among white men.
Land Lottery
Photo Credit: http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/media_content/m-7688.jpg
Land Lottery
Photo Credit: http://img.groundspeak.com/waymarking/75b9639c-b21b-4b1f-b4d6-3659b7b1026c.jpg