A THIRST FOR MORE LAND

LESSON TWO

Georgia AKS A . E x p la in t h e es t a b l i sh m en t o f t h e Un i ve r s i t y o f G eo r g ia , L o u isv i l l e ,

a n d t h e sp r ea d o f B a p t i s t a n d M et h o d is t c h u r c h es .

b . E va lu a te t h e im p a c t o f l a n d p o l i c ies p u r su ed by G eo r g ia ; i n c lu d e t h e h ea d r ig h t s y s tem , la n d lo t te r ies , a n d t h e Ya z o o la n d f r a u d .

c . E x p la in h ow tec h n o lo g ica l d eve lo p m en t s , i n c lu d ing t h e c o t to n g in a n d r a i l ro a d s , h a d a n im p a c t o n G eo r g ia ’ s g row t h .

d . A n a l y z e t h e even t s t h a t l ed to t h e r em ova l o f C r eek s a n d C h ero kees ; i n c lu d e t h e ro les o f A lexa n d er M c G i l l i v r ay, W i l l i a m M c I n to sh , S eq u oya h , J o h n Ro ss , Da h lo n eg a G o ld Ru sh , Wo r c es te r v . G eo r g ia , A n d r ew J a c k so n ,

J o h n M a r sh a l l , a n d t h e Tr a i l o f Tea r s .

History SS8H5

The student

will explain

significant

factors that

affected the

development

of Georgia as

part of the

growth of the

United States

between 1789

and 1840.

1 . How would a la rger popu lat i on increase Georg ia ’s st rengt h in the nat iona l governme nt ?

2 . Give example s o f how Georg ia ’s new leg i s lat i on encourage d growth and deve lop m e nt .

Exp la in the estab l i s h m e nt o f the Un ivers i ty o f Georg ia , Lou isv i l le , and the spread of Bapt i st

and Method i s t churche s .

3 . Why was i t important for the state cap i ta l to be centra l l y located and l i st the f i ve cap i ta l

c i t ies o f Georg ia?

4 . Exp la in how the C hattaho oc h ee R iver came to be Georg ia ’s western boundar y and which

nat ive groups ceded land to Georg ia .

5 . Eva luate the impact o f l and po l i c ie s pursued by Georg ia ; by compar in g the headr ight a n d

lo tter y system s of l and d i st r ibu t io n . How d id the state ’s lo tter y syste m so lve the prob lem of

l and specu lat i o n ?

6. Descr ibe the react ion of Georg ia c i t i zens when they learned of the Yazoo Land Fraud and

what Georg ia lost in th i s f raudu le nt t ransact i o n?

7 . Exp la in how technolo g i ca l deve lo pm e nt s , inc lud in g the cotton g in and ra i l roads , had an

impact on Georg ia ’s g rowth .

8 . Ana lyze the events that led to the remova l o f C reeks and C herokees ; inc lude the ro les o f

A lexand er McGi l l i v ray, Wi l l i am McInto s h , S equoya h , John Ross , Dah lone ga Go ld Rush ,

Worcester v. Georg ia , Andrew Jackson , John Marsha l l , and the Tra i l o f Tears .

UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

CREEKS ARE FORCED TO CEDE MORE

LAND

After 1802, state

lawmakers in

Louisvil le wanted

to gain control

over al l terr itory

belonging to

Georgia.

This meant

gett ing the

Indians to cede

their lands.

Slowly but surely,

the Indians

moved out.

Each t ime the Native Americans ceded land to the state, Georgia off ic ials faced the question of how to distr ibute i t .

Sel l ing the land would br ing in money needed for roads, schools, and other public services.

On the other hand, giving the land away would encourage more people to come to Georgia.

State leaders decided to favor population

growth and decided to give away the land.

Surveyors were paid $2.75

a mile to map out the

available land and divide

the land into tracts.

Each tract of land was

numbered and staked and

those who were entitled to

land could then choose

which tract of land they

wanted to claim.

They would remove the

stake from the ground,

return it to the surveyors

office and the land would

then be registered to the

owner of that land.

HEADRIGHT SYSTEM OF LAND

DISTRIBUTION

At first, Georgia distributed land under the headright system.

1. The male head of a family was entitled to 200

acres of unclaimed land for himself, plus 50

acres for each member of his family.

2. There was a limit of 1,000 acres per family.

3. Veterans of the Revolutionary War were

entitled to additional acres—ranging from 288

acres for privates to 1,955 acres for generals.

Each person receiving a grant of land was free to

go out and claim the best vacant land available.

This type of land distribution was going

very well until…..

WHO WAS ELIGIBLE TO OWN LAND UNDER THE

HEADRIGHT SYSTEM OF LAND DISTRIBUTION?

LOUISIANA PURCHASE

THE UNITED STATES WANTS CONTROL OF THE

MISSISSIPPI RIVER FOR TRADE.

The United States wanted access to the Mississippi River. Up unti l this t ime the French held control of the r iver and New Orleans.

The French were in need of money due to wars fought in Europe. The French owned land west of the Mississippi River and the United States wanted to buy the land.

President Thomas Jef ferson sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to Paris to negotiate the purchase of a tract of land on the lower Mississippi and New Orleans for 7 mill ion dol lars.

• They were both surprised and delighted when the French offered to sell their

whole territory, for 10 million dollars they immediately negotiated the treaty. 1803

• At one stroke the United States would double its size, an enormous tract of land

would be open to settlement, and the free navigation of the Mississippi would be

assured.

LOUISIANA PURCHASE

At one stroke the Louisiana

Purchase affected the

United States in the

following ways:

1. Doubled its size

2. An enormous tract of

land was open to new

settlement

3. Free navigation of the

Mississippi would be

assured.

Free navigation of the

Mississippi would be

assured and land in the

west becomes popular.

YAZOO LAND

If you remember, after the

French and Indian war the

United States gained all land

east of the Mississippi River.

Georgia gained land as well

and this land west of the

Chattahoochee River This land

was known as Yazoo Land.

The Yazoo land fraud become

one of the most significant

events in the post-

Revolutionary history of

Georgia.

Yazoo Land

Owned

by Georgia after

the French and

Indian War

Land Grants and corruption by political officers would

briefly put Georgia in the national spotlight.

Governor Mathews granted a million and a half

acres to a single man which violated the Headright

System.

Under the headright system one man could only

own 1,000 acres but Georgia governors accepted

money as a bribe to allow some settlers to own more

than 1,000 acres of land.

Many of these men turned around and sold the land

given to them for a large profit.

CORRUPTION IN GEORGIA

YAZOO LAND FRAUD

• In addition, in 1794 four land

companies bribed the governor to

pass a bill through the General

Assembly that sold them land

west of the Chattahoochee River.

• 35,000,000 acres of land was

sold for $500,000, about 1 ½ cent

per acre.

• Now, instead of being given the

land through the Headright

System, settlers would have to

buy the land from the land

companies.

•When this was discovered, the

people of Georgia spoke out.

Eventually the federal

government stepped in and

determined that the land was

sold in a fraudulent transaction.

•The Federal Government

required that the land contracts

be burned and the land rights be

returned to Georgia for

distribution for settlers.

These four companies had

already begun to sell the Yazoo

Land at a profit and those who

bought the land from the four

companies did not want to give

up their the land they had

purchased.

The Federal Government offered

to refund their money but they

refused.

The land was more valuable to

them than money.

YAZOO LAND FRAUD

THE PROBLEM WAS….

Georgia Assembly

members burning Yazoo

documents in Louisville.

RESULT OF THE YAZOO LAND FRAUD

Because of this corruption, the Georgia General Assembly had to

1. Refund all money

2. Pay fines to the federal government

3. Give up all its lands in the west of the Chattahoochee river to the Federal Government.

This created Georgia's final natural boundary and set the Chattahoochee River as Georgia’s western boundary

l ine.

Georgia ended the unregulated system of land speculation in

favor of a lottery system to dispose of public lands. This

began the first Land lottery in 1802.

These lotteries were unique to the state;

no other state used a lottery system to

distribute land.

Lot size varied widely, even in the

individual lotteries.

Almost 3/4 of the land in present-day

Georgia was distributed under this

lottery system.

During the 27 years that land was

distributed under the system the rules

and the methods of the lottery remained

virtually unchanged.

TO AVOID

CORRUPTION

IN LAND

DISTRIBUTION

THE LOTTERY

SYSTEM

REPLACED

THE

HEADRIGHT

SYSTEM IN

GEORGIA

Seven times between 1805 and 1832

Georgia used a lottery system to

distribute the land.

1. White Males over the age of 18

2. Widows

3. Revolutionary War Heroes

APPLICANTS FOR THE LAND LOTTERY

Fees depended on the lottery and the size of the lot won.

Those eligible would buy a lottery number that was in turned entered into the drawing for land.

Lottery numbers were issued and placed in a barrel

Lots were entered into one barrel and lottery numbers in the other.

If your number was called you would win the lot pulled.

Preparation for this activity.

Copy the characters for this activity and place in a bag

Copy one set of the numbered pages and place this set of numbers into separate bags.

Cut apart all lot numbers and descriptions. Put all the good land in one bag (A) and the bad land in the other (B). If a white male is drawn then give land from bag (A) IF they give you a bribe. If the other character is drawn then give land from bag (B).

As students enter the room allow them to pull from a bag their character. Amount of lottery chances depends on the character. Out of one bag of numbers disperse the lottery chances according to how many lottery chances each character receives. Keep the other bag of numbers in your safe keeping. Remember, you as the teacher are the auctioneer so look the part and remember to wear a cowboy hat.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE LAND LOTTERY

DIRECTIONS FOR THE LAND LOTTERY

Preview the lots for sale before you begin and the lay of each lot . Place al l lot numbers and descriptions into your hat .

Pull a number from the bag, the person whose number is chosen wil l be al low to pull from the hat a lot . Have a student in the class keep track of which characters win the most land during the lottery.

Hopefully students wil l see that r ich white males gained more access to land during this t ime and though Georgia tr ied to prohibit corruption i t s t i l l occurred.

You may want to keep a few good lots and sel l them on the s ly to r ich white males who offer you a bribe.