History of Georgia (USA)

Brief summary history of Georgia (USA)

A brief tour of the history of American Georgia summarized.

Georgian Principles

Before the arrival of Europeans, the Cherokees lived in northern Georgia. The Creek lived further south. The first European to visit the area was a Spaniard named Hernando de Soto in 1540. In 1566 the Spanish settled on Santa Catalina Island.

However, after the English attacks, the Spanish abandoned their settlements. Then, in 1732, the British created a colony in Georgia. King George II granted the land between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers for a new colony (it was named after him).

A man named James Oglethorpe also hoped that the poor might get a second chance if they settled in the new colony. But Georgia was also intended as a buffer state to protect the Carolinas from the Spanish in Florida.

The first English settlers arrived in a ship called the Anne on February 12, 1733, led by Oglethorpe. They founded Savannah. In 1736 Oglethorpe founded Fort Frederica. In 1742 the Spanish attacked Georgia but were defeated at the Battle of Bloody Marsh.

At the end of the 18th century the population of Georgia grew rapidly. In 1777 it obtained its first constitution. However, on December 29, 1778, the British captured Savannah. The Siege of Savannah occurred in 1779.

French and American forces attempted to capture the city, but were unsuccessful. The British evacuated Savannah in July 1782. On January 2, 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution.

In 1795 came the Yazoo Land fraud. The state of Georgia claimed land in what is now the state of Mississippi (they were called the Yazoo lands because of the Yazoo River that flows through the area). State legislators were bribed to sell the land at a very low price.

There was public outrage, and in 1796, after the election, the legislature rescinded the law, invalidating the sale. But the land companies had already sold much of the land, making huge profits. The people who had bought the land refused to give up their rights.

In 1802 Georgia ceded the Yazoo lands to the United States government. However, the issue was not resolved until 1814, when the US government paid substantial amounts of money to the claimants.

Georgia in the 19th century

In 1829 there was a gold rush in Georgia, but the economy was heavily dependent on cotton. It also depended on slavery. In 1860, 44% of the population of Georgia were slaves. The Civil War began the following year. On January 19, 1861, Georgia relinquished the union.

However, in 1864 a unionist army entered Georgia. They captured Atlanta on September 2, 1864, and burned the city in November. Then Sherman began his march to the sea. He captured Savannah on December 21, 1864. Following the end of the Civil War in 1865, Georgia slowly recovered. In 1867 she was subjected to a military regime, but in 1870 she was readmitted to the union.

Modern Georgia

In 1908, most African Americans in Georgia were disenfranchised. There were also many lynchings in Georgia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Then, in 1915, the boll weevil reached the state and devastated cotton production.

The depression of the 1930s made economic problems worse. But prosperity returned with World War II. After the war, Georgia industrialized. Georgia became a center of the airline industry.

In the 1960s, segregation ended and African-Americans won the vote. In Maynard Holbrook Jackson Jr. became the first African-American mayor of Atlanta. In 1976 Jimmy Carter, former Governor of Georgia, was elected President.

At the beginning of the 21st century, service industries made up the majority of the Georgian economy. Georgia is known for growing peanuts, cotton, and peaches. In 2018 the population of Georgia was 9.6 million.

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