Georgia Land Policies

Mrs. Kim West8th Grade Georgia Studies

Chapter 6, Section 2GPS: 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

Picture Credit: pantherslodge.com

Savannah RiverYazoo River

Mississippi River

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.clanmcalister.org/images/yazoomap.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.ac.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• 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