Introduction
The history of Georgia is an interesting one. Of course the first people in Georgia were the Native Americans who were in Georgia when the Egyptians were building the pyramids! Several Spanish explorers including Hernando de Sota were in Georgia as early as 1540.
In 1732 Georgia was formally recognized as a British Colony and was founded by James Oglethorpe who envisioned the colony as a refuge for the debtors who were in London prisons even though the original Georgia colonists did not include any debtors. The colonial period also saw the secession of lands by the creek Indians, and the revolutionary war.
The Civil War was a major event in the history of Georgia and several battles were fought in the state including Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, and Sherman's March to the Sea. After the Civil War Georgia rebuilt itself and become known as the Empire State of the South.
The 20th Century saw several developments in Georgia's history including the Civil Rights movement, and the election of Jimmy Carter to the presidency of the United States.
Activities
In this activity you will lean about one of Georgia's worst political scandals, the Yazoo Land Fraud. At that time, Georgia's legal boundary extended west to the Mississippi River. Many state leaders wanted to open this area to settlement, but Creeks, Cherokees, and other Native Americans lived there. If they could be persuaded to leave, then whites could settle the large expanse of land, greatly increasing Georgia's population, and bringing profit to those who sold the land. This event was not only a scandal it changed the borders of Georgia forever..