Student Question
What is the history of Georgia from 1800 to 1860?
Quick answer:
Important events in Georgia's history from 1800 to 1860 included the resolution of the Yazoo Land Fraid issue, the Georgia Gold Rush, the forced removal of native peoples, the expansion of the railroad and growth of the industry, and the growth of the plantation system.
The early and mid-nineteenth century was a transformational time for the state of Georgia. Some of the more important events that occurred in the state during this period are described below.
In 1800, the state was still dealing with the turmoil of the Yazoo Land Fraud that began in the previous decade. Multiple legal challenges culminated in the Supreme Court Case of Fletcher v. Peck in 1810. It was ruled that the Georgia legislature could not repeal the original sale of these lands, despite the bribery that had occurred. This was the first time the Supreme Court invalidated a state law.
In 1828, gold was discovered in the northern part of the state. This led to the Georgia Gold Rush. There was a surge in settlers, which resulted in conflicts with the native population, particularly with the Cherokee. This is partly the cause of the Indian Removal Act of 1830,...
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which resulted in the forced migration of the Cherokee and several other native peoples in what became known as the Trail of Tears. A lottery system distributed former Cherokee land to white settlers and gold prospectors in 1832.
The spread of the railroad beginning in the 1830s transformed Georgia. Atlanta was founded in 1837 as the terminus of the area's rail system and quickly grew into one of the major cities of the region. By the Civil War, Georgia was better connected by railroad than any of the other states in the deep south. It also allowed Georgia to become one of the South's most industrialized states.
Throughout this period, the plantation system expanded rapidly. Large plantations run by an elite class of landowners kept vast numbers of slaves to work their properties. Rice and cotton were the major cash-crops from Georgia. Most white Georgians were not part of this process. Rather, they tended to own small farms that struggled to compete with the plantations. However, the bulk of the Georgian economy was derived from the plantation system. That contributed to growing nation-wide tensions as the abolitionist movement took off in the North beginning in the 1830s. By 1860, many Georgians felt threatened enough by the growing state of abolition in the country to declare secession the following year.
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