History of Georgia (U.S. state)
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The History of Georgia ranges from its Pre-Columbian settlement by Native American peoples to its modern status as a rapidly growing part of the United States. In the intervening time, Georgia was a Spanish colony, a British colony, and a member of the Confederate States of America. Georgia has had five "permanent" state capitals: Savannah, Augusta, Louisville, Milledgeville, and Atlanta. (Louisville is pronounced like Lewis [loo-iss], not like Louie [loo-ee], unlike the city in Kentucky that shares the same name.) The legislature has also met in other places temporarily.
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European exploration
At the time of European colonization of the Americas, Cherokee and Creek Indians lived in what is now Georgia. Though it is unknown exactly who was the first European to sight Georgia, it is possible that Juan Ponce de Leon sailed along the coast during his exploration of Florida. In 1526, Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón attempted to establish a colony there, possibly near St. Catherine's Island.
Over the next few decades, a number of Spanish explorers visited the inland region, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. The local moundbuilder culture, described by Hernando de Soto in 1540, had completely disappeared by 1560.
British Colony
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The conflict between Spain and Britain over control of Georgia began in earnest in about 1670, when the British, moving south from their Carolina colony in present-day South Carolina met the Spanish moving north from their base in Florida. In 1724, it was first suggested that what was by then a British colony be called Province of Georgia in honor of King George II.
Massive British settlement began in the early 1730s with James Oglethorpe, an Englishman in the British parliament, who promoted the idea that the area be used to settle people in debtor prison. On February 12, 1733, the first settlers landed in the HMS Anne at what was to become the city of Savannah. This day is now known as Georgia Day, which is not a public holiday, but is mainly observed in schools and by some local civic groups. Oglethorpe was granted a royal charter for the colony of Georgia on June 9, 1732. [1] (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/ga01.htm)
Antebellum U.S. History
During the American Revolutionary War, Savannah came under British and Loyalist control in 1778 with much of its hinterland. At the Siege of Savannah in 1779, American and French troops (the latter including a company of free blacks from Haiti) fought unsuccessfully to retake the city. During the final years of the American Revolution, Georgia had a functioning Loyalist colonial government, and remained the last Loyalist bastion in the 13 colonies, along with New York City and Long Island. Georgia became a U.S. State on January 2, 1788.
The original eight counties of Georgia were Burke, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, and Richmond. Before these counties were created in 1777, Georgia was split into twelve parishes.
In 1829, gold was discovered in the north Georgia mountains, prompting a gold rush. An influx of white settlers pressured the U.S. government to take the land away from the Cherokee Indians, who owned the land. This dispute culminated in the Indian Removal Act of 1830, after which all eastern tribes were sent west to Indian reservations. Also associated with the gold rush, a Federal mint was established in Dahlonega, Georgia and continued to operate until 1861.
Cotton became a major crop in Georgia following the invention of the cotton gin. Slaves worked the fields in large cotton plantations, and the economy of the state became dependent on the institution of slavery.
Civil War
On January 18, 1861 Georgia joined the Confederacy in the American Civil War. The first major battle in Georgia was a Confederate victory at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863. In 1864, William T. Sherman's armies invaded Georgia as part of the Atlanta Campaign. Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston fought a series of delaying battles, the largest being the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, as he retreated toward Atlanta. Johnston's replacement, Gen. John Bell Hood attempted several unsuccessful counterattacks at the Battle of Peachtree Creek and the Battle of Atlanta, but Sherman eventually captured the city on September 2, 1864. After burning Atlanta to the ground, Sherman embarked on his March to the Sea on November 15, en route to Milledgeville, the state capital, which he reached on November 23, and the port city of Savannah, which he entered on December 22. Much of the state was destroyed in this campaign, part of the setting for the book and movie Gone With the Wind. One of the last land battles of the Civil War, the Battle of Columbus, was fought on the Georgia-Alabama border.
During the Civil War, the Confederates maintained Camp Sumter, a prisoner of war camp, at Andersonville, Georgia. Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States of America, was captured at Irwinville, Georgia on May 10, 1865.
Reconstruction
After the Civil War, Union troops under General John Pope occupied Georgia to enforce the Reconstruction Era. At the time, Georgia had more than 400,000 newly freed slaves, and conflicts between "freedmen" and whites led to violent clashes and lynching. On July 15, 1870 Georgia became the last former Confederate state to be readmitted to the Union.
Twentieth Century
In the early 1900s, Georgia's manufacturing and agriculture grew. The boll weevil destroyed much of Georgia's cotton crop in the 1920's, contributing to the economic hardships of the Great Depression. Wartime factory production during World War II helped boost Georgia's economy out of recession.
Georgia was a major battleground in the American Civil Rights Movement. Georgia governor Marvin Griffin pledged to defend racial segregation "come hell or high water". On the other side, Georgians such as Martin Luther King and Ralph McGill worked to end segregation in Georgia. In 1969, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state to finally integrate the public schools.
On February 19, 1953 Georgia became the first U.S. state to approve a literature censorship board in the United States.
External links
New Georgia Encyclopedia (http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Home.jsp)