history exam study guide

Establishment of the University of Georgia (1785)

First state‑chartered public university in the U.S.; symbolized Georgia’s commitment to education and civic responsibility.

Westward Movement of Georgia’s Capitals

Savannah → Augusta → Louisville → Milledgeville → Atlanta.

Headright System

Land distribution system giving heads of households 200–1,000 acres; encouraged settlement but caused corruption.

Yazoo Land Fraud (1795)

Legislators bribed to sell millions of acres cheaply; scandal led Georgia to give up western lands to the U.S.

Cotton Gin (1793)

Increased cotton production and expanded slavery; boosted Georgia’s economy.

Railroads

Helped Atlanta become a transportation hub; expanded trade and settlement.

William McIntosh

Creek chief who signed Treaty of Indian Springs; executed by his own people for giving up land.

Removal of the Muscogee (Creek)

Forced ceding of Creek lands; opened territory for white settlement and cotton farming.

John Ross

Principal Chief of the Cherokee; led resistance to removal.

John Marshall

Chief Justice who ruled in favor of Cherokee sovereignty in Worcester v. Georgia.

Andrew Jackson

Supported Indian Removal Act; refused to enforce Worcester ruling.

Dahlonega Gold Rush (1829)

Gold discovery increased pressure to remove Cherokee.

Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

Supreme Court ruled Georgia laws didn’t apply in Cherokee territory; ignored by Jackson.

Removal of the Cherokees

Forced removal after Treaty of New Echota.

Trail of Tears (1838–39)

Forced march to Oklahoma; ~4,000 Cherokee died.

Slavery

Central cause of sectional tension; Georgia’s economy depended on enslaved labor.

States’ Rights

Belief that states should have more power; used to defend slavery.

Nullification

Idea that states could ignore federal laws; increased sectional tension.

Compromise of 1850

Admitted California as a free state; strengthened Fugitive Slave Act.

Georgia Platform

Georgia supported the Compromise if the North enforced the Fugitive Slave Act.

Dred Scott Case (1857)

Ruled enslaved people were not citizens; increased tensions.

Lincoln’s Election (1860)

South feared he would end slavery; sparked secession debates.

Debate Over Secession in Georgia

Georgia seceded in January 1861 after heated debate.

Union Blockade

Part of the Anaconda Plan; limited Confederate trade and supplies.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

Declared enslaved people in Confederate states free; shifted war purpose.

Chickamauga (1863)

Major Confederate victory; second‑bloodiest battle of the war.

Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign (1864)

Series of battles leading to the fall of Atlanta.

Sherman’s March to the Sea

Destroyed Confederate resources from Atlanta to Savannah.

Andersonville Prison

Overcrowded Confederate POW camp; ~13,000 Union soldiers died.

Reconstruction

Rebuilding the South and integrating formerly enslaved people.

13th, 14th, 15th Amendments

Abolished slavery, granted citizenship, and protected voting rights.

Reconstruction Plans

Lincoln (lenient), Johnson (lenient but allowed ex‑Confederates), Congressional (strict).

Freedmen’s Bureau

Provided food, education, and legal help; founded schools.

Ku Klux Klan

Used violence to intimidate Black voters.

Removal of Black Legislators (1868)

Black lawmakers expelled; later reinstated by Congress.

Sharecropping

Farmers worked land for a share of the crop; kept many in debt.

Tenant Farming

Farmers rented land; slightly more independence than sharecropping.

New South Era

Movement to modernize the South through industry.

Bourbon Triumvirate

Brown, Colquitt, Gordon; promoted industry and white supremacy.

Henry Grady

“Voice of the New South”; promoted industrial growth.

International Cotton Expositions

Showcased Southern industry; attracted investment.

Tom Watson

Populist leader; later became racist and anti‑Semitic.

Populists

Represented farmers; pushed for reforms.

Jim Crow Laws

Enforced segregation.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Legalized “separate but equal.”

Disenfranchisement

Poll taxes, literacy tests, white primaries.

1906 Atlanta Race Riot

White mobs attacked Black residents; caused by racial tension.

Booker T. Washington

Promoted vocational education and gradual equality.

W. E. B. DuBois

Promoted immediate equality and higher education.

Alonzo Herndon

Former enslaved man; founded Atlanta Life Insurance Company.

Antisemitism & Leo Frank Case

Frank falsely convicted and lynched; revived the KKK.

Georgia in WWI

Military bases, soldiers, supplies.

Great Depression

Severe economic downturn; Georgia hit hard.

Boll Weevil

Destroyed cotton crops.

Drought

Worsened agricultural collapse.

Eugene Talmadge

Governor who opposed New Deal programs.

New Deal Programs

relief, recovery, reform

FDR’s Ties to Georgia

Visited Warm Springs for polio treatment.

Warm Springs

Inspired rural electrification.

CCC

Built parks and conservation projects.

AAA

Paid farmers to reduce production; hurt sharecroppers.

REA

Brought electricity to rural areas.

SSA

Provided retirement and unemployment benefits.

Lend - Lease Act

supplied allies, boosted Georgia’s ports

Pearl Harbor

Brought U.S. into WWII.

Bell Bomber Plant

Produced B‑29 bombers; created jobs.

Savannah & Brunswick Shipyards

Built Liberty ships.

Richard Russell

Strengthened national defense; brought bases to Georgia.

Carl Vinson

Expanded the U.S. Navy.

William B. Hartsfield

Promoted aviation and peaceful integration.

Ivan Allen Jr.

Integrated city facilities; brought major league sports.

White Primary

Excluded Black voters; ruled unconstitutional.

1946 Governor’s Race

Three governors claimed office; resolved by state Supreme Court.

Brown v. Board

Ended school segregation.

1956 Flag

Added Confederate emblem in protest of integration.

Sibley Commission

Recommended local control of integration.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Led nonviolent movement; from Atlanta.

John Lewis

SNCC leader; major civil rights figure.

SNCC

Youth‑led civil rights organization.

SCLC

Led by MLK; organized marches and boycotts.

Albany Movement

Attempt to desegregate Albany; strategic lessons learned.

March on Washington

MLK delivered “I Have a Dream.”

1964 Civil Rights Act

Ended legal segregation.

Lester Maddox

Segregationist governor; later appointed Black officials.

Maynard Jackson

First Black mayor of Atlanta; expanded airport.

Andrew Young

Civil rights leader; mayor; helped bring Olympics.

Jimmy Carter

Georgia governor and U.S. President; promoted civil rights.

1996 Olympics

Transformed Atlanta; boosted tourism and global recognition.

Savannah Port Expansion

Major economic engine; one of the fastest‑growing U.S. ports.

Film Industry in Georgia

“Hollywood of the South”; major productions filmed in the state.