Yesterday’s Food for Thought
With land being in such high demand,
what are some other problems Georgia may encounter?
MR. THOMPSON8 T H GRADE GEORGIA HISTORY
Land Policies
The Headright System
Late 1700s early 1800s
The HEAD of the family had the RIGHT to own land
Initially, 200 acres would be given. For each additional family
member or slave, you could earn 50 acres per person up to 1000 acres
Mostly replaced in 1803 by….. Wait for it…..
LAND
LOTTERIES!
Land Lotteries
Land west of Oconee River was divided up
Pay for a chance to win land Spin of a wheel Draw from a barrel
White males over 21 could participate
Yazoo Land Fraud
Georgia’s original border Mississippi River and a
tributary the Yazoo River
South Carolina and Spain laid claim to parts of the Yazoo territory
4 land companies bribed the Governor and General Assembly to sell the land
35-50 million acres 1 Acre = 75 yards on a
football field $500,000 1 ½ cents/acre
Public outrage Those who signed it
were run out of town!!!!
Disputed Yazoo Land
Aftermath of Yazoo
Many people didn’t want to sell the land back Lengthy court dispute
US Government pays $4 million to settle Think “Government Bailout”
Georgia loses credibility with the people People lose trust in the Legislature - those who
signed the Yazoo Land Deal lost their jobs, and are run out of the state
Makes Chattahoochee River Western boundary Lose the land that today is Alabama & Mississippi
Thumbs up/down Review
1) Only men could participate in the land lottery2) The Headright system came after the
Revolutionary war3) Land companies only paid 1 ½ cents an acre for
Mississippi and Alabama during the Yazoo land fraud
4) You could get up to 500 acres under the Headright system
5) The land lottery was replaced by the Headright system
6) South Carolina and Tennessee both had claims to the Yazoo land
7) Yazoo was the name of the Georgia Governor’s dog
8) Georgia benefitted from the Yazoo land fraud