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French and Indian War
Also known as the Seven Years’ War, this New World conflict marked another chapter in the long imperial struggle between Britain and France. A series of battles led to the official British declaration of war in 1756. It ended in 1763. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763. King George III following Great Britain 's acquisition of French territory in North America after the end of the French and Indian War / Seven Years' War, in which it forbade all settlers from settling past a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains. -
Stamp Act of 1765
An act of the British Parliament in 1756 that exacted revenue from the American colonies by imposing a stamp duty on newspapers and legal and commercial documents. Colonial opposition led to the act's repeal in 1766 and helped encourage the revolutionary movement against the British Crown. -
Intolerable Acts of 1774
The Intolerable Acts was the American Patriots ' name for a series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea party. They were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in throwing a large tea shipment into Boston harbor. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is the statement adopted by the Continental Congress meeting at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. -
Button Gwinett
Button Gwinnett was a British-born American political leader who, as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress, was one of the signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence. -
George Walton
George Walton signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia and also served as the second Chief Executive of that state. -
Lyman Hall
Lyman Hall (April 12, 1724 – October 19, 1790), Physician, clergyman, and statesman, was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia. Hall County is named after him. -
Georgia Constitution of 1777
ARTICLE I. The legislative, executive, and judiciary departments shall be separate and distinct, so that neither exercise the powers properly belonging to the other.
ART. II. The legislature of this State shall be composed of the representatives of the people, as is hereinafter pointed out; and the representatives shall be elected yearly, and every year, on the first Tuesday in December; and the representatives so elected shall meet the first Tuesday in January. -
Battle of Kettle Creek
The Battle of Kettle Creek (February 14, 1779) was a major encounter in the back country of Georgia during the American Revolutionary War. It was fought in Wilkes County about eight miles (13 km) from present-day Washington, Georgia. A militia force of Patriots decisively defeated and scattered a Loyalist militia force that was on its way to British-controlled Augusta. -
Austin Dabney
Austin Dabney (c. 1765-1830) was a slave who fought against the British in the American Revolutionary War. He was born a mulatto slave in Wake County, North Carolina, sometime in the 1760s. He was apart of a militia. -
Elijah Clarke
The following year, he commanded militia against Creek raiders. As a lieutenant colonel in the state minutemen, Clarke received another wound at the Battle of Alligator Bridge, Florida. Then on February 14, 1779, as a lieutenant colonel of militia, Clarke led a charge in the rebel victory at Kettle Creek, Georgia. -
Nancy Hart
Georgia's most acclaimed female participant during the Revolutionary War (1775-83) was Nancy Hart. A devout patriot, Hart gained notoriety during the revolution for her determined efforts to rid the area of Tories, English soldiers, and British sympathizers. Her single-handed efforts against Tories and Indians in the Broad River frontier, as well as her covert activities as a patriot spy, have become the stuff of myth, legend, and local folklore. -
Siege of Savannah
The siege of Savannah, the second deadliest battle of the Revolutionary War (1775-83), took place in the fall of 1779. It was the most serious military confrontation in Georgia between British and Continental (American revolutionary) troops, as the Americans, with help from French forces, tried unsuccessfully to liberate the city from its yearlong occupation by the British. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first written constitution of the United States. Stemming from wartime urgency, its progress was slowed by fears of central authority and extensive land claims by states before was it was ratified, or made effective, on March 1, 1781.Under these articles, the states remained sovereign and independent, with Congress serving as the last resort on appeal of disputes. Congress was also given the authority to make treaties and alliances,and maintain armed forces. -
Abraham Baldwin
In commemoration of Constitution Day, the society is displaying Abraham Baldwin’s draft copy of the Constitution, one of only 13 copies in existence. Baldwin was one of Georgia’s signers in 1787.He also helped create the bicameral legislature. -
William Few
William Few, Jr. was an American politician and a farmer, and a businessman and a Founding Father of the United States. William represented the U.S. state of Georgia at the Constitutional Convention. Also former U.S Senator -
U.S Constitution
The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. -
Bill of Rights
I.Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion and Petition II.Right to keep and bear arms III.Conditions for quarters of soldiers IV.Right of search and seizure regulated V.Provisons concerning prosecution VI.Right to a speedy trial, witnesses, etc. VII.Right to a trial by jury VIII.Excessive bail, cruel punishment IX.Rule of construction of Constitution X.Rights of the States under Constitution
