Georgia-America Comparative Timeline

By Araura

  • Georgia: Before English Settlers

    Before the Trustees arrived to colonize Georgia, there were many diverse and complex native cultures - organized as chiefdoms - that emerged and made lives in the multitude of environmental zones in Georgia. This entry signals the early history of the state, prior to the British, and has great importance to the cultural diversity and past of the state.

  • America: Trustees are Granted a Charter to Establish a New Colony

  • Georgia: Colonists Arrive

    James Oglethorpe and other colonists arrive in Georgia, soon settling in Savannah, and establishing the first capitol of the new colony. Georgia, which was named after King George II, was the last of the 13 colonies. This entry signals the start of Georgia considered as an American colony, rather than just extra land of the New World.

  • America: The Molasses Act is Passed; Taxing Colonists on Imports from Non-British Foreign Colonies

  • Georgia: Battle of Bloody Marsh

    The battle on St. Simon's Island was a retaliation from a previous, unsuccessful attack on St. Augustine. England and Spain had been clashing over the borders of their states for years. After the unsuccessful attack, the Spanish waited two years and sent 5,000 soldiers to invade the youngest British colony; Oglethorpe's men were able to defend and defeat the Spanish, preserving Georgia as a British colony (a huge fact in Georgia's history in becoming part of America).

  • America: Colonists join the fight in King George's War (War of the Austrian Succession)

  • Georgia: Trustee Rule Ends

    The Trustee Period ends, and Georgia officially becomes a royal colony, run by the Crown. Royal Governors are appointed, rather than Trustees from England to run the colony. This info is included because the weakened Trustee rules and regulations opened a door for slavery to become legal in the Georgia colony, when it once was not allowed.

  • America: French and Indian War Begins (7 Years' War)

  • Georgia: No Representation at Continental Congress Meetings

    Georgians resisted British trade regulations along with other colonists, but still desired presence of British troops and felt that the mercantile system was working well. With lingering loyalties, Georgia did not send a delegate to the first Continental Congress meeting, and did not know if they wanted to go to the second. After the battle of Lexington and Concord, Georgia felt more inclined to rebel.

  • America: Battles of Lexington and Concord (Kickstart to Revolutionary War)

  • America: US Adopts Declaration of Independence

  • Georgia: Joining the United States

    Georgia sent Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton to the Second Continental Congress, where they signed the Declaration of Independence. This was important to add as Georgia finally declared its independence from Britain.

  • Georgia: Battle of Kettle Creek

    This battle was the first major victory for Patriots. The victory by the American Patriot Militia basically ended the loyalist movement in Georgia. Neutral parties and Loyalists were not vocally opposing the rebellion anymore; this was a huge step in the Revolutionary War in Georgia, and is the reason this information is included.

  • Georgia: British Troops Evacuate

    The British evacuate Savannah as the war is coming to an end. They had already left all other cities, and as peace negotiations were being made, Britain decided to begin pulling out troops from the colonies. This is important because it is when the Georgia House of Assembly took control over Georgia for good.

  • America: Treaty of Paris - Britain acknowledges American Independence

  • America: Eli Whitney Invents the Cotton Gin

  • Georgia: Slave Populations Doubled

    The slave population in Georgia actually more than doubled after the invention of the Cotton Gin. And each year, it only kept increasing. Slaves were not as popular before the Cotton Gin, and many slaveholders were beginning to release their slaves, for they no longer needed their labor. This is included in the timeline because it is an important, early start to the future Civil War.

  • America: Louisiana Purchase - Doubles Size of US

  • America: Battle of Tippecanoe Opposing White Settlers

  • Georgia: Gold Rush!

    Gold was discovered in Habersham County, Georgia; afterwards, a gold fever broke out and many people began moving into the region, mining for more. This is an important insert because it was the beginning of the finding of gold in the Native American lands - mostly Cherokee - and the start of the horrific removal of Native People from their own homes and land..

  • America: Indian Removal Bill; Seizure of Cherokee Lands/Homes/Farms

  • Georgia: Starting the Trail of Tears

    President Jackson pushed Congress to approve the Indian Removal Act and ignored their ruling - sending in the National Guard to force the Cherokee people off of their lands. Hundreds of Cherokee Indians traveled north along Crawfish Road in Georgia to a deportation camp at Ross' Landing. Moving to a designated area west of the Mississippi, a brutal journey called the Trail of Tears.

  • Georgia: Founding of Atlanta

    Atlanta was founded as the end of the rail system of the railroads that were connecting Athens, August, Macon, and Savannah. The rail system's line had more miles of rail lines than any other southern states, and paved the way for Georgia to serve as an important home front during the future Civil War and becoming a principal city in the South.

  • America: Abraham Lincoln is Elected President

  • Georgia: Secession Begins

    After two decades of intense altercations between the northern and southern states over the status of slavery - both in the future of the south, as well as the western territories. Once Lincoln became President, the South initiated secession. Georgia was the fifth state, out of seven, to secede and become one of the original states declared as the Confederate States of America. This is important to include because Georgia played a critical role in the Civil War.

  • America: Attack on Fort Sumter, Civil War Begins

  • Georgia: Sherman's March to the Sea

    General William T. Sherman led more than 60,000 soliders on a 285-mile march that started in Atlanta, and ended in Savannah. Sherman was enacting a plan of total war, causing Georgia civilians to abandon the Confederate cause - a pivotal moment in the Civil War, hence the importance of this insert.

  • America: Robert E. Lee Surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant, Ending Civil War

  • America: 14th Amendment is Passed and Required of Southern States to Rejoin Union

  • Georgia: Ratifying 14th Amendment

    Georgia initially rejected the 14th Amendment in 1866, when introduced for consideration. Congress imposed military governments in all the southern states that did not ratify the Amendment, and required them to before providing a representative in Congress and rejoin the United States. Georgia's ratification provided the final necessary vote to place the amendment into effect, making this important to include here.

  • America: Segregation and Black Codes Introduced

  • Georgia: Segregation Laws

    Georgia became the first southern state to pass legislation segregating street cars. After this happened, Black men and women in Atlanta began successfully striking against segregation by blessing and aiding their fellow businesses and institutions of the black community. This is important to mention because many of the activists in this time period, helped shape the ideas and voices of the more common voices we know of the future Civil Rights Movement.

  • Georgia: Boll Weevil Arrives

    The boll weevil became a major issue when it arrived to Georgia, leading to catastrophic drops in cotton production, taking a devastating toll on the state's agricultural economy. This is important because Georgia was already struggling economically after the Civil War, and this made it worsen, and then only to worsen again in the future Great Depression.

  • America: US Soldiers Shipped Overseas to Help Fight in World War II

  • America: 19th Amendment Legally Allows Women to Vote

  • Georgia: No Women Voters

    Georgia voted against ratifying the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote. Even after it was active, federal law in 1920, Georgia women were not allowed to vote until 1922. This insert was important to include to identify that Georgia was very set in its ways, not only with racial divides, but sexism as well. While the rest of the nation was changing, Georgia did not want to. The state legislature actually never officially ratified the amendment until 1970.

  • America: The Great Depression Begins

  • Georgia: The Depression

    The state had already been ravaged by the Civil War, then the boll weevil, and now even more economic hardships awaited. Many rural Georgians had to leave Georgia completely, or at least relocate to a larger city, like Atlanta, to find work. This was an important event in American History, as well as the history of Georgia as it was experienced as a nation.

  • America: Theodore Roosevelt Becomes President

  • Georgia: The New Deal

    This is an important insert because the New Deal that Roosevelt established to help the nation was likely inspired by his time in Georgia. He built his only home in Georgia, and witnessed the poverty, agricultural conditions, and educational problems first hand. He established the New Deal to help Georgia and the rest of the US to fight these issues.

  • America: World War II Ends

  • Georgia: Radios after WWII

    With the American involvement of the war, federal broadcasting policies were in place to restrict what radio stations could play. Supplies and equipment were limited in availability, and station engineers had to make things work with what they had. As the war ended though, Georgia saw a huge increase in the creation of new radio stations. This is important, as Decatur became one of the first stations in America to play songs by African-American Artists.

  • America: Brown v. Board of Edu. "Separate but Equal" is Unconstitutional

  • Georgia: Crumbling Integration Resistance

    Georgia, like many other southern states, opposed the federal ruling in Brown v. Board of Edu. There was a massive resistance for a few years, that prohibited the enactment of the Court's ruling. Luckily, Atlantans launched a HOPE movement to keep public schools open, regardless of integration. Georgia began slowly adjusting to integration of Blacks and Whites after this time period, and it was important to mention here for this reason.

  • America: Civil Rights Movements Pick Up Speed

  • Georgia: Albany Movement

    Many Groups and local activists took part in this movement in Albany, GA. The goal was to end all forms of racial segregation in the city, but more than 1,000 African Americans were jailed - however, they never stopped fighting as they called on MLK Jr. to help their movement. Martin Luther King Jr. arrived, and attracted national media attention, inspiring many more members of the black community to join the protests of the civil rights movements.

  • America: US Joins Vietnam War

  • Georgia: Atlanta Protests Against Vietnam War

    Many opposed the war, feeling that it was unjust and diverted resources and funding away from social, racial, and economical problems the US had been experiencing at home. The Atlanta Alliance for Peace planned a peaceful protest against the war. This was important to mention as it was recognized as the largest anti-war demonstration in the south.

  • America: Fair Housing Act of 1968

  • Georgia: Largest Uprising

    A 16-year old African American boy was beaten to death in the county jail; hundreds of black citizens began gathering to demand an investigation into this tragedy. White officials resisted, and racial injustice protests ensued - where many targeted property. As the riot escalated, police shot and killed six people, and wounded dozens more. The two white police officers were never convicted. A national rallying cry came from this, and protests increased, and accelerated desegregation in Augusta.