Running head: GEORGIA

Georgia- The Peach state

American Government

December 7, 2011

The United States constitution is built upon the concept of federalism- the distribution of powers between a central authority and its constituent units. Georgia uses the federalist theory by distributing powers from its state government to the county government and from the county to the city government. Georgia is a historical state; being one of the original thirteen colonies founded in 1733. In 2010, Georgia was said to be the 9th largest state in the US with 9.69 million residents (Georgia USA, 2011, para. 1). Georgia like every other state is quite unique in its origin, development, and agriculture.
The idea for creating a new colony was to serve as a military buffer between the British in South Carolina and the Spanish in Florida (Summers, 2011, para. 3). Prior to 1732 there were many attempts at settling on the land south of the Savannah River. Sir Robert Montgomery of Scotland-one of the many but not the first- “had secured from the Proprietors of Carolina a tract of land between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers to which he gave the grandiloquent name, ‘Margravate of Azilia’ ” (Saye, 1948, p.3). Margravate an eastern European term meaning leader of lineage; Azilia is a Mesolithic European culture (“Margravate of Azilia”, 2011, para.4). (“Margravate of Azilia”, 2011, para. 9)Montgomery envisioned the colony inhabitants as those indentured from poorer English classes. Unfortunately, Montgomery’s ideas were never made into anything more than a plan.
James Oglethorpe of London followed the ideas of Montgomery in which he viewed the colony of Georgia as a haven for people in debtors prison (Taylor, 2011, para. 1).Saye (1948) states that in July 1730 Oglethorpe formed the Georgia Society, to promote his scheme and he resolved not “to confine this charity to prisoners, but to extend it as far as ... funds would allow to all poor families as would be desirous of it" (p. 8). Georgia was considered a proprietary colony “as the term "proprietary" suggests ownership as property rather than the execution of a trust, no more inappropriate label could be chosen for Georgia, as an examination of the Charter will make clear” ( Saye, 1948, p. 12). June 1732 King George the Second granted the royal charter and “the trustees honored the king’s support by giving the venture his name – Georgia”; the charter named twenty one trustees and this was the beginning of the settlement of the original thirteenth colony (Sullivan, 2004, p. 16). Though it was labeled as a proprietary colony it still answered solely to the king.In the charter the king gave the trustees broad powers over the colony and allowed them to make laws without the “customary consent of the colonists” (Coleman, 1991, p. 17).
Oglethorpe and the first group of 114 settlers sailed from London on the ship named ‘Ann’ in November 1732 and landed at Savannah with the approval of Chief Tomochichi of the local Yamacraw Indians on February 12, 1733 (Sullivan, 2003, p. 17). Sullivan (2003) notes that as the town grew so would the ward system of Savannah (p. 18). Oglethorpe understood the need to establish proper defenses; he immediately fortified an inland outpost at Fort Argyle and the Thunderbolt Fort as well as had good relations with the local creeks. To solidify his positions Oglethorpe signed a formal peace treaty with many of the local lower creek chiefs; upon his return to England in May of 1734, he presented Tomochichi to the royal court (Sullivan, 2003, p.19).
The government of the colony was different than the colonies before it; none of the trustees could hold office or own land as a result of the charter. Oglethorpe was given no official title “nor the usual prerogatives of a governor”; he was given only the general power to “administer oaths, parcel out land, issue licenses to those who wished to leave the province” (Coleman, 1991, p. 21). Georgia was a poor colony from the beginning and by 1737 the conditions worsened. According to (Sullivan, 2003, p. 20) Oglethorpe and the trustees placed a prohibition on the importation and distribution of rum as well as the importation of slaves; this and other issues within the colony led to “resentment among many of the Georgia colonists”. Coleman (1991) points out that by 1742 the rum act was violated and openly ignored; he also states that “Oglethorpe was determined that Negroes be excluded from the colony” (p. 35). Oglethorpe believed that slaves were useless for defense and the type of crops being grown could be done by the white farmers. Although the trustees hoped to keep slavery excluded from the colony; in 1749 the trustees of Georgia made the repeal to the 1735 act banning slavery; in January of 1750 the new act was set in place, and slavery was legal in Georgia.
1743 marked the year the Spanish were defeated at the battle of Bloody Marsh and Oglethorpe returned to England relinquishing ties to Georgia but still keeping up with its events (Sullivan, 2003, p. 25). From 1743 to 1787 Georgia went through various leaders until becoming the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on January 2, 1788. During the 1760’s there were two distinct political groups brewing in Georgia: one was fiercely loyal to king George the third and the other was promoting independence (Sullivan, 2003, p. 35).
By the 1770’s Georgia was in turmoil. In 1774 Georgia hadn’t selected a representative for the first continental congress but by the time the second continental congress assembled Georgia elected a delegate to attend the conference (Golden, 2011, para.1). The second continental congress drew up the Declaration of Independence and in July of 1776 it was signed. January 2, 1788 Georgia – the youngest colony- was “the first state in the south and the fourth state in the nation to ratify the constitution. She was a small state, but her action was significant…” (Saye, 1948, p. 133).
Georgia’s early economy consisted mainly of plantation farming. Savannah, Georgia was primarily a cotton producing region; pecans and tobacco were also a thriving force in the development of the economic welfare (Black, 2000, p.93). During the late 1700’s the high demand of raw cotton shipped from US southern states to Britain increased the number of slaves required to work the fields. In 1793 the invention of the cotton gin lead to massive increase in the production of short staple cotton and slaves (Black, 2000, p.93). By 1860 there were 68,000 farms in the state, and they produced 700,000 bales of cotton (“Georgia Agriculture”, 2011, para. 6).
Today agricultural outputs consist of “poultry and eggs, pecans, peaches, peanuts, rye, beef dairy and cattle, pork and hogs, turf grass, tobacco, and vegetables”; pecans, peanuts ,and sweet potatoes being the most important and top producers (“History of Georgia”, 2011, para. 6). Agriculture is Georgia’s oldest and largest industry and it plays the most dominant role in Georgia’s economy; it has played the more dominant role since the 1700’s. Holding nicknames such as- The Peach State and The Goober State, Georgia symbolizes a prominent and ever growing agriculture.
There are 15 Fortune 500 companies and nearly 26 Fortune 1000 companies with headquarters in Georgia such as: names Home Depot, UPS, Coca Cola, Delta Air Lines, AFLAC, Southern Company, and SunTrust Banks (“History of Georgia”, 2011, para. 6). The metropolitan Atlanta area offers its own form of economic value; it is a well know tourist location -attracting more than 60 million visitors annually- that has seen large growth in its real estate, services, and communications industries.
In addition, Georgia USA (2011) finds that Georgia nonprofit arts organizations have produced a return of more than $6.1 million to counties and cities in the form of sales tax revenue; the arts industry contributes more than $350 million in economic impact to the state (para. 10). According to GCA Director Karen L. Paty, “The Tourism Product Development grants awards will support nonprofit arts organizations and individual artists in a way Georgia Council for the Arts has not been previously able to do,” “This grant award creates the opportunity as well as provides the resources to support and generate increased awareness of the impact the arts industry has on the state's economy.”
Georgia has around 70 public colleges, universities, and technical colleges around the state not including the 45 private higher learning institutions such as: Spelman College, Morehouse College, University of Georgia, etc. Just about “78 percent of Georgians 25 years and older are high school graduates and over 24 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher” states (Georgia USA, 2011, para. 5).
“Wisdom, Justice, Moderation” the three pillars represent the three branches of Georgia’s government. “‘Wisdom’, meaning that the legislature should be wise in making the laws; ‘Justice,’ that the courts should be just in their decisions; ’Moderation,’ that the executive should administer the laws without severity” (Evans, 1908, p. 152). Georgia’s government is broken down much like the federal government there are three branches: executive, legislative, and the judicial. In the executive branch “the chief official is the Governor who is elected by the voters for a four-year term, with two consecutive terms allowed” (“Executive”, 2011, para. 1). According to Executive (2011) the governor can propose new programs and laws for the state, has the right to propose a state budget for the legislature to consider, and can veto legislation and appoint members of many of the boards in state government (para.1). Also Executive (2011) acknowledges that “Georgia’s Constitution provides for several constitutional officers who are the heads of executive departments and are elected directly by the voters for four-year terms” and in the constitution the authority of the offices is stated (para. 2). Currently the governor of Georgia is Nathan Deal, In 1777 the Georgia general assembly was created as what is now the legislative branch of the government; at the time of the general assembly “the legislature consisted of a single house, but in 1789 it became a bicameral body, consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate” (“legislature”, 2011, para.1). According to Legislature (2011) Georgia’s legislature the House of Representatives and the senate powers are quite similar apart from the fact that; bills originate in the house and the confirmation of governor appointments lye with the senate (para. 2). The two must work together before any bill can be made into a law.
The judicial branch of the state government consists of limited court jurisdiction, general and appellate jurisdiction (“Judicial”, 2011, para. 1). Judicial (2011) notes that:
Courts of limited jurisdiction generally hear less serious cases. In this category are: (1) magistrate courts, which issue search warrants, try violations of county ordinances and hear civil suits under $15,000; (2) probate courts, which probate wills, administer estates and in some counties handle traffic cases; (3) state courts of counties, which hear civil cases and misdemeanor criminal cases and (4) juvenile courts, which hear cases involving youths under seventeen (para. 2).
With general jurisdiction any civil or criminal cases may be tried while all felonies must be tried (“Judicial”, 2011, para.3). Appellate court is much like the Supreme Court meaning it doesn’t try cases but hears appeals of the lower courts (“Judicical”, 2011, para. 4).
Gwinnett County was named after Button Gwinnett-one of Georgia representatives of the second continental congress (Sullivan, 2003, p. 38). Gwinnett was the state’s 42nd county. According to (“The Form of Government”, 2011, para. 3) the county has the power to: to levy taxes, make appropriations, and fix the rates of all other charges; to authorize the incurring of indebtedness; to order work done where the cost is to be assessed against benefited property and fix the basis for such assessment; to authorize and provide for the execution of contracts; to establish, alter, open, close, build, repair, or abolish public roads, bridges, and ferries according to law; to establish, abolish, or change election precincts and militia districts; to exercise all powers, duties, and authority formerly imposed upon or vested in the Commissioners of Roads and Revenues in respect to zoning and planning; and to call elections for bond referendums.
Gwinnett governs 15 cities; one of which is Snellville whose motto is “Where everybody is proud to be somebody”. Snellville operates under a council manager form of government; “The City Manager is appointed by the Council and works with them on policy creation and then manages staff concerning implementation” (“City Government”, 2011, para. 1).
As much as one would like to erase how Georgia was built from the hands of black slaves. One must not ignore the significance of slavery and how it shaped what Georgia is today. Some counties in Georgia are still victims of a way of living that reflect a time of segregation. Amazingly, there are schools that have segregated events, such as Prom. One would think that in today’s era, society would have developed stronger respect for one another and the beliefs that we are all equal.
Despite the governmental challenges Georgia has faced, it has provided a rich history and took part in the development of where we are today as a nation. This is a society that is always in transition working towards a quality of life through the building blocks of its past. Georgia has gone through many transitions; from becoming a colony dependant on Britain, a slave state to a state ever prosperous in growth and economic value. Today, Georgia is flourishing with great attractions from Museums, Arts, Sports and Entertainment to lifestyle reality TV shows.