GEORGIA 



2458 



GEORGIA 



the Atlantic Coast Line having the greatest 

 mileage. Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, Macon, 

 Columbus, Athens and Waycross have become 

 important railroad centers, and Savannah is 

 also one of the chief seaports of the South. 

 In the harbor of the city the United States 

 government has excavated a channel twenty- 

 six feet deep. 



The commerce of Georgia with the other 

 states is large, chiefly owing to its production 

 of cotton and marble; for, while the manufac- 

 ture of cotton products is ever increasing, by 

 no means all the raw material is used in the 

 state. Cotton goods, too, are exported, as well 

 as lumber and other forest products, while the 

 imports consist of those manufactured articles 

 and food products not raised with profit. 



Government. Georgia is governed under a 

 constitution which dates from 1877. Since 

 that time no exceedingly important amend- 

 ments have been made, but the legislature of 

 1907 passed several statutes which are of the 

 utmost importance. One of these, which went 

 into effect on January 1, 1908, in spite of vio- 

 lent opposition, provided for statewide prohibi- 

 tion; the other concerned itself with suffrage. 

 By the terms of the latter law, which had as 

 its object the elimination of the negro vote, 

 no one has the right of suffrage unless he can 

 read intelligently or write accurately from dic- 

 tation a paragraph from the Federal or the 

 state constitution. That this may not deprive 

 illiterate white citizens of the vote, there are 

 other provisions, which allow certain property 

 or patriotic qualifications to take the place of 

 the educational one. 



The executive department of the govern- 

 ment is in the hands of a governor, secretary of 

 state, comptroller, treasurer, attorney-general, 

 commissioner of agriculture, state superin- 

 tendent of schools, state geologist and state 

 librarian, all of whom are elected for two 

 years. After he has served two terms con- 

 secutively, the governor may not be reflected 

 for four years. 



The legislative department consists of a 

 house of representatives and a senate, the lat- 

 ter body having forty-four members and the 

 former not more than 184. Members of each 

 house are elected for two years and the legis- 

 lature holds annual sessions of not more than 

 fifty days. 



The judicial power is vested in a supreme 

 court consisting of a chief justice and five asso- 

 ciates, chosen for six years by popular vote; 

 a court of appeals composed of three members, 



also elected by the people for a term of six 

 years; and superior courts, which are held in 

 each judicial district. There are also courts 

 of ordinary, justices of the peace, and solicitors- 

 general for each judicial district. 



History. Georgia, which was named for 

 George II of England, was the most southerly 

 of the thirteen original colonies. Its territory 

 was explored in 1540 by De Soto, and in 1562 

 Ribault sailed along its shores. The Spaniards, 

 seeking everywhere for gold, sank their mines 

 in its mountains, and though they found no 

 gold they discovered traces of other metals 

 sufficient to lead them to oppose the efforts 

 of the English to seize the land, for Georgia 

 was a part of the original Carolina grant. 



Colonial Period. In 1732 the British govern- 

 ment ceded the territory to a company or- 

 ganized to "establish the colony of Georgia in 

 America," and very early in the next year 

 James Oglethorpe landed with his first colo- 

 nists. His object was to found a settlement 

 where poor debtors from England and Protes- 

 tants who had been driven by persecution from 

 Europe might find a refuge. Savannah was 

 established in 1733, but even under its liberal 

 government the colony was not exceedingly 

 prosperous. The Spaniards of the neighboring 

 territories never ceased their aggressions, and 

 in 1740 the Georgian colonists were involved 

 in actual war with, them, proving themselves, 

 though unsuccessful, brave and skilful fighters. 



Oglethorpe returned to England in 1743, and 

 affairs in the colony became worse and worse. 

 Slavery and rum, which by the original rules 

 of the colony were forbidden, were introduced 

 in 1749. Three years later the colony gave up 

 its charter, and was organized as a royal 

 province under the control of the British Par- 

 liament. If left to itself, Georgia would have 

 continued quietly under this rule, for there 

 was little cause for complaint given; but the 

 spirit of the other colonies affected it also, 

 and it sent delegates to the Continental Con- 

 gress. During the War of the Revolution that 

 followed, Georgia bore its part, and as a result 

 suffered at the hands of the British. 



Early Years of Statehood. In 1778 Georgia 

 ratified the Articles of Confederation, and ten 

 years later was among the first to ratify the 

 Federal Constitution. The most pressing ques- 

 tions in these early years of statehood con- 

 cerned the Creek and Cherokee Indians, who 

 during most of the history of the colony had 

 been distinctly unfriendly. Control of the In- 

 dian lands was eagerly sought, and in 1802 the 



