How the Georgia state map was drawn

The state of Georgia was established in 1732 as one of the original thirteen colonies of what became the United States. Named after King George II of Great Britain, the state also later became one of the original seven Confederate states ahead of the American Civil War. It is the 24th largest American state in terms of geographical area covered. This article explains in detail how the Georgia state map was drawn.

Present boundaries & colonial origins

The Georgia state map currently shows that its eastern border is formed by the Atlantic Ocean as well as South Carolina.The state of Florida is located to the south, Alabama lies to the west, while North Carolina and Tennessee are found in the north. Boundary specifications In more specific terms, Georgia's eastern boundary with South Carolina goes up the line of the Savannah River, before heading northwest to its origin at the confluence of the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers, and then running up the Tugaloo and into the Chattooga River. This line was decided in the 1787 Treaty of Beaufort. The border and Cherokee territory This treaty was crucial to the shape of modern Georgia, and is also known as the Beaufort Convention. However, it was far from a 'cut and dried' arrangement, largely due to the fact that the full area specified in the treaty had not been fully surveyed. Elements of the border were therefore unclear, with some areas specified also being Cherokee territory at the time. A further treaty of 1816 clarified the border of the two states, though there were two legal challenges in the 20th Century, in 1922 and 1989, regarding the boundaries, revolving largely around islands in the Tugaloo River.

Other points

Removal of Cherokee tribes Another important event in Georgia's history which helped to shape the boundaries of the state was the forced removal of the Cherokee and other eastern tribes as a result of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This legislation, which in a modern context basically amounted to 'ethnic cleansing', resulted in the Native Americans sent to reservations in Oklahoma. Consequences This resulted in the deaths of around 4,000 Cherokees, and also saw the national government of Andrew Jackson, as well as the state government of Georgia, ignore an 1832 Supreme Court ruling (Worcester versus Georgia) that states could not redraw the boundaries of Indian lands. Causal factors of this eviction This has happened as a result of gold strikes in Georgia, with an influx of settlers putting pressure on the government to take the Indians' land from them.