Georgia, Jewel of the South # 2 Quiz

Answer: last of 13 original colonies and last to be re-admitted to the Union

Georgia was the last of the original 13 colonies, being established in 1732, and it was the last state to join in the War for Independence in 1775, although it was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution on January 2, 1788.

After the end of the U.S. Civil War, Georgia was the last of the secessionist states to be re-admitted to the Union on July 15, 1870, after having declared its secession from the Union on January 21, 1861.

Answer: True

The colony of Georgia operated under a corporate charter that was given to General James Oglethorpe on April 21, 1732 by King George II of England. Oglethorpe foresaw a colony that would provide aid to those who were in English debtor's prisons, much as Australia was later founded with a similar goal in mind.

He supported very strict laws that many took issue with, such as his insistence that the colony be alcohol-free. His goal of relieving the burden of English debtors, (and the prisons which housed them), made a special allowance for what was termed as England's "worthy poor".

Another motivation for the founding of the colony was so that it could serve as a kind of "buffer zone"; protecting the British colony of Carolina from the Spanish who were occupying Florida.

The colony's charter of 1732 also briefly prohibited slavery under Oglethorpe's protective eyes, and until 1749 slavery was outlawed, but at that time it became a legal practical necessary for economic reasons, mostly to furnish help for the rice plantations along Georgia's coast.

Answer: Alabama and Mississippi

In 1732, Georgia's westernmost boundary was the Mississippi River, but on January 7, 1755, Georgia officially ceased to be a trustee or a "penal colony" and became in actuality a true colony of the crown of England.

In 1758, the province of Georgia was divided into eight PARISHES; another four were added to those in 1765. These lay pretty much along the Atlantic Coastal region. In 1777, the original eight COUNTIES of Georgia were created.

On April 24, 1802, Georgia relinquished parts of its western-most territory over to the U.S. Congress. This strip of land, along with adjacent territories, came to be known as the Mississippi Territory and eventually became the states of Alabama and Mississippi.

Answer: it was a term borrowed from a comedic minstrel show

Jim Crow was the product of a minstrel show. It was a song and dance from 1828 that was done in blackface by a white comedian, (surprise, surprise!). This man was named Thomas Rice.

Following are a few of the lyrics to the song:

"Come listen all you gals and boys,
I'm going to sing a little song,
My name is Jim Crow.
Weel about and turn about and do jis so,
Eb'ry time I weel about I jump Jim Crow."

Jim Crow laws were put into effect in an effort to prevent blacks from enjoying the same freedoms as their white counterparts, and were kept in place until the mid-1960s in some parts of the south. Slowly they were relinquished, sometimes quite unwillingly by those who benefited from them most. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was instrumental in creating an atmosphere that was eventually conducive to their removal from southern society, although the process took many years to begin to show results.

I distinctly remember drinking from a "black" water fountain once in 1961, in a department store. I was only four years old, and I was simply a thirsty little kid. I thought that everyone in the entire store had lost their minds; the uproar was so great. I was roundly scolded by people that I didn't even know for my social faux-pas, and was whisked away rapidly by my 13-year-old brother, who explained the "reality" of the way things were. Profound.

I also remember the first time I went to school with a black person. I was in 5th grade in 1968, and she was in 3rd grade. I can only imagine the mental anguish and terrors that she must have felt as the only black person in a school of over 700 whites. There were no black teachers and no other black students. It was just her, all alone.

Now THAT was bravery at its finest! I don't know her name; otherwise I would post it in honor of her courage!

Answer: Cherokee, North Carolina

The Native Americans were SO inconveniently in the way of the gold that had been found in the mountains of north Georgia, near Dahlonega, that they simply HAD to be removed "for their own good" and relocated far away. (Yes, this is an overly-simplified way of looking at the matter, but humor me, okay?)

"The Trail of Tears" has been clearly marked in places and it runs directly through my town. The few surviving Cherokee who returned from this forced-march were relocated to the hills of western North Carolina to the Cherokee Indian Reservation, but a few escaped and made it back to their homeland, or at least what was left of it.

Ironically, a black friend of mine showed me where some of my ancestors (who were native American Cherokee) were buried, just east of the Alabama border, less than ten miles from where I reside. My friend had walked a portion of the trail, and when he found I was researching my family tree on my mother's side of the family, he volunteered to take me to see the graves of an Indian chieftain, who was my great-great grandfather, and his wife, Mourning Fox.

I am considered white, with Cherokee Indian (along with other bloodlines) mixed into my genetic background, and my friend is black, with white ancestry mixed in.

Answer: Coastal Georgia

There are two schools of thought that lend themselves to the origin of the term; the first being the talent of the folks from Georgia in cracking a whip, as they drove their horse-drawn wagons into central Florida to work in the citrus groves.

The second, and more probable origin, was from the Georgians themselves. Coastal Georgia was settled largely by descendants of Scottish and Irish extraction, and the term "cracker" was used to describe a braggart or a wise-"cracker".

A letter written to the Earl of Dartmouth might help us to understand its original meaning...

"I should explain to your Lordship what is meant by Crackers; a name they have got from being great boasters; they are a lawless set of rascals on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who often change their places of abode."

In other words, it was a derogatory word used to denote a variety of individuals who were fairly rootless, who had a tendency toward bragging, and who lived by their own sets of rules.

Answer: Coastal Georgia, bordering on South Carolina

The Gullah-Geechees of Georgia's "Low Country" along the Atlantic coast derive their name in part from an English-based derivative of a Creole tongue. "Gullah" belongs to a similar tongue to that which is found in Jamaica and other Caribbean nations. The "Geechee" portion of the name probably has its roots in the name of a river that runs through the southeastern Georgia region, the Ogeechee, named so by the Creek Indians.

The name "Ogeechee" is of an uncertain origin, but probably means something like "river of the Uchees", referring to the Yuchi tribal people who lived near it.

Answer: Warm Springs - therapeutic relief for polio

Franklin D. Roosevelt, while he was governor of New York, was stricken with polio. He had heard of the healing powers available in the highly mineralized waters of Warm Springs, and decided to try treatments there.

He later had a house built near the spa town of Warm Springs and spent a great deal of his time in the area. He later died there, in a room in the Little White House, which later became a public museum. If you've never visited the tiny little town of Warm Springs, you will find your visit fascinating. As there are few hotels in the area, you might need to stay overnight in nearby Columbus--at Callaway Gardens or at another nearby venue. Whether you agree with Roosevelt's national and social policies or not, The FDR museum provides a most interesting study of the man who led the country during much of the trying times of the Second World War.

You might also like to read a book based on his life called "F.D.R.'s Funeral Train" by Robert Klara. It describes in candid detail the life and death of the President, and the feelings of Georgians, and indeed of many Americans when they learned of his demise. "F.D.R.'s Funeral Train" traces his last ride on the train that carried his body (with his wife Eleanor aboard) from his beloved Little White House back to his home in Hyde Park, New York. That original train is parked back in the depot at Warm Springs, Georgia, where it has sadly but slowly been allowed to rust away.

Even though I find some of FDR's politics distasteful and a bit too socialistic for my liking, I still could not help but be awed by both my visit to Warm Springs and by reading the very candid look at his life in the book by Robert Klara. I especially felt like weeping as I toured the museum and its grounds. Franklin Delano Roosevelt truly WAS a great man of his era!

Answer: Saint Marys

While all of these locations lie along Georgia's Atlantic coastline, Saint Marys, Georgia sits alongside a river of the same name that separates Georgia from Florida. The ocean is only six miles away from this beautiful town.

Soon after the town was laid out, the area became home to Acadian refugees who had been deported from Canada by the British. These folks were later called "Cajuns", and more famously lived in southern Louisiana for the most part, although some settled in the Caribbean nations as well.

Not only did the French have a presence in the town, the Spanish likewise were active in the area. The first European to land in what is today called Camden County was Captain Jean Ribault in 1562.

Spain was alarmed by the French settlements in the region and sent out a large force of soldiers to take over the area. They then held the area for roughly the next 100 years, and during that time they expended a great effort in their attempts to convert all the native Indians to Christianity.

A group of Franciscan missionaries built a mission in what is now St. Marys. They had received permission to build it by an Indian Queen named Hiacaia, who ruled over a large nearby Indian village.

After many years of difficulty in trying to convert the Indians, however, some of the natives rose up against the Spanish and slaughtered a number of the Spanish priests. Spain then abandoned its settlements and the English, sensing their opportunity to expand their influence in the region, moved in to Saint Marys to protect their own interests further up the coast in Savannah and northwards into the Carolinas.

Spain continued to claim the area, even though they had abandoned their forts, but they completely and irrevocably lost their claim in 1742 during the Battle of Bloody Marsh which occurred on nearby Saint Simons Island. The decisive British victory sealed the fate of the Spanish in Coastal Georgia, and as the French were no longer a threat, strong ties to England were established.

Modern Saint Marys bills itself as the gateway to Cumberland Island National Seashore, which is the largest of Georgia's barrier islands. Tourism is a major source of income for the citizenry, and since the town lies just off of Interstate 95, a good many travelers enjoy stopping by to visit.

It is also home to nearby Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, and therefore has a continuing military presence, long after the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and after the Spanish, the British and the French fighting over the area has long been finished.

Answer: Providence Canyon

Providence Canyon is not a "natural" feature of the land. It owes its beauty and breathtaking vistas to the foibles of man. In the late 1800s, poor farming practices caused erosion and the end result for this area of southwest Georgia is now called Providence Canyon. (Most canyons and gorges are caused by a stream or a river of water that naturally flows through the area, causing soil erosion of its own making.)

Man, in his infinite "wisdom", actually changed the landscape of his own environment near the Lumpkin, Georgia area. The naturally soft soil of the area eroded into gullies from poor farming techniques. Later, canyons, some as many as 150 feet deep, were formed as rainfall continued to take its toll on the land.

The canyon takes its name from nearby Providence Methodist Church. It has been toured, camped in and hiked by many people throughout the years, and General George C. Patton once visited it when he served as the commander of Fort Benning, Georgia near Columbus, prior to his role as a commanding General during WWII.

The stunning vistas offered throughout the canyon are breathtakingly beautiful, and even though the canyon is "man-made" in a manner of speaking, it still offers a panoramic view that appeals to camera enthusiasts and naturalists of all sorts.

(Little River Canyon in northeast Alabama and Cloudland Canyon in northwest Georgia were both carved by rivers and streams that flow naturally through their respective areas. Tallulah Gorge in northeast Georgia is formed by a river of the same name and is the deepest gorge east of the Mississippi River, running for two miles in length and plummeting in places to depths of nearly 1000 feet.)