Recent from talks
Bluffton, Georgia
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Bluffton, Georgia
Bluffton is a town in Clay County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 113.
The Royal Colony of Georgia was founded by adventurer, general, and philanthropist James Oglethorpe in 1732. In forming the Colony of Georgia, Oglethorpe set Georgia on an unusual path. He strove to make Georgia a safe haven for petty crime offenders. He cultivated a strong relationship with the local native tribes. During the 18th century, under Oglethorpe's leadership, Georgia was one of the few colonies to expressively outlaw slavery. But the governing body, The Georgia Trustees, which were formed by Oglethorpe himself, began to chip away at his progressive agenda. When the prohibition of slavery was abolished in 1750, many of Oglethorpe's followers emigrated to Western territory controlled by the Creek and Cherokee. This territory is formally known as Clay County.
Articles of Constitutional Sovereignty In 1779, two Oglethorpians and leaders of the small town of Bluffton, Jonathon Jones and Sam Whitfields drafted the Articles of Constitutional Sovereignty as a response to rising federalism. The Articles of Constitutional Sovereignty requested to include language in the state constitution that ensured what they viewed as proportional representation for small municipalities and self governing rights. They sent their document to the state legislature of Georgia.
After Clay County's initial proposal was rejected by the state legislature, local leaders approached their local faction on the Creek Confederacy, known as the Coweta, about drafting a joint letter of grievances. The Treaty of Augusta in 1773 forced the native Cherokee and Creek to cede almost 2 million acres of land east of the Appalachians to the royal colony of Georgia. This also led to a strong connection between the Natives and the small townships on the western face of the Georgian and South Carolinian Appalachians, including Bluffton. The Coweta, who had not secured any territory rights from the Treaty of Augusta, sent a delegation to meet with the newly formed, self named “Constitutional Committee of Georgia” (leaders of several towns in the Clay County).
They drafted 2 documents: A Statement of Grievances to the Governor of Georgia Standard for Anglo-Creek Confederacy (The latter originally titled The Treatise of Bluffton was changed 1792 as part of the Treaty of Chattahoochee that brought most of the Creek confederacy into the fold of the Georgian Revolt) They sent their letter of grievances to the governor of Georgia, Edward Telfair, who had been sympathetic to the land rights of the Creek during the Cherokee-American Wars. They also sent a letter requesting language to be included by the Constitutional Convention of 1798 (the 3rd constitutional convention). However, Telfair was voted out in 1793 and replaced by George Mathews, who represented the pro-slavery plantation owners and was far less sympathetic to the rights of the Creek. And The Articles of Constitutional Sovereignty were officially rejected by a strong Federalist majority, elected in 1794. (It is likely they did not take the petition seriously, taking measures to cement Federalist control).
As a consequence of the official denial to The Articles of Constitutional Sovereignty the representatives of Clay County and the Coweta met again in The 2nd Anglo-Creek Convention (strangely there was no original “Anglo-Creek Convention”) in Bluffton. There were delegates from six towns and eight Creek tribes. They drafted the Document of Administration for Clay County which had seven key points: A loose confederation between the towns and tribes was to be set up. Each town would pay a small tax to fund a well organized militia of citizen soldiers and Creek warriors. The Creek would remain largely independent, but were recognized as citizens of the Clay County state. The convention drafted a detailed economic plan which would bring the towns closer together, integrate the economic potential of the Creek, and hopefully move the confederation towards economic independence The agreement would lay out a plan to disband the military within a decade一never foreseeing a conflict playing out with the state or federal government. Initially would lay out a plan by which the Anglo-Creek Confederacy would send representatives to the state legislature. Would organize a local institution to send letters to surrounding towns to promote support for a restructuring of government at the 1798 Constitutional Convention.
It is revealing that no document was drafted specifying the confederation's status. It is likely that they saw themselves as a prototype for how townships could function in the United States. Many organizers of the confederacy believed in strong state and federal governments, but thought that townships could and should maintain some political and (importantly) ideological sovereignty.
Initially, the actions of the towns and tribes of Clay County were overshadowed by another set of events in Western Georgia. Governor George Mathews, egged on by his base of land speculators and plantation owners, who each wanted a piece of the Western-pie, signed The Yazoo Land Act in 1795. The Yazoo Act authorized the sale of nearly 35 million acres of Creek and Cherokee land in Western Georgia for $500,000. The four major companies who were to buy land would then be able to deal with the Creeks and Cherokee in the area and open it up to settlement. The deal faced significant push back from the people of Georgia as well as many Jeffersonian politicians fueled by the Federalist-Jeffersonian rivalry that had spread across the country in the late 1700s. In the wake of what the people of Clay County saw as aggressive and illegal government overreach, as well as a potential threat to their own liberty, the growing confederacy of native tribes and Georgian townships met again in Bluffton in 1795 to consider their response to the Yazoo Act. For the first time in its brief history, a divide formed among the representatives who met in Bluffton. Surprisingly and luckily for the young confederacy, the divide was not based on ethnicity, but instead by geography. The Eastern tribes and townships, closer to the threat of aggressive Georgian settlers, favored formally declaring independence and writing a constitution to affirm the confederacy's liberty, while the original signers of The Articles of Constitutional Sovereignty saw the danger of catching the negative attention of the state government. After 2 weeks of debate, as a compromise, the convention passed three amendments to their previous governing document. The first named the confederacy as the District of Clay County (DCC). This definition was an attempt to confine themselves to remain members of the state of Georgia and limit unwanted attention from the legislature. The second more specifically laid out the governing structure of the DCC. Third, and most controversial, the so-called, “Territorial Doctrine” set the boundaries of the DCC and laid out the procedure by which new townships could be added.
Hub AI
Bluffton, Georgia AI simulator
(@Bluffton, Georgia_simulator)
Bluffton, Georgia
Bluffton is a town in Clay County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 113.
The Royal Colony of Georgia was founded by adventurer, general, and philanthropist James Oglethorpe in 1732. In forming the Colony of Georgia, Oglethorpe set Georgia on an unusual path. He strove to make Georgia a safe haven for petty crime offenders. He cultivated a strong relationship with the local native tribes. During the 18th century, under Oglethorpe's leadership, Georgia was one of the few colonies to expressively outlaw slavery. But the governing body, The Georgia Trustees, which were formed by Oglethorpe himself, began to chip away at his progressive agenda. When the prohibition of slavery was abolished in 1750, many of Oglethorpe's followers emigrated to Western territory controlled by the Creek and Cherokee. This territory is formally known as Clay County.
Articles of Constitutional Sovereignty In 1779, two Oglethorpians and leaders of the small town of Bluffton, Jonathon Jones and Sam Whitfields drafted the Articles of Constitutional Sovereignty as a response to rising federalism. The Articles of Constitutional Sovereignty requested to include language in the state constitution that ensured what they viewed as proportional representation for small municipalities and self governing rights. They sent their document to the state legislature of Georgia.
After Clay County's initial proposal was rejected by the state legislature, local leaders approached their local faction on the Creek Confederacy, known as the Coweta, about drafting a joint letter of grievances. The Treaty of Augusta in 1773 forced the native Cherokee and Creek to cede almost 2 million acres of land east of the Appalachians to the royal colony of Georgia. This also led to a strong connection between the Natives and the small townships on the western face of the Georgian and South Carolinian Appalachians, including Bluffton. The Coweta, who had not secured any territory rights from the Treaty of Augusta, sent a delegation to meet with the newly formed, self named “Constitutional Committee of Georgia” (leaders of several towns in the Clay County).
They drafted 2 documents: A Statement of Grievances to the Governor of Georgia Standard for Anglo-Creek Confederacy (The latter originally titled The Treatise of Bluffton was changed 1792 as part of the Treaty of Chattahoochee that brought most of the Creek confederacy into the fold of the Georgian Revolt) They sent their letter of grievances to the governor of Georgia, Edward Telfair, who had been sympathetic to the land rights of the Creek during the Cherokee-American Wars. They also sent a letter requesting language to be included by the Constitutional Convention of 1798 (the 3rd constitutional convention). However, Telfair was voted out in 1793 and replaced by George Mathews, who represented the pro-slavery plantation owners and was far less sympathetic to the rights of the Creek. And The Articles of Constitutional Sovereignty were officially rejected by a strong Federalist majority, elected in 1794. (It is likely they did not take the petition seriously, taking measures to cement Federalist control).
As a consequence of the official denial to The Articles of Constitutional Sovereignty the representatives of Clay County and the Coweta met again in The 2nd Anglo-Creek Convention (strangely there was no original “Anglo-Creek Convention”) in Bluffton. There were delegates from six towns and eight Creek tribes. They drafted the Document of Administration for Clay County which had seven key points: A loose confederation between the towns and tribes was to be set up. Each town would pay a small tax to fund a well organized militia of citizen soldiers and Creek warriors. The Creek would remain largely independent, but were recognized as citizens of the Clay County state. The convention drafted a detailed economic plan which would bring the towns closer together, integrate the economic potential of the Creek, and hopefully move the confederation towards economic independence The agreement would lay out a plan to disband the military within a decade一never foreseeing a conflict playing out with the state or federal government. Initially would lay out a plan by which the Anglo-Creek Confederacy would send representatives to the state legislature. Would organize a local institution to send letters to surrounding towns to promote support for a restructuring of government at the 1798 Constitutional Convention.
It is revealing that no document was drafted specifying the confederation's status. It is likely that they saw themselves as a prototype for how townships could function in the United States. Many organizers of the confederacy believed in strong state and federal governments, but thought that townships could and should maintain some political and (importantly) ideological sovereignty.
Initially, the actions of the towns and tribes of Clay County were overshadowed by another set of events in Western Georgia. Governor George Mathews, egged on by his base of land speculators and plantation owners, who each wanted a piece of the Western-pie, signed The Yazoo Land Act in 1795. The Yazoo Act authorized the sale of nearly 35 million acres of Creek and Cherokee land in Western Georgia for $500,000. The four major companies who were to buy land would then be able to deal with the Creeks and Cherokee in the area and open it up to settlement. The deal faced significant push back from the people of Georgia as well as many Jeffersonian politicians fueled by the Federalist-Jeffersonian rivalry that had spread across the country in the late 1700s. In the wake of what the people of Clay County saw as aggressive and illegal government overreach, as well as a potential threat to their own liberty, the growing confederacy of native tribes and Georgian townships met again in Bluffton in 1795 to consider their response to the Yazoo Act. For the first time in its brief history, a divide formed among the representatives who met in Bluffton. Surprisingly and luckily for the young confederacy, the divide was not based on ethnicity, but instead by geography. The Eastern tribes and townships, closer to the threat of aggressive Georgian settlers, favored formally declaring independence and writing a constitution to affirm the confederacy's liberty, while the original signers of The Articles of Constitutional Sovereignty saw the danger of catching the negative attention of the state government. After 2 weeks of debate, as a compromise, the convention passed three amendments to their previous governing document. The first named the confederacy as the District of Clay County (DCC). This definition was an attempt to confine themselves to remain members of the state of Georgia and limit unwanted attention from the legislature. The second more specifically laid out the governing structure of the DCC. Third, and most controversial, the so-called, “Territorial Doctrine” set the boundaries of the DCC and laid out the procedure by which new townships could be added.
Recent media