The 1820 Land Lottery was the third

lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...

of the

Georgia Land Lotteries The Georgia land lotteries were an early nineteenth century system of land redistribution in Georgia. Under this system, white male citizens could register for a chance to win lots of land that had (and in most cases recently) been taken from the M ...

, a lottery system used by the

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between the years 1805 and 1833 to steal and redistribute Cherokee and Muscogee land. The 1820 lottery was authorized by the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...

by acts of December 15, 1818, and December 16, 1819. The lottery redistributed land in Baldwin and

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counties. The 1820 lottery were used to steal

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern Woodlandswhite White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

settler A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...

s. Following the

Creek War The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...

(1813–1814), President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

demanded from the Muscogee an immense area of land which would become the southern third of the entire state of Georgia. A second section of land in northeast Georgia was included. This other, smaller section defined the eastern end of the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

for 12 years. Muscogee land was stolen and redistributed in Appling, Early,

Gwinnett Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulton ...

, Habersham,

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, and

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counties. The size of stolen lots were either 250 acres or 490 acres. Drawings for the lottery occurred between September 1 and December 2, 1820. Fortunate drawers from the previous 1805 and 1807 lotteries were excluded (with an exception for families of orphans consisting of more than one person), as well as draft resisters who refused to fight in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

or the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

, and any resident of "the lottery territory previous to the extinguishment of the Indian title".

Fortunate drawers

Thomas Stamps Sr. of the

Stamps family The Stamps family is an American ancestral group consisting of patrilineal descendants of 17th century Virginia colonists whose surnames were "Stampe," "Stamp," or "Stamps." During the late 18th century, Stamps descendants moved south and west fr ...

was a fortunate drawer, receiving 250 acres (1 km²) in present-day

Gwinnett County Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulton C ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Georgia Land Lottery Records Research Guide

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1820 in Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia Land Lotteries Government of Georgia (U.S. state) History of Georgia (U.S. state) Muscogee Lotteries in the United States

Fortunate drawers

See also

References

External links