Georgia (U.S. state)
Overview
Georgia is a state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 located in the southeastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...

. The state is named after King George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...

 of Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

, on January 2, 1788. It declared its secession from the Union on January 21, 1861, and was one of the original seven Confederate states
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

. It was the last state to be restored to the Union, on July 15, 1870.

The 2010 US Census reported 9,687,653 residents, making Georgia the ninth most populous state.
From 2007 to 2008, 14 of Georgia's counties ranked among the nation's 100 fastest-growing, second only to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

.
Timeline

1732    James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of Georgia.

1733    Englishman James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, the 13th colony of the Thirteen Colonies, and its first city at Savannah (known as Georgia Day).

1788    Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution

1814    Indian Wars: the Creek sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson, giving up huge parts of Alabama and Georgia.

1825    The Creek cede the last of their lands in Georgia to the United States government, and migrate west.

1861    American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in seceding from the United States.

1864    American Civil War: Battle of Resaca, Georgia ends.

1864    American Civil War: Confederate General John Bell Hood evacuates Atlanta, Georgia after a four-month siege by General Sherman.

1864    American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea: Confederate General John Bell Hood invades Tennessee in an unsuccessful attempt to draw Union General William T. Sherman from Georgia.

1870    Reconstruction era of the United States: Georgia becomes the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union.

 
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