Georgia SS8H2.a
The Standard
Explain the importance of the Charter of 1732, including the reasons for settlement (philanthropy, economics, and defense).
Georgia Standards of Excellence for Social Studies · Analyze the colonial period of Georgia's history.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain why Britain created Georgia and how the 1732 charter shaped the colony. They connect aid for the poor, new trade opportunities, and protection from Spanish Florida to the colony’s location and purpose.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can name philanthropy, economics, and defense as separate motives, then support each with a specific fact. They can explain how Georgia served as a buffer colony while producing goods for Britain.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often claim Georgia was settled mainly by people released from debtors’ prisons, though few debtors actually came. They may confuse the charter date with the 1733 arrival of settlers. Some treat defense as protection from Native peoples rather than Spanish Florida.
How to Assess It
- Give students three boxes labeled philanthropy, economics, and defense. Ask them to write one accurate reason and one supporting detail in each box.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups charter excerpts, maps, and trade cards, then have them sort each source under philanthropy, economics, or defense.
Write a paragraph answering: Which motive mattered most to Britain, and what two facts support your choice?
Play a motive match game using cards with facts such as silk production, poor settlers, Spanish Florida, and mercantilism.
Study a colonial map and mark where Britain might place settlements to protect South Carolina from Spanish Florida.
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Printable SS8H2.a Worksheet
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Related Standards
- SS3H3.a
Identify key reasons why the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern colonies were founded (religious freedom and profit).
- SS8H1.b
Explain reasons for European exploration and settlement of North America, with emphasis on the interests of the Spanish and British in the Southeastern area.
- SS8H3.a
Explain the causes of the American Revolution as they impacted Georgia; include the French and Indian War, Proclamation of 1763, and the Stamp Act.
- SS3H3
Explain the factors that shaped British Colonial America.
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