Trans-Oconee Republic facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Trans-Oconee Republic
|
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1794–1794 | |||||||||
| Status | Unrecognized state | ||||||||
| Common languages | English (de facto) | ||||||||
| Government | Republic | ||||||||
| General | |||||||||
|
• 1794
|
Elijah Clarke | ||||||||
| Historical era | American Revolution | ||||||||
|
• Established
|
May 1794 | ||||||||
|
• Republic dissolved
|
September 1794 | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Today part of | United States | ||||||||
The Trans-Oconee Republic was a short-lived, independent state. It was located west of the Oconee River in what is now the state of Georgia. General Elijah Clarke started it in May 1794. He wanted to stop the new U.S. government from giving land claimed by Georgia back to the Creek people. In September 1794, soldiers from Georgia and the U.S. government made Clarke and his followers give up. The troops then destroyed their homes and forts.
Why the Trans-Oconee Republic Started
In February 1794, General Elijah Clarke was a well-known hero from the American Revolutionary War. He quit his job in the Georgia state militia. He planned to lead a trip to attack the East Florida colony, which was controlled by Spain. Clarke was part of a plan supported by France to invade East Florida.
When that invasion did not happen, General Clarke and hundreds of his supporters decided to do something else. They moved west of the Oconee River to create their own independent state. This land was hunting grounds set aside for the Creek Indians by a U.S. government agreement called the Treaty of New York (1790). The state of Georgia had not been asked about this treaty. Many European American settlers in Georgia were upset because they felt it stopped their state from growing.
Clarke's frontiersmen built settlements in areas that are now Greene, Morgan, Putnam, and Baldwin counties in Georgia. Over the next few months, these settlers built several towns and forts. They even wrote their own constitution. This showed they planned for their new state to be permanent. The Creek people did not strongly oppose them at first. So, Clarke's group took control of the land before the state or U.S. governments could react.
Conflict with the U.S. Government
The United States government saw Clarke's actions as breaking the Treaty of New York. This treaty recognized Creek lands to keep peace and ensure the Creek remained neutral. President George Washington told Georgia's Governor, George Mathews, to remove the illegal settlers from Creek lands.
Governor Mathews first ignored this "unauthorized military expedition." He also disliked the treaty and knew Clarke was popular. So, he took only small steps to stop Clarke. For example, he issued a statement in July 1794 that was not enforced. It is likely that Mathews did not have enough public support to act against Clarke at that time. However, public opinion eventually changed.
In late August, Judge George Walton spoke to a grand jury in Augusta. He said that Clarke's actions were wrong and threatened the power of the state and U.S. governments. He claimed Clarke and his followers were trying to steal the western lands. Judge Walton called these lands "the richest jewel the state of Georgia possesses." He said they were taking the land before other Georgians could legally get it. Clarke had invited settlers to join his effort. He wanted to take control of the land from the Creek before the state and U.S. governments could react. He did not allow large parts of the new republic's land to be given to people who just wanted to buy and sell it without living there. Judge Walton's words helped change public opinion. This allowed the Governor to gather enough state militia to march against Clarke.
In September, 1,200 Georgia militiamen, led by General Jared Irwin, worked with U.S. troops near the Oconee River. They surrounded General Clarke's forts. After some talks, Clarke agreed to surrender. He and his men would not be punished for their actions. Clarke and his followers left. The militia then burned down the new settlements and forts.
What Happened Next
Clarke's illegal settlements happened when people in Georgia became more interested in the state's western land claims. At that time, Georgia's claims stretched all the way to the Mississippi River. From 1785 onward, land buyers from other states tried hard to get Georgia to sell these lands. They also wanted to end the land claims of the Creek and other Native American groups. This was despite the U.S. government treaties that protected those claims.
In late 1794, the Georgia General Assembly passed a law. It allowed some of the lands west of the Oconee River, the same land Clarke's followers had used, to be given to veterans of the Revolution and various Native American conflicts. An added law, called the Yazoo Act, allowed the sale of 40 million acres (160,000 km2) of western land to four private land companies. These companies were the Georgia Company, the Georgia-Mississippi Company, the Upper Mississippi Company, and the new Tennessee Company. Many members of these companies were political insiders. This whole deal was very scandalous and became known as the Yazoo Land Fraud.
