Question

While the Independence movement was strongest in the New England colonies, Georgians were divided on the issue. Analyze the causes of the American Revolution and explain why some Georgians were motivated to remain loyal to Great Britain and others sought independence.

Answer 1

Georgia was a Royal Colony where the majority of the population were Tories (Colonists that remained loyal to Great Britain), while in the New England colonies Whigs or Patriots (Colonists that wanted Independence from Great Britain) were the majority.

People were motivated to remain loyal to Great Britain in Georgia because of the prosperity they lived when Royal Governor James Wright came to power, James Wright was a loved Governor by Georgians and because he was loyal to the king he fought hard enough to keep them from joining the revolutionary cause.

When the movement became stronger in other colonies and larger taxes and trade regulations were imposed Patriots began to grow in Georgia, even when they were not the majority they managed to capture Governor James Wright, then sent Lyman Hall to the Second Continental Congress, and turned Georgia intro a rebel colony.