James Oglethorpe

Why Oglethorpe founded the colony of Georgia in 1733.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 25

James Oglethorpe was a leader in England. Many poor people there had no work, and some were even put in prison because they owed money they could not pay. Oglethorpe worked to help them.
Oglethorpe had an idea: start a new colony in America, where people could get a fresh start. King George the Second said yes, and the colony was named Georgia, after him.
Spain ruled Florida, just to the south. Georgia would protect South Carolina and the other English colonies from Spanish soldiers, and grow goods like silk for England.
In 1733, Oglethorpe and more than 100 settlers sailed across the Atlantic Ocean on a ship called the Anne. They landed on a bluff above the Savannah River, where Tomochichi, the Yamacraw chief, welcomed them.
A bluff is a high, steep riverbank. Up high, the town was safe from floods and easy to protect, and ships could sail right up the river.
Oglethorpe planned the town of Savannah carefully, with neat streets and open squares. Try it with a grown-up! Look at a map of Savannah's squares. Many are still there today.

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:

SS2H1.a — James Oglethorpe, Tomochichi, and Mary Musgrove (founding of Georgia)
SS2G2.a — Identify specific locations significant to the life and times of each historic figure, and the Muscogee (Creek) and Cherokee, on a political or physical map.