History Commons^™

Liberty And Authority In Colonial Georgia, 1717-1776, Andrew C. Lannen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Few historical works examine the society and politics of both the Trustee and royal periods of Colonial Georgia. This dissertation highlights the central theme that binds the two eras together: the delicate balance between liberty and authority. Colonists believed that the greatest threat to liberty was the potential for the mother country to acquire undue power. To guard against that danger, settlers supported the establishment of strong local sources of authority within the colony that would act as a check against excessive imperial power. The Trustees initially used land, slavery, and trade restrictions to deny political and economic power to …