Georgia
Involved from the Start: Georgia’s Role in America’s Birth | Atlanta History Center
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — these rights were enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and secured with the signatures of delegates from each of the 13 colonies. As the United States grew, the founders faced the contradictions and challenges that independence presented, including the limited power of the federal government. Eleven years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, delegates convened once more to draft and ratify the U.S. Constitution.
These two documents continue to shape and inform the country today. The Georgia delegates who signed them were dedicated to the betterment of both the nation and the state. As the United States celebrates 248 years of democracy, let us remember the Georgia signers who resolutely ushered in independence and were instrumental in establishing the political system we have today.
Button Gwinnett (1735–1777)
Often described as the most notorious of Georgia’s declaration signers, Button Gwinnett was born in Gloucestershire, England. He moved to Savannah in 1765, hoping to escape financial hardship. In Savannah, Gwinnett tried and failed at becoming a merchant before pivoting to planting, purchasing St. Catherine’s Island and enslaved people. When this venture also failed, Gwinnett shifted his focus to politics.
Before signing the Declaration of Independence, Gwinnett played a notable role in organizing and rallying backcountry and coastal Whigs in revolutionary efforts. In 1776, his success in local politics led to his election as a representative of Georgia at the Second Continental Congress. There he joined George Walton and Lyman Hall in signing the Declaration of Independence.
After signing the Declaration of Independence, Gwinnett returned to Georgia, where he held high-ranking military positions and briefly served as governor from March to May 1777. Gwinnett became entangled in ongoing conflicts with his rival, Lachlan McIntosh. Their rivalry reached a head in May 1777 after McIntosh publicly called Gwinnett “a scoundrell [sic] and lying rascal.”
Offended by the public insult, Gwinnett challenged McIntosh to a pistol duel. He was shot during the duel and died from his injuries. Less than a year after signing the Declaration of Independence, Gwinnett became the second signer to die. His signature, considered one of the rarest and most valuable due to his relative anonymity before signing the declaration and his death shortly after, has been valued at more than $500,000.
Lyman Hall (1724–1790)
Described by his peers as a “friend of human rights,” Lyman Hall was perhaps the most vocal advocate for national liberty in Georgia at the time. Born in Connecticut, Hall graduated from Yale College (now Yale University) before joining a group of New England Puritans who had relocated to the Southeast. Hall and the Puritans settled in St. John’s Parish and founded the town of Sunbury in Georgia’s Midway District (present-day Liberty County). In the parish, Hall served the community as a physician before turning to politics.
Hall and other members of the parish maintained strong family ties to New England, making them more sympathetic than most Georgians to the Patriots’ outrage at British policies such as the Intolerable Acts. . Frustrated with the colony’s decision to abstain from the First Continental Congress in 1774 and eager to show their support for national independence, St. John’s Parish independently elected to send Hall to Philadelphia, where he was admitted to Congress without voting ability. When Georgia formally aligned with the other colonies, they officially elected Hall as one of the delegates, allowing him to vote for, ratify, and sign the Declaration of Independence along with Gwinnett and Walton.
Upon his return to Savannah in 1777, Hall revived his medical practice before being elected governor from 1783 to 1784. As governor, Hall advocated for the establishment of courts and education by calling on the legislature in Augusta to grant plots of land and endow institutions of learning. His proposal paved the way for the establishment of Franklin College, later the University of Georgia.
George Walton (c. 1749–1804)
Despite his humble beginnings, George Walton went on to hold the most offices of the three signers of the Declaration of Independence. Born in Virginia, Walton was orphaned by the age of 12 and worked as a carpenter’s apprentice until his 1767 move to Savannah, where he successfully studied and practiced law. Like Gwinnett, Walton attended early meetings among fellow revolutionaries and secured election to the Second Continental Congress.
Although there is no record of Georgia’s delegates giving speeches in Congress, Walton was deeply moved by John Adams’ speech in support of independence. In a letter to Adams, he wrote, “Since the first day of July 1776, my conduct, in every station in life, has corresponded with the result of that great question which you so ably and faithfully developed on that day. … It was then I felt the strongest attachments and they have never departed from me.” Walton’s sense of devotion to the new nation is evident in the many offices he held upon returning to Georgia in 1778. He immediately resumed his political career at the state level. As colonel of the First Regiment of the Georgia Militia, Walton fought in the Siege of Savannah, was captured, and then, held as a prisoner of war. After being released, Walton was elected governor in 1779 and again in 1789. Between gubernatorial terms, Walton served as chief justice of Georgia from 1783 to 1789 and as a member of the Augusta Board of Commissioners from 1784 to 1785. He also served as a delegate to Georgia’s Constitutional Convention and as a U.S. Senator.
In addition to the many positions Walton held, he stood apart as the only one of Georgia’s signers of the Declaration of Independence who did not enslave people. Walton even spoke out against what he called the “barbarian” attacks by local white citizens on an African American Baptist congregation in Yamacraw, Georgia. Walton finally retired to his Augusta home, Meadow Garden, where he died. Meadow Garden now operates as a museum.
Abraham Baldwin (1754–1807)
Born in Connecticut, Abraham Baldwin graduated from Yale College and served as a chaplain during the Revolutionary War. After the war, Baldwin declined a professorship at Yale, instead choosing to relocate to Georgia.
Aware of the high value Baldwin placed on education, Governor Lyman Hall encouraged him to create a plan for secondary and higher education. Baldwin believed that an educated public was the cornerstone of a successful republic, and to this end, he crafted a plan that would advance not only the educational system in Georgia but also serve as a blueprint for public higher education across the country. Baldwin’s plan eventually led to the establishment in 1785 of Franklin College (later the University of Georgia), the nation’s first state-chartered university. Baldwin served as UGA’s first president from 1786 to 1801.
During this time, Baldwin also served as a delegate at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the main concerns at the convention was how each state would be represented in the federal government. Larger states advocated for representation based on population, while smaller states, fearing inadequate representation, voted for equal representation.
Although Georgia was considered a larger state, Baldwin empathetically voted with the smaller states, resulting in a tie that led to a compromise. The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, established the bicameral legislature: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Described as an intentional listener, Baldwin’s efforts helped create the legislative system we have today and paved the way for public higher education across the nation.
William Few Jr. (1748–1828)
William Few Jr. arrived in Georgia in the mid-1770s after abandoning a drought-stricken tobacco farm in his birth state of Maryland and fleeing political trouble in North Carolina. During the Revolutionary War, Few joined the Richmond County regiment and served as a lieutenant colonel. Like other Georgia signers, Few’s military success opened the door to political service.
In 1786, Few was elected to represent Georgia at the 1787 Constitutional Convention where he lobbied his fellow congressmen to vote in favor of the new U.S. Constitution. After signing the Constitution, Few continued to hold office in the newly formed legislature, serving as one of Georgia’s first senators.
When his congressional term ended in 1793, Few returned to Georgia and served as a federal judge for the Georgia circuit. Few was also an advocate for education and a founding trustee of the University of Georgia in 1785. Although Few spent his final years in New York, his remains were reinterred at St. Paul’s Church in Augusta.
Hope and promise characterized the early years of the newly independent United States. Founding fathers wrestled with optimism and frustration as they laid the foundations of the country. Georgia’s signers met this challenge with passion and devotion. Their belief in the value of public service is evident in how they lived their lives. Their contributions to the state are honored through the naming of counties, schools, memorials, and roads throughout Georgia.
Georgia football landed a pair of commitments Sunday for its 2027 recruiting class.
Wide receiver Taurean Rawlins from Mount Vernon School in Atlanta posted on his X account on May 31 that he’s pledged to the Bulldogs.
Georgia also picked up a commitment from offensive tackle DJ Dotson from Hattiesburg, Miss., he posted on his Instagram account.
Both are rated 3-star prospects.
“I loved the support and love they showed towards me and my family,” Dotson said in a text message to the Athens Banner-Herald.
The 6-foot, 175-pound Rawlins is rated the No. 58 wide receiver in the 2027 class and the No. 478 overall prospect.
Rawlins had 67 catches for 1,395 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, according to MaxPreps.
Rawlins and Dotson give Georgia 10 commitments for this cycle.
Rawlins is the first wide receiver commitment. He also had offers from Ohio State, Florida and Michigan.
Georgia signed four wide receivers in its 2026 class: Craig Dandridge, Ryan Mosley, Dallas Dickerson and late addition Tre Shields.
Rawlins’ coach at Mount Vernon is former Georgia star wide receiver Terrence Edwards.
The 6-foot-7, 330-pound Dotson is rated as the nation’s No. 85 offensive tackle prospect and the No. 851 overall prospect.
He picked Georgia over Ole Miss, LSU and Georgia Tech, according to 247Sports.
Georgia also has offensive line commitments in its 2027 class from Kelsey Adams from Langston Hughes, Abram Eisenhower from Lowndes and Ty Johnson from Mount Pleasant, S.C.
Georgia
A Georgia Wildlife Haven Forged by Fire and Peat Nears UNESCO Recognition – Inside Climate News
FOLKSTON, Ga.—The world’s smallest heron hops from blade to blade in a patch of tall grass, testing its footing above the dark water as it searches for an evening meal.
“This was already worth the trip out today,” Joshua Howard said earlier this month from a gray flat-bottomed tour boat just a few yards away. The tiny creatures, called Least Bitterns, are secretive birds, not easy to spot.
With one quick movement of its neck, which seems to take up most of its body, the tiny heron plunges into the water and comes up with a fish. Howard and his guide continue down the swamp between walls of Spanish moss-adorned cypress trees and alligators, hoping to find more of the birds and wildlife that call the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge home.
By July, the vast swamp Howard has visited since childhood and still tries to reach at least once a week could be internationally recognized as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.
The Okefenokee, on the Florida border in southeast Georgia, hosts the largest blackwater swamp in North America, a slow-moving wilderness roughly five times the size of Atlanta. It began forming hundreds of thousands of years ago, as the Atlantic Ocean retreated and left behind Trail Ridge, a long, low fossilized beach dune, and a shallow depression that trapped water between the ridge and higher uplands to the west.
The Okefenokee is a blackwater swamp, meaning its dark waters are stained by tannins released from decaying vegetation and cypress trees. Beneath the dense canopy, the water takes on the color of steeped tea, reflecting cypress trunks and drifting lily pads like dark glass.
The refuge was established in 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, following a series of visits from Cornell biologist Francis Harper. Harper had come to admire both the swamp’s landscape and its people, but it was his wife—who had once tutored Roosevelt’s children—who ultimately helped push the president toward protecting the land.
The refuge’s latest conservation effort now depends partly on another layer of federal and international politics. The Okefenokee’s UNESCO nomination comes amid renewed uncertainty over the United States’ relationship with the organization.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump moved to again withdraw the United States from UNESCO, though the withdrawal would not take effect until December—months after a decision on the Okefenokee nomination is expected. The United States also remains part of the World Heritage Convention, the international agreement governing World Heritage Sites.
In addition, World Heritage designations have continued in the United States during previous periods when the country was formally withdrawn from UNESCO, including under both Trump and President Ronald Reagan. The Okefenokee effort has also received support from prominent Republicans, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, who served as Trump’s agriculture secretary.
Still, regardless of shifting politics around UNESCO, the landscape at the center of the nomination remains largely unchanged.
Today, the Okefenokee stands as a protected wilderness of blackwater channels, peat and dense wetland forests, supporting a rich array of wildlife and plant life.
A great blue heron and a barred owl perch among Spanish moss in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: Ryan Krugman/Inside Climate News
As Howard floated through the swamp at the refuge’s eastern entrance for about an hour and a half, he saw nearly 200 alligators, owl fledglings, hawks, herons and more. What he somewhat incredulously called an “above average” number of encounters was partly driven by drought conditions that pushed animals toward remaining water, though abundant wildlife sightings are far from unusual.
Across the swamp, an estimated 15,000 alligators inhabit the blackwater alongside almost 250 bird and 64 reptile species. Black bears and bobcats move through the uplands, and there are rumors of Florida panthers wandering the refuge. It is also a stronghold for endangered species, including red-cockaded woodpeckers, wood storks and eastern indigo snakes.
To fully experience the Okefenokee, visitors often paddle deep into the backcountry by canoe or kayak, traveling through areas inaccessible to motorboats. Along the way, they pass open prairies filled with lilies, wildflowers and carnivorous plants, including the Okefenokee giant pitcher plant, which can grow more than four feet tall and traps insects inside its tubular leaves.
Some visitors spend nights on raised wooden platforms scattered throughout the swamp, with multi-day trips carrying paddlers far into the blackwater wilderness. Yet even with those routes, only about 5 percent of the Okefenokee is currently accessible to humans.
Despite being one of the best-preserved wetlands in North America, and especially on the eastern seaboard, the Okefenokee has repeatedly faced pressure from industry and development. Before it became a wildlife refuge and federally designated wilderness area nearly a century ago, logging companies cut through vast cypress forests, disrupting habitats and the natural systems that shaped the swamp.
Later, the Suwanee Canal Company attempted to drain the Okefenokee to clear the way for development. The company planned to carve a canal through Trail Ridge and connect the swamp to the Suwannee River, but water repeatedly flowed back into the basin. The project ultimately collapsed, driving the company into bankruptcy before the canal could be completed.
More recently, the Okefenokee has faced renewed pressure from a high-profile mining dispute near Trail Ridge and continued development across the Florida border. Yet the swamp’s beauty and biodiversity continue to draw roughly 800,000 visitors each year—and now the attention of UNESCO.
The Okefenokee was first placed on the United States’ tentative UNESCO World Heritage list in 1981, but the nomination stalled for decades. In 2023, the Department of the Interior authorized work on a formal nomination, a push driven in large part by advocates including Kim Bednarek, executive director of Okefenokee Swamp Park.
The nonprofit, which runs tours and educational programs near and in the refuge, helped lead the campaign and raise money for the years-long nomination process. To qualify, researchers and advocates had to demonstrate the swamp’s “outstanding universal value,” the central standard for World Heritage designation.
The nomination was formally submitted in January 2025. Later that year, scientists with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which advises UNESCO on natural sites, visited the swamp as part of the evaluation process. Advocates are now awaiting a recommendation from the organization ahead of a final decision expected this July at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Busan, South Korea.
UNESCO’s standard of “outstanding universal value” is reserved for places considered significant not just to one country, but to humanity. Advocates and scientists argue the Okefenokee qualifies because of its biodiversity and the remarkable condition of its peatlands, which have remained largely intact for thousands of years and are a natural carbon sink.
Peatlands form when organic material builds up faster than it decomposes. In the Okefenokee, still blackwater, low oxygen levels and acidic conditions—created largely by tannins from cypress trees—slow decay enough for layers of plant matter to accumulate over thousands of years.
“We do not have a similar peatland in the world in the subtropics,” said Hans Joosten, one of the world’s leading peatland experts. According to Joosten, the swamp’s location—sandwiched between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic—provides the humidity and rainfall needed to sustain this rare subtropical peatland.
An inch of peat can take more than 50 years to form. In parts of the Okefenokee, those layers reach more than 15 feet deep, storing an estimated 124 million tons of carbon and forming one of North America’s most significant peat systems.
Many of the estimated 15,000 Alligators in the Okefenokee are tagged as part of research initiatives. Credit: Ryan Krugman
The swamp’s Muscogee Creek name, often translated as “land of the trembling earth,” reflects what lies beneath its surface. Deep peat can shift, swell and occasionally rise toward the top, where visitors may see methane bubbles break through the blackwater or floating mats of peat drifting at the surface. Those peat mats can become platforms for new plant growth, reshaping the swamp as they move and settle.
The biodiversity hotspot is supported by another cycle, one much faster than peat formation. The swamp is frequently reshaped and renewed through natural wildfires. The fires clear dense vegetation and invasive species, return nutrients to the soil, and maintain the open conditions needed for fire-dependent ecosystems like the longleaf pine, one of the most endangered forest types in North America.
“To be put on the same list as places like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone would just be amazing,” Howard said with a Southern drawl as he floated along the remnants of the Suwannee Canal.
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Howard, tall and broad with silvering hair and an easy smile, had arrived at the swamp after a long day working as a school administrator in Charlton County. “You want to know why I think this place deserves to be on that list?” he asked. “Because when I got here this evening, I was stressed and now I am not.”
Howard has been coming to the swamp for almost 50 years and has spent the last seven serving as president of Friends of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, a nonprofit that helps raise money for its preservation. While the group is not directly involved in the UNESCO bid, Howard said its members strongly support the designation.
If approved in July, the designation would make the Okefenokee Georgia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site and the first national wildlife refuge in the country to receive the status.
For Bednarek, the recognition would do more than honor the swamp’s ecology. It could fundamentally change how the Okefenokee is seen internationally. National wildlife refuges typically operate with far less tourism, funding and global visibility than national parks.
“They have this iconic brand that refuges don’t,” Bednarek said. UNESCO World Heritage status, she said, functions differently. “It’s a global brand that people travel far and wide to see.”
For now, though, the Okefenokee remains what it has long been: a slow-moving wilderness of blackwater, peat and cypress.
As dusk settled over the swamp, Howard’s guide cut the boat motor and the sounds of insects and distant birds filled the blackwater again. Methane bubbles continued rising quietly to the surface, signs of the trembling earth beneath the water.
In July, delegates in South Korea will decide whether the Okefenokee receives World Heritage status. But the swamp itself will keep moving at its own pace.
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Ryan Krugman is a recent graduate of Columbia University’s Climate School focusing on climate change reporting and communications. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree from St. Lawrence University where he studied Environmental Science and Sociology. As a former Inside Climate News fellow, he is now reporting on climate and environmental issues in New England and Georgia.
Live updates from Athens, Georgia as the Bulldogs take on Liberty in game two of the Athens Regional.
The Georgia Bulldogs are back in action this afternoon as they are set to take on the Liberty Flames for game two of the Athens regional. The Dawgs are coming off a dominant victory over Long Island =, in a game that concluded earlier this morning following a rain delay.
With a win, the Bulldogs will advance to face the winner of a matchup between Liberty and the victor of Boston College and Long Island. First pitch for that game is scheduled to take place this Sunday at 5 p.m. As action continues in Athens, stay tuned with Bulldogs on SI for more updates from today’s game.
Georgia Bulldogs vs Liberty Flames Live Updates:
Editor’s Note**: This article will be updated periodically as action continues throughout today’s game
Top of the First (UGA at Bat)
- Tre Phelps singles to left center field for his first hit of the afternoon.
- Daniel Jackson homers to right center field. Georgia leads 2-0.
- Rylan Lujo flies out to right field.
- Brennan Hudson is walked on a 3-1 count.
- Kenny Ishikawa flies out to right field.
- Ryan Wynn grounds out to second base to retire the side. Georgia leads 2-0.
Bottom of the First (Liberty at Bat)
- Tanner Marsh singles to the pitcher.
- Riley DeCandido strikes out swinging.
- Tanner Marsh steals second to put a runner in scoring position.
- Jordan Jaffe singles to right center field. Tanner Marsh scores. Georgia leads 2-1.
- Jaxon Sorenson is walked on a full count. Jaffe advances to second.
- Nick Barone reaches first on a fielder’s choice. Sorenson is tagged out at second. Jaffe advances to third and scores on a throwing error. Game is tied 2-2.
- Nick Barone is tagged out trying to steal second to retire the side. Game is tied 2-2.
Top of the Second (UGA at Bat)
- Jack Arcamone flies out to right field.
- Kolby Branch is walked on a full count.
- Ryan Black fouled out to the catcher.
- Tre Phelps is walked on a full count. Branch advances to second.
- Daniel Jackson is walked. Tre Phelps advances to second. Kolby Branch advances.
- Rylan Lujo grounds out to third to retire the side. Game is tied 2-2.
Bottom of the Second (Liberty at Bat)
- Easton Swofford grounds out to shortstop.
- Landon Scilley is walked on a 3-1 count.
- Kyle Hvidsten is walked on a 3-0 count. Scilley advances to second.
- Josh Campos lines out to right field.
- Tanner Marsh strikes out swinging to retire the side. Game is tied 2-2.
Top of the Third (UGA at Bat)
- Brennan Hudson flies out to right field.
- Kenny Ishikawa homers to right field. Georgia leads 3-2.
- Ryan Wynn homers to center field. Georgia leads 4-2.
- Nick Arcamone singles to right field.
- Kolby Branch pops up to shortstop.
- Ryan Black flies out to right field.
Bottom of the Third (Liberty at Bat)
- Riley DeCandido flies out to left field
- Jordan Jaffe grounds out to the pitcher.
- Jaxon Sorenson flies out to center field to retire the side. Georgia leads 4-2.
Top of the Fourth (UGA at Bat)
- Tre Phelps grounds out to shortstop.
- Daniel Jackson strikes out swinging on a full count.
- Rylan Lujo singles to left field.
- Brennan Hudson singles through the right side. Lujo advances to second.
- Kenny Ishikawa is walked on a full count. Hudson advances to second, Lujo advances to third.
- Ryan Wynn reaches first on a fielder’s choice. Ishikawa is tagged out at second to retire the side. Georgia leads 4-2.
Bottom of the Fourth (Liberty at Bat)
- Nick Barone grounds out to shortstop.
- Easton Swofford strikes out swinging.
- Landon Scilley grounds out to shortstop to retire the side. Georgia leads 4-2.
Top of the Fifth (UGA at Bat)
- Nick Arcamone strikes out swinging.
- Kolby Branch strikes out looking on a 1-2 count.
- Ryan Black singles to first base.
- Tre Phelps grounds out to third base to retire the side. Georgia leads 4-2.
Bottom of the Fifth (Liberty at Bat)
Top of the Sixth (UGA at Bat)
Bottom of the Sixth (Liberty at Bat)
Top of the Seventh (UGA at Bat)
Bottom of the Seventh (Liberty at Bat)
Top of the Eighth (UGA at Bat)
Bottom of the Eighth (Liberty at Bat)
Top of the Ninth (UGA at Bat)
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