Example entry: grade 5 (Class II), written as a 10-year-old would write it.
The survey answers are example data, made up for this model child. No one was surveyed. "Student", "Ms. Student (my mom)" and "Mr. Gornall" are example fill-ins on the forms.
The display board
Research Question and Hypothesis
Was there a law against slavery when Georgia first started? If so, who got rid of it, who tried to keep it, and who lost?
Hypothesis: Georgia always allowed slavery, like South Carolina. Enslaved people lost the most.
Introduction
I was surprised Georgia banned slavery when it started!
Background Information
Georgia started in 1733. The Trustees were in charge. One reason they banned it was that enslaved workers might help Spanish Florida. They also wanted settlers to work their own land.
Methodology
1. I read 9 sources.
2. An encyclopedia said 1738, but I used the 1739 petition date.
3. I compared the 1735 and 1750 laws.
4. I surveyed 20 people and made a graph.
South Carolina had slavery. Georgia is near Spanish Florida. (Emanuel Bowen)
It banned slavery. (Colonial Records of Georgia)
Findings: Who Got Rid of It?
Settlers called the Malcontents pushed for slavery. Some broke the law. In 1750, the Trustees asked to end the ban. They said slavery "may be a Benefit."
Findings: Who Tried to Keep It?
In 1739, 18 Scottish settlers at Darien signed a petition to keep the ban. They wrote slavery is "shocking to human nature." The Salzburgers' pastor agreed.
Findings: Who Lost the Most?
Enslaved Africans lost their freedom, and their children did too. In 1750, under 500 lived here. By 1775, about 18,000.
The ban lasted from 1735 to 1751.
Model illustration made with Gemini for this example.
Findings: My Survey
I surveyed 12 classmates and 8 relatives, not all Georgians. Only 4 of 20 said yes, there was a law. Settlers pushed and Trustees asked, so the 5 for settlers and 2 for Trustees were partly right.
Question 1: Yes: 4. No: 11. Not sure: 5.
Model illustration made with Gemini for this example.
The Other Side
The Malcontents wrote that enslaved workers would "render us capable to subsist ourselves" (let us feed ourselves). But farming worked at Ebenezer, one place with free workers, while the ban stood. Enslaved Africans paid the cost: about 18,000 lived here by 1775.
Conclusion
Yes, a law banned slavery from 1735 until January 1, 1751. My hypothesis was wrong that Georgia always allowed slavery, but right that enslaved people lost the most. The Malcontents pushed for slavery, but farming worked at Ebenezer. I found nothing written by enslaved people. This matters because most people I asked did not know. Next, I will ask a library what happened to the Darien Scots.
The writing (printed, set in front of the board)
Abstract
Project: The Law That Didn't Last: Georgia's Ban on Slavery
Student Name: Student
County: DeKalb
School: Huntley Hills Elementary School
Grade: 5
Teacher: Mr. Gornall
My question: Was there a law against slavery when Georgia first started? If so, who got rid of it, who tried to keep it, and who lost? Hypothesis: Georgia always allowed slavery, like South Carolina.
I read nine sources, including old laws, and surveyed 20 people.
A 1735 law banned slavery. Settlers pushed for slavery. In 1750, the Trustees asked to end the ban. Darien Scots tried to keep it. Enslaved Africans lost the most. Their numbers grew from under 500 in 1750 to about 18,000 in 1775.
Only 4 of 20 surveyed said yes, there was a law. My answer: yes, a law banned slavery until January 1, 1751. Settlers pushed until it ended, and enslaved Africans lost the most.
Bibliography (MLA style)
Project: The Law That Didn't Last: Georgia's Ban on Slavery
Student Name: Student
P = primary source (made at the time by people who were there). S = secondary source (made later from other sources).
S. "Diverse European Groups in Georgia's Trustee Period." Georgia Stories, GPB, 2026. PBS, www.pbs.org/video/diverse-european-groups-in-georgias-trustee-period-4nn5r8/.
How it fits: This video showed me who the Malcontents were. It said they pushed for slavery.
S. Georgia Historical Society. "Georgia at the US250." Georgia Historical Society, 1 Dec. 2025, www.georgiahistory.com/resource/georgia-at-the-us250-exhibit/.
How it fits: I got the number of enslaved people in 1750 and 1775 from this website.
S. Georgia Salzburger Society. "Boltzius Statue." Visit Ebenezer GA, 3 Sept. 2009, govisitebenezer.com/sites/boltzius-statue/.
How it fits: It told me the Salzburgers' pastor wanted to keep the ban, and they farmed with free workers.
P. Georgia Trustees. "An Act for rendering the Colony of Georgia more Defencible by Prohibiting the Importation and use of Black Slaves or Negroes into the same." 1735. The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, compiled by Allen D. Candler, vol. 1, AMS Press, 1970, pp. 50-52. Internet Archive, archive.org/details/colonial-records-georgia_1970_1/page/50/mode/1up.
How it fits: This is the real law that banned slavery.
P. Georgia Trustees. "An Act for repealing an Act Intituled (An Act for rendering the Colony of Georgia more defensible by prohibiting the Importation and Use of Black Slaves or Negroes into the same)." 1750. The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, compiled by Allen D. Candler, vol. 1, AMS Press, 1970, pp. 56-62. Internet Archive, archive.org/details/colonial-records-georgia_1970_1/page/56/mode/1up.
How it fits: This is the real law that ended the ban.
S. Harkins, Susan Sales, and William H. Harkins. Georgia: The Debtors Colony. Mitchell Lane Publishers, 2007. Epic, www.getepic.com/app/read/29395.
How it fits: This book explained why Georgia was started.
P. "New Inverness Committee Petition: 1739." Liberty County GAGenWeb, www.thegagenweb.com/galiberty/darien2.html. Originally published in Charles Spalding Wylly, The Seed That Was Sown in the Colony of Georgia: The Harvest and the Aftermath, 1740-1870, The Neale Publishing Company, 1910, pp. 28-30.
How it fits: The Darien Scots signed this petition to keep the ban.
P. Student. "Survey on Georgia's Law Against Slavery." 20 classmates and family members, 19 Nov.-3 Dec. 2026.
How it fits: This is my own survey to see what people know today.
P. Tailfer, Patrick, et al. A True and Historical Narrative of the Colony of Georgia in America, from the First Settlement Thereof until This Present Period. Charles-Town [Charleston], P. Timothy, 1741. Internet Archive, archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_a-true-and-historical-na_tailfer-patrick_1741.
How it fits: This has the Savannah settlers' 1738 petition in their own words.
S. Wood, Betty. "Slavery in Colonial Georgia." New Georgia Encyclopedia, 19 Sept. 2002, last edited 27 July 2021, www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/slavery-in-colonial-georgia/.
How it fits: This told me about both sides and what happened later.
Pictures on my board
Bowen, Emanuel. A New & Accurate Map of the Provinces of North & South Carolina Georgia &c. 1747. Geographicus, via Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1747_Bowen_Map_of_the_Southeastern_United_States_(Carolina,_Georgia,_Florida)_-_Geographicus_-_CarolinaGeorgia-bowen-1747.jpg.
Georgia Trustees. The 1735 law, page 50. The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, vol. 1, AMS Press, 1970. Internet Archive, archive.org/details/colonial-records-georgia_1970_1.
Source Reflection Worksheet
Student Name(s): Student
Project Title: The Law That Didn't Last: Georgia's Ban on Slavery
County Name: DeKalb
School Name: Huntley Hills Elementary School
Grade Level: 5
Directing Teacher Name: Mr. Gornall
Source #1
1) Name of Source:
"New Inverness Committee Petition: 1739" (the Darien Petition), Liberty County GAGenWeb
2) Primary or Secondary Source?
Primary. The Darien settlers wrote it and signed it in 1739. I read it on a website.
For the next 3 questions, a maximum of 200 words may be used.
3) Quote that you used or Example:
"It is shocking to human nature that any race of mankind and their posterity should be sentenced to perpetual slavery."
4) How I Used This Source in My Project:
I used it on my board for "Who Tried to Keep It?" It shows the settlers thought buying enslaved workers could ruin a poor master.
5) What I Learned From This Source:
I learned that 18 Scottish settlers wrote to General Oglethorpe on January 3, 1739. They wanted to keep the ban. They said slavery was bad. An encyclopedia said 1738, but I used 1739 because that is the date on the petition. I trust it because the settlers signed it themselves back then.
I verify that these materials, typed by Ms. Student (my mom), is exactly as I prepared it.
Student's Signature: Student
Source Reflection Worksheet
Student Name(s): Student
Project Title: The Law That Didn't Last: Georgia's Ban on Slavery
County Name: DeKalb
School Name: Huntley Hills Elementary School
Grade Level: 5
Directing Teacher Name: Mr. Gornall
Source #2
1) Name of Source:
"Slavery in Colonial Georgia," by Betty Wood, New Georgia Encyclopedia
2) Primary or Secondary Source?
Secondary. Betty Wood wrote it in 2002. She is a historian.
For the next 3 questions, a maximum of 200 words may be used.
3) Quote that you used or Example:
"Between 1750 and 1775 Georgia's enslaved population grew in size from less than 500 to approximately 18,000 people."
4) How I Used This Source in My Project:
I used this number in "Who Lost the Most?" and on my timeline. I also read about the Malcontents here for The Other Side.
5) What I Learned From This Source:
I learned the Trustees banned slavery partly because Spain was in Florida. They worried enslaved people would help Spain. I learned some settlers broke the law and brought enslaved people through Augusta. I trust this source because Betty Wood is a historian. The Georgia Historical Society has the same numbers.
I verify that these materials, typed by Ms. Student (my mom), is exactly as I prepared it.
Student's Signature: Student
Source Reflection Worksheet
Student Name(s): Student
Project Title: The Law That Didn't Last: Georgia's Ban on Slavery
County Name: DeKalb
School Name: Huntley Hills Elementary School
Grade Level: 5
Directing Teacher Name: Mr. Gornall
Source #3
1) Name of Source:
The 1750 law that ended the ban: "An Act for repealing an Act Intituled (An Act for rendering the Colony of Georgia more defensible...)," The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, Volume 1, pages 56-62, Internet Archive
2) Primary or Secondary Source?
Primary. The Trustees made this law in 1750. A book printed their exact words.
For the next 3 questions, a maximum of 200 words may be used.
3) Quote that you used or Example:
The law says slavery "would have been of dangerous Consequence but at present it may be a Benefit to the said Colony."
4) How I Used This Source in My Project:
I used it in "Who Got Rid of It?" and on my timeline. It proves the Trustees asked to end the ban.
5) What I Learned From This Source:
I learned the Trustees changed their minds. In 1735, they said slavery was dangerous. But in 1750, they said it might be a benefit. The law prints "first day of January" 1750. My teacher showed me the old calendar, so this really means January 1, 1751. I trust this source because it is the actual law.
I verify that these materials, typed by Ms. Student (my mom), is exactly as I prepared it.
Student's Signature: Student
The survey (the child's own data, given outside class)
Example data: the child writes the questions after the three Source Reflections, the teacher checks them, and the child gives the survey outside class, then tallies the answers and writes a finding with a number in it. The answers below were made up for this model child.
My Survey: the questions
Checked by my teacher before I asked anyone.
What I said first: "Hi, I'm doing a Social Studies Fair project. Can I ask you 4 quick questions? I won't write your name."
1. When Georgia first started, was there a law against slavery?
Yes / No / Not sure
2. Who do you think asked for the new law to end the ban?
The king / The Trustees / Settlers / Not sure
3. Who do you think lost the most when slavery became legal in Georgia?
Enslaved Africans / Settlers who wanted the ban / The Trustees / Not sure
4. Have you ever heard of the Scottish settlers at Darien?
Yes / No
My Survey: who I asked and my tally
Question 1: When Georgia first started, was there a law against slavery?
Yes: |||| = 4
No: |||| |||| | = 11
Not sure: |||| = 5
Question 2: Who do you think asked for the new law to end the ban?
The king: |||| || = 7
The Trustees: || = 2
Settlers: |||| = 5
Not sure: |||| | = 6
Question 3: Who do you think lost the most when slavery became legal in Georgia?
Enslaved Africans: |||| |||| |||| = 15
Settlers who wanted the ban: || = 2
The Trustees: 0
Not sure: ||| = 3
Question 4: Have you ever heard of the Scottish settlers at Darien?
Yes: | = 1
No: |||| |||| |||| |||| = 19
What I found: Only 20 people took it, not all Georgians. Only 4 of 20 said yes, there was a law. A yes could have been a guess. For question 2, seven people picked the king. Only 2 people picked the Trustees. But 15 of 20 picked enslaved Africans as who lost the most. Also, only 1 of the 20 people had heard of the Darien Scots.
Interview practice notes (kept by the child, not shown to the judges)
Interview Practice Notes (8 minutes with the judges)
Key words only. I practice with a grown-up and say it in my own words each time.
My 1-minute overview
- question: law against slavery when Georgia started?
- hypothesis: Georgia always had slavery, like South Carolina
- found: 1735 law banned it
- Malcontents pushed for slavery
- Trustees asked to end it, 1750
- legal Jan. 1, 1751 (teacher helped with old calendar)
- Darien Scots lost
- enslaved Africans lost most: under 500 to about 18,000
Why did you pick this question?
- live in Georgia
- surprised slavery was against the law here
Why it matters
- 11 of 20 people surveyed said there was no law
Best method
- reading the real 1735 and 1750 laws
- they are the Trustees' own words
How my thinking changed
- I thought Georgia always had slavery
- found out a law banned it first
Primary or secondary? Show me one.
- primary = made back then by people there
- Darien petition, 1739
- secondary = made later
- Betty Wood's article
Words I learned
- petition = paper signed to ask for change
- repeal = cancel a law
- Trustees = group in charge of Georgia
- colony = place ruled by another country
Best proof
- 1750 law, Trustees' own words
- numbers: under 500 to about 18,000
The other side, and what I say back
- Malcontents: said it would "render us capable to subsist ourselves" (let us feed ourselves)
- I say: farming worked at Ebenezer with free workers, one place
- cost: about 18,000 enslaved by 1775
- alternate: some say the Trustees ended the ban, not the settlers
- I say: the Trustees asked only after years of settlers pushing and breaking the law
Two sources didn't agree
- petition date: 1738 (encyclopedia) vs. 1739 (petition) -> used petition date
- ban start: 1733 (Historical Society) vs. 1735 (the law) -> used law date
- old calendar: Jan. 1, 1750 -> teacher showed me it means Jan. 1, 1751
Surprise
- Scots in 1739 said slavery was "shocking to human nature"
- Darien Scots tried to keep the ban
Hard part
- old spelling ("Defencible", "Intituled")
- mom helped read old words
- no words from enslaved people
My survey's limit
- only 20 people, 12 classmates and 8 family
- not all Georgians
- a yes might be a guess
How I did my survey
- teacher checked 4 questions
- 12 classmates, 8 family
- tallied, made bar graph
More time
- check a library and the Georgia Historical Society to see what happened to the Darien Scots
- look for words from enslaved people
- survey more people
If I don't know
- "I don't know yet. I could look in the New Georgia Encyclopedia or ask a librarian."
Picture credits
The 1735 Law: Georgia Trustees, 1735, "An Act for rendering the Colony of Georgia more Defencible...," page 50 of The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, vol. 1, compiled by Allen D. Candler (1904; AMS Press reprint, 1970), Internet Archive, archive.org/details/colonial-records-georgia_1970_1, leaf 52. Published 1904; treated as public domain. Cropped to the printed page.
A Map From 1747: Emanuel Bowen, "A New & Accurate Map of the Provinces of North & South Carolina Georgia &c.," 1747, plate 76 of A Complete System of Geography. Geographicus scan via Wikimedia Commons, File:1747_Bowen_Map_of_the_Southeastern_United_States_(Carolina,_Georgia,_Florida)_-_Geographicus_-_CarolinaGeorgia-bowen-1747.jpg. Public domain. Cropped to South Carolina, Georgia and north Florida.
My Survey Graph: Model illustration standing in for the child's hand-drawn bar graph, made with Nano Banana Pro (gemini-3-pro-image-preview, AI Studio). A real entry shows the child's own graph.
My Timeline: Model illustration standing in for the child's hand-made timeline strip, made with Nano Banana Pro (gemini-3-pro-image-preview, AI Studio). A real entry shows the child's own strip.
Made by: Claude Opus 5.5 (draft, checks, build); Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, AI Studio, Thinking High (final wording); Nano Banana Pro (gemini-3-pro-image-preview, AI Studio) for the pictures.