This university town in Georgia, with a history of no less than 200 years, was originally related to three people from the north. More than 200 years ago, before the United States, North America 13 colonies lined up along the east coast. Georgia is the southernmost one and the most backward one, with vast and desolate forests and few people. Most of the British who developed Georgia were debtors selected from British debt prisons, where they used their labor to repay their debts. Of course, their quality is extremely low, which makes Georgians feel a little ashamed of their ancestors today. Fortunately, a "Yankee" named Lyman Hall came from the northern colony of Connecticut. This Mr. Hall is a real northerner. He was born in Connecticut and graduated from the famous Yale University. He is a doctor. 1750, he sailed south along the coast, landed in scorching Georgia and became a Georgian.

In this wild land, while practicing medicine, he became the owner of the manor and soon became the political leader of Georgia. 1775 At the Second Continental Congress, North America 13 colonies made up their minds to rebel against the British king and gain independence. Georgia sent Hall to attend the meeting, and he signed the declaration of independence on behalf of Georgia. In this way, Georgia, an incredibly backward place, thankfully caught the express train of the American revolution.

Hall is a graduate of Yale after all. He knows that it is never a problem for people to have no education, so he wants to find someone to develop education as soon as possible. These people who come from Europe to explore the new world seem to be particularly concerned about running universities. At that time, Georgia only had the coastal port of Savannah and two or three small towns, and the total white population was 1.7 million. There are few people in such a desolate place, and I thought it would be impossible without a university. But most people are still illiterate. Who will do it? Hall went to his alma mater, Yale University, to find a way. This brought the second northerner, abraham baldwin.

Baldwin's family was a blacksmith's family when they were in England. They passed on their skills and immigrated to North America and New England, and they are still blacksmiths. At that time, in the colonial residence, the blacksmith shop was an important place in a town, and all tools, guns and vehicle parts were made in the blacksmith shop. Besides, it's cold in New England, but isn't the blacksmith's shop very warm? People in the town often gather in the blacksmith's shop, which naturally becomes the center of discussion, just like the old teahouse in China. Our abraham baldwin grew up in a blacksmith's shop and was familiar with the local people's way of deliberation, so he became familiar with something called "politics".

Mr Baldwin became a lawyer after graduating from Yale, but he seemed to be more addicted to being a teacher and later taught at Yale. Teaching is always unsatisfactory. Yale, like Harvard, was run by Puritan colonists imitating Cambridge University in England, and the courses were almost all "classical knowledge", that is, theology with Latin as the core, which was a bit like the Chinese studies of our time. The more advanced the place, the deeper the knowledge, the deeper the knowledge, and the more secluded it is. This is true at all times and in all countries. At this time, Hall sent a message from Georgia, saying that there was no university there, and he was going to run a university there. Without saying a word, Baldwin excitedly boarded a seagoing ship.

1783, Mr. Hall, a northerner, has become the governor of Georgia. I thought about the word "Governor", and now I can only make do with English, because in colonial times, this title was the governor of every colony appointed by the British king, but after the establishment of the United States of America, this title is now the governor of every state. With such a big difference, America hasn't changed a word. By this time, the North American colonies had risen up against the British king, and this position was elected by the parliament. It is obviously inappropriate to call the governor; But at this time, it will take several years for the United States to have a constitution, and it seems inappropriate to call the governor. Governor Hall and his new alumnus Baldwin joined hands in the Georgia legislature to call for the establishment of a university before this place has a future. People ask, what about universities? Hall said that my hometown Baldwin is an expert. 1785, the Georgia parliament asked Baldwin to draft a constitution, and the constitution of the University of Georgia was adopted by the parliament. This is the first university charter passed by the state legislature in the United States, so the University of Georgia is the first state university in the United States, which was born in the wildest place in the United States, 2 16 years ago. Parliament adopted the constitution and appointed a school board. By the way, Baldwin was appointed as the first headmaster. There was nothing in Georgia at that time, only endless land. Parliament legislated to circle four acres of land on the map as university land. Do it.

Baldwin took thousands of acres of land on the map, only to find that there is still a long way to go before the university starts. What is missing? Everything is lacking, and the most important thing is the lack of students. At this time, Georgia did not even have a decent primary school or middle school. You just have a university. Who will attend? Mr Baldwin found that he had to set up primary schools and middle schools in Georgia first, and future college students had to teach from primary schools when they were born.

Baldwin persuaded the parliament to legislate, and each county set aside a large area of land, and the land proceeds were used exclusively for running schools, a bit like the old school fields in China. However, there was no shortage of land in Georgia at that time, and the income from land was relatively slow. But this law sets a precedent for the public education system. Baldwin has always believed that education is a public welfare undertaking and should be supported by public funds. College students in the future have just entered primary school, and universities will not be able to run for a while. Baldwin must have something to do. He knows the road around him, so he uses what he heard in the blacksmith's shop as a child to engage in politics. He became a member of parliament and took part in legislation. 1787, he represented Georgia in the famous constitutional convention held in Philadelphia, during which he was the person who spoke the most in the Georgian delegation. After all, he is a northerner who graduated from Yale, and learning is his best. It can be seen that Georgians are also convinced. The famous Constitutional Convention was a secret meeting, and only Madison, who later drafted the Constitution, took notes, which were published 50 years later. Now that experts have studied it, Baldwin, a representative from remote Georgia, plays a much bigger role than originally thought. He actively participated in the establishment of American democracy, that is, the establishment of a decentralized, restrictive and balanced federal government. It seems to be a deliberate attempt to empty the Federation, and it is also agreed that the future American Federation should not establish universities. So there are state universities in the United States, but there are no national universities, so far.

And this northerner, entrusted by the southern folks, insisted on maintaining the original slave-holding system at the Constitutional Convention, leaving the darkest stroke in American history. What about himself? He is a northerner, not even a slave. He has never been very rich in his life. Finally, Baldwin and another Georgian general signed the American Constitution on behalf of Georgia.

In this way, Hall, the first northerner, signed the Declaration of Independence, and Baldwin, another northerner, signed the American Constitution. Two representatives from Georgia are both graduates of Yale University in the north. Sounds like destiny takes a hand. 10 years later, Hall has been dead for many years, and neighboring North Carolina quickly established a state university and enrolled students. Baldwin is in a hurry. At this time, he found that a generation of students had been teaching from primary school to middle school, and now it was time to run a university. 1800, on the first day of the new century, Baldwin convened a new school board in Louisville, then the capital of Georgia. The members of the school board died and left, leaving Baldwin alone in the original class. Baldwin said, now, we should decide a place, build a house to recruit students, hire professors and run a university.

This group of people rode to the land reserved by Parliament for the University of Georgia 15 years ago to explore and see where the university was built. It seems that there are mountains and water, and the place with green mountains and green waters is the most ideal. Unfortunately, this land was not given to the university by the parliament 15 years ago, but private land in the hands of real estate developers, with a total area of 633 mu. John Millegel, the new governor of Georgia who is traveling with him, said that at present, it is easy to deal with. I will buy it and give it to the university. Baldwin knew that it might be a bit too much for him to start a university from scratch, so he went to Yale University and found a northerner, josiah O Meg, as the new president. This is the third northerner from Yale.

With Mr Baldwin on 15 Chinese paper as the background, President Meggers let people leave the glade and built several wooden houses with local materials. So residential areas appeared in the vast jungle. People bought bricks, lime and nails from distant cities and built the first teaching building. This building, now called the Old College Building, is still the center of the University of Georgia. According to the Yale model, Maggs bought books from the North and England and set up a library. Order maps and equipment; The mercury thermometer I bought all the way from England broke down when I was handling it. You can imagine how distressed you are. In this way, in the vast jungle of Georgia, the first university established by the state legislature in the United States-the University of Georgia was established. Around the university, residents moved in quickly and formed a small town. Give this town a name. They solemnly named this small town in the forest "Athens", an ancient name.

At the opening ceremony of the first batch of more than a dozen students at the University of Georgia, they imitated the ancient ceremony and asked the Athens police to lead the students into the stadium. This rule has been used to this day, but now it is impossible for more than 30 thousand students to hold the opening ceremony together, so they have to symbolically let the doctoral students of the law school be the representatives. The police in Athens will also wear the uniforms of 200 years ago to perform this uninterrupted task.

When the first Athenian citizen died, they buried him in a public cemetery. On the way from the church to the cemetery, the police officer cleared the way in front of the funeral procession and signaled all pedestrians and vehicles to stand still to show respect for the deceased citizen. This provision has continued to this day. The city is big, the downtown area is prosperous, and the traffic is fast, but when the long funeral procession passes slowly, the road is still silent. This time can best show the ancient and popular feelings of this small town with a history of only 200 years. During the years of the Civil War, the University of Georgia closed, almost all the students joined the Confederate army to fight, and the school house became a Confederate hospital. Today, the history of this rebellion is still remembered on the nameplate at the entrance of the university, and the Confederate soldier monument stands on the road in the center of the town, which strongly promotes its southern essence. When General Sherman of the Union Army set fire to Savannah from Atlanta, he had to pass through Athens. The people of Athens intend to fight to the death. Strangely, General Sherman's team made a detour after a short pause on the other side of the Okenny River. Athens survived a military disaster, leaving today's people with early colonial architecture.

Perhaps because of the karma with Yale University, after the magnificent American football field was built at the University of Georgia more than 100 years later, the first game was that the sheepdogs of the University of Georgia and Yale University started. Today, the University of Georgia is famous for its team. Speaking of the University of Georgia, if others don't respond, just say sheepdog, and everyone will know.