This outline is designed to be used with the New Georgia Encyclopedia (NGE). The NGE is a joint effort meant to be "the first state encyclopedia to be conceived and designed exclusively for publication online ... [helping] users understand the rich history and diverse culture of Georgia's still-unfolding story." The encyclopedia is overseen by the Georgia Humanities Council in partnership with the University of Georgia Press, The State of Georgia, and GALILEO: Georgia Virtual Library.

A good starting point in the NGE is the article, "Georgia History: Overview" (NGE History & Archaeology Topics).

You may also use other sources to help you study. Units 1-8 of Georgia Public Broadcasting's Georgia Studies Digital Textbook covers the history of Georgia and is also available for free. Recent scholarship on the history of the state can be found in Georgia: A Brief History by Christopher Meyers and David Williams. Please check with Odum Library or your local library for the availability of additional resources.

The Georgia Exemption Exams are offered online at no cost and may be taken as many times as is needed to obtain a passing score (Request Online Access). The passing score on the Georgia History Exam is 52% (26 correct answers out of 50 total).

Which Georgia Legislative Exemption Exam Do I Need? Do I need both?

Time Periods / Areas of Study:

Pre-European Contact (~13,000 years ago-1550s AD)
Colonial (1550s-1776)
Revolutionary (1774-1780s)
Confederation America / Early Nation (1780s-1820)
Antebellum (1820-1861)
Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
Gilded Age / Progressive Era / World War I (1870s-1920)
Interwar Years and World War II (1920-1945)
Post World War II / 21st Century (1945-Present)
Governors of Georgia
Georgia State Capitals

Pre-European Contact (~13,000 years ago-1550s AD)

    • Important Topics of Study:
      • Rock Mounds and Structures
      • Kolomoki Mounds
      • Ocmulgee Mounds / Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park
      • Pre-historic Periods
        • Paleoindian Period
        • Archaic Period
        • Woodland Period
        • Mississippian Period
        • Lamar Period

Colonial (1550s-1776)

    • Important Topics of Study: 
      • Mission Santa Catalina de Guale / St. Catherine's Island
      • Colonial Immigration
      • Trustee Georgia / Board of Trustees
      • Slavery in Colonial Georgia
      • James Oglethorpe
      • Chief Tomochichi / Yamacraw Indians
      • Motives for Colonization
      • The War of Jenkins’ Ear
      • Battle of Bloody Marsh
      • Royal Georgia Governmental Structure
      • Royal Georgia Economy
      • James Wright

Revolutionary (1774-1780s)

    • Important Topics of Study:
      • Peter Tondee / Tondee’s Tavern
      • Georgia Signers of the Declaration of Independence:
        • Button Gwinnett
        • George Walton
        • Lyman Hall
      • Revolutionary War in Georgia / The Rules and Regulations
      • Archibald Bulloch
      • Nathaniel Greene
      • Siege of Savannah
      • Slavery in Revolutionary Georgia
      • Battle of Kettle Creek / Nancy Hart

Confederation America / Early Nation (1780s-1820)

    • Important Topics of Study:
      • William Few Jr.
      • Abraham Baldwin
      • Agriculture
      • Eli Whitney
      • Yazoo Land Fraud
      • Land Lottery System
      • Cherokee Indians
      • Sequoyah
      • Creek Indians

Antebellum (1820-1861)

    • Important Topics of Study:
      • George Troup
      • 1829 Gold Rush
      • Cherokee Nation
        • The Cherokee Phoenix
        • Worcester v. Georgia
        • Chief John Ross
        • Cherokee Removal / Trail of Tears
      • Railroad Construction
      • United States Sectional Crisis
      • Slavery in Antebellum Georgia
      • Georgia Platform
      • Joe E. Brown
      • 1860 United States Presidential Election

Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)

    • Important Topics of Study:
      • Civil War in Georgia
      • Confederate States of America
      • Alexander H. Stephens
      • Civil War Home Front
      • Andrews Raid
      • Andersonville Prison
      • Atlanta Campaign
      • Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
      • Gen. William T. Sherman / Sherman's March to the Sea
      • Rufus Bullock
      • Jefferson Franklin Long
      • Sharecropping System
      • Ku Klux Klan

Gilded Age / Progressive Era / World War I (1870s-1920)

    • Important Topics of Study:
      • Bourbon Triumvirate
      • Populism / Farmers' Alliance
      • Thomas E. Watson
      • Henry W. Grady
        • The New South
      • Hoke Smith
      • The Leo Frank Case
      • Joel Chandler Harris
      • Early Civil Rights Movement in Georgia
      • Jim Crow
      • World War I in Georgia

Interwar Years and World War II (1920-1945)

    • Important Topics of Study:
      • Boll Weevil
      • Carl Vinson
      • William Hartsfield
      • Great Depression
      • Richard B. Russell
      • Franklin D. Roosevelt / Warm Springs
      • New Deal
      • Eugene Talmadge
      • World War II in Georgia
      • Wartime Economy
      • Liberty Ship

Post World War II / 21st Century (1945-Present)

    • Important Topics of Study:
      • 1958 Atlanta Temple Bombing
      • County Unit System / Carl Sanders
      • Three Governors Controversy / Herman Talmadge
      • Civil Rights Movement in Georgia
      • Dr. Martin Luther King
      • Lester Maddox
      • The City Too Busy to Hate / Ivan Allen Jr.
      • Air France Flight 007
      • Andrew Young
      • Maynard Jackson
      • Hank Aaron
      • Jimmy Carter
      • Post World War II Economic Growth
        • The Sunbelt / Sun Belt
      • Brotherhood March
      • Zell Miller / HOPE Scholarship
      • 1996 Atlanta Olympics
      • State Flags of Georgia and Controversy

Governors of Georgia 

Georgia's Historic Capitals