GMAS 8th Grade Social Studies Practice Test 2026 – The All-in-One Guide for Exam Success!

Bringing debtors and England's "worthy poor" to Georgia is about philanthropy—the idea of helping vulnerable people by giving them a chance to start over. The colony's founders, led by James Oglethorpe, framed Georgia as a social reform project: a place where those imprisoned for debt could relocate, work the land, and improve their lives, rather than remain trapped by punishment. While economic goals and the land itself were part of the plan, the emphasis here is on charitable relief and rehabilitation. Savannah is the settlement that grew from this effort, and the Charter of 1732 is the legal grant that made the venture possible, but neither captures the motive as directly as the philanthropic aim does.