Yazoo land scandal

Georgia politicians sold large tracts of territory in the Yazoo lands, in what are now portions of the present-day states of Alabama and Mississippi, to political insiders at very low prices in 1794.

In the landmark decision in Fletcher v. Peck (1810), the Court ruled that the contracts were binding and the state could not retroactively invalidate the earlier land sales.

Claims involving the land purchases were not fully resolved until legislation was passed in 1814 establishing a claims-resolution fund.

This attempt never got off the ground because its major proponents became involved instead in an effort to establish the State of Franklin in present-day eastern Tennessee.

The existence of the Combined Society was also exposed in 1792; some of its principals continued to be active in attempts to develop Georgia lands.

On January 7, 1795, Governor Mathews signed into law a bill authorizing the sale of the 40,000,000 acres (160,000 km2), known as the Yazoo Act.

When the details of the sale were revealed, public outrage was widespread, and people protested to federal officials and Congressmen.

Senator James Jackson led the reform efforts: Irwin was elected Governor of Georgia and, less than two months after taking office, signed a bill on February 13, 1796 nullifying the Yazoo Act.

In 1802 the state ceded to the federal government all claim to lands west of its present border (which were organized into the Mississippi Territory), along with the ongoing legal disputes.

The landmark Fletcher v. Peck decision marked one of the first times the Court overturned a state law, deciding that the land sales were binding contracts and could not be retroactively invalidated by the passage of superseding legislation.