Business law, a term without precise technical definition, encompasses in common usage a vast array of constitutional, legal, and administrative regulations of commercial activity in allits forms and includes a wide variety of both federal and state legislative and administrative prescriptions. Understood in this broad fashion, business law has been a feature of Georgia commercial life at all periods in the history of the colony and state. Early Regulations Business regulations have been familiar in Georgia since the colonial era when, during the Trusteeship period (1732-52), Georgia’s governmental authorities enacted restrictions on a number of commercial and professional activities, including prohibitions against trade of enslaved persons, the sale of rum and other alcoholic beverages, and professional activity by lawyers.

Button Gwinnett's signature is said to be one of the rarest and most valuable of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The signature is housed at the Georgia Archives in Morrow. The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print. All requests for permission to publish or reproduce the resource must be submitted to the rights holder.

A waterfall in Cloudland Canyon State Park in Dade County. The park is one of many scenic attractions in the county, which include Lookout Mountain and 164 caves. The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print. All requests for permission to publish or reproduce the resource must be submitted to the rights holder.

A 1960 Atlanta Coca-Cola Bottling Company store display. Coca-Cola drinks have appeared in a variety of bottle shapes and sizes over the years, settling finally into its distinctive "hobbleskirt" bottle in 1916. The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print. Requests for permission to publish or reproduce the resource should be submitted to Special Collections and Archives at Georgia State University.

After a career in journalism, Olive Ann Burns was inspired to write her first novel, Cold Sassy Tree, after being diagnosed with cancer in 1975. The book was published in 1984 by Ticknor and Fields; the cover of the 1986 paperback reprint by Dell is pictured. The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print.