located in the Southeastern United States
. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers 42169 mi2, making it the 36th-largest by total land area. Tennessee is bordered by Kentucky
and Virginia
to the north, North Carolina
to the east, Georgia
, Alabama
, and Mississippi
to the south, and Arkansas
and Missouri
to the west. The Appalachian Mountains
dominate the eastern part of the state, and the Mississippi River
forms the state's western border.
1780 The Cumberland Compact is signed by leaders of the settlers in early Tennessee.
1784 Western North Carolina (now eastern Tennessee) declares itself an independent state under the name of Franklin; it wasn’t accepted into the United States, and only lasted for four years.
1796 Tennessee is admitted as the 16th state of the United States.
1809 Along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee, explorer Meriwether Lewis dies under mysterious circumstances at an inn called Grinder's Stand.
1838 Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States
1847 Cumberland School of Law is founded in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States, one of only 15 law schools to exist in the United States at the end of 1847.
1860 The original cornerstone of the University of the South is laid in Sewanee, Tennessee.
1861 American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union.
1862 American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant attacks Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
1862 American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee.