Encyclopedia
Tennessee is a
U.S. state located in the
Southern United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the union. Tennessee is known as the "Volunteer State", a nickname it earned during the
War of 1812, in which volunteer soldiers from Tennessee played a prominent role, especially during the
Battle of New Orleans.
Geography
Tennessee lies adjacent to 8 other states:
Kentucky and
Virginia to the north;
North Carolina on the east; on the south by
Georgia,
Alabama and
Mississippi; and on the west by
Arkansas and
Missouri—which makes Tennessee tied with Missouri as the states with the most states touching them in the U.S. The state is trisected by the
Tennessee River. The highest point in the state is the peak of
Clingmans Dome at 6,643 feet , which lies on Tennessee's eastern border. The geographical center of the state is located several miles east of
Murfreesboro on Old Lascassas Pike and is marked by a roadside monument.
The state of Tennessee is geographically and constitutionally divided into three Grand Divisions:
East Tennessee,
Middle Tennessee, and
West Tennessee.
Tennessee features six principal physiographic regions: the
Blue Ridge, the
Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region, the
Cumberland Plateau, the Highland Rim, the
Nashville Basin, and the Gulf Coastal Plain.
East Tennessee
The
Blue Ridge area lies on the eastern edge of Tennessee, on the border of North Carolina. This region of Tennessee is characterized by high mountains, including the
Great Smoky Mountains, the Chilhowee Mountains, the Unicoi Range, and the Snowbird Mountains. The average elevation of the Blue Ridge area is 5,000 feet above sea level. Clingman's Dome is located in this region.
Stretching west from the Blue Ridge for approximately 55
miles is the Ridge and Valley region, in which numerous tributaries join to form the Tennessee River in the
Tennessee Valley. This area of Tennessee is covered by fertile
valleys separated by wooded ridges, such as Bays Mountain and Clinch Mountain. The western section of the Tennessee valley, where the depressions become broader and the ridges become lower, is called the Great Valley.
Middle Tennessee
To the west of East Tennessee lies the
Cumberland Plateau. This area is covered with flat-topped mountains separated by sharp valleys. The elevation of the Cumberland Plateau ranges from 1,500 to 1,800 feet above sea level.
The northern section of the Highland Rim is sometimes called the
Pennyroyal Plateau. To the west of the Cumberland Plateau is the Highland Rim, an elevated plain that surrounds the
Nashville Basin. The Nashville Basin is characterized by rich, fertile farm country.This region is also known for its high tobacco production, and rich natural wildlife diversity.
Many biologists study the area's salamander species because the diversity is greater there than anywhere else in the U.S. This is thought to be because of the clean
Appalachian foothill springs that abound in the area. Some of the last remaining large
American Chestnut trees still grow in this region and are being used to help breed blight resistant trees. Middle Tennessee was a common destination of settlers crossing the Appalachians in the late 1700s and early 1800s. An important trading route called the
Natchez Trace connected Middle Tennessee to the lower Mississippi River.
West Tennessee
West of the Highland Rim and Nashville Basin is the Gulf Coastal Plain, which includes the
Mississippi embayment. The Gulf Coastal Plain is, in terms of area, the predominant land region in Tennessee. It is part of the large geographic land area that begins at the
Gulf of Mexico and extends north into southern
Illinois. In Tennessee, the Gulf Coastal Plain is divided into three sections that extend from the Tennessee River in the east to the
Mississippi River in the west. The easternmost section consists of hilly land that runs along the western bank of the Tennessee River. This section of the Gulf Coastal Plain is about 10 miles wide. To the west of this narrow strip of land is a wide area of rolling hills and streams that stretches all the way to Memphis. This area is called the Tennessee Bottoms or bottom land. In Memphis, the Tennessee Bottoms end in steep bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. To the west of the Tennessee Bottoms is the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, less than 300 feet above sea level. This area of lowlands, flood plains, and swamp land is sometimes referred to as
The Delta region.
Most of West Tennessee remained Indian land until the Chickasaw Cession of 1818, when the
Chickasaw ceded their land between the Tennessee River and the Mississippi River. In Kentucky, this region is known today as
Jackson Purchase.
Public lands
Areas under the control and management of the
National Park Service include:
Twenty-three state parks, covering some 132,000 acres as well as parts of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and
Cherokee National Forest, and
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park are in Tennessee. Sportsmen and visitors are attracted to
Reelfoot Lake, originally formed by an
earthquake; stumps and other remains of a once dense forest, together with the lotus bed covering the shallow waters, give the lake an eerie beauty.
See also: List of Tennessee counties, List of Tennessee state parksHistory
The area now known as Tennessee was first settled by Paleo-Indians nearly 11,000 years ago. The names of the cultural groups that inhabited the area between first settlement and the time of European contact are unknown, but several distinct cultural phases have been named by archaeologists, including Archaic, Woodland, and
Mississippian whose chiefdoms were the cultural predecessors of the
Muscogee people who inhabited the Tennessee River Valley prior to Cherokee migration into the river's headwaters.
When
Spanish explorers first visited the area, led by Hernando de Soto in 1539–43, it was inhabited by tribes of
Muscogee and
Yuchi people. Possibly because of European diseases devastating the Native tribes, which would have left a population vacuum, and also from expanding European settlement in the north, the
Cherokee moved south from the area now called Virginia. As European colonists spread into the area, the native populations were forcibly displaced to the south and west, including all Muscogee and Yuchi peoples, the
Chickasaw, and
Choctaw. From 1838 to 1839, nearly 17,000 Cherokees were forced to march from Eastern Tennessee to
Indian Territory west of Arkansas. This came to be known as the
Trail of Tears, as an estimated 4,000 Cherokees died along the way.
Tennessee was admitted to the Union in 1796 as the 16th state; it was created by taking the north and south borders of North Carolina and extending them to the Mississippi River, with one small deviation. The word Tennessee comes from the Cherokee town Tanasi, which along with its neighbor town Chota was one of the most important Cherokee towns and often referred to as the capital city of the Overhill Cherokee. The meaning of the word "tanasi" is lost .
Many major battles of the
American Civil War were fought in Tennessee—most of them Union victories. It was the last border state to secede from the Union when it joined the
Confederate States of America on June 8, 1861.
Ulysses S. Grant and the
U.S. Navy captured control of the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers in February 1862, and they held off the Confederate counterattack at Shiloh in April. Capture of Memphis and Nashville gave the Union control of the western and middle sections; this control was confirmed at the battle of Murfreesboro in early January 1863. But the Confederates held East Tennessee despite the strength of Unionist sentiment there, with the exception of extremely pro-Confederate Sullivan County. The Confederates besieged Chattanooga in early fall 1863, but were driven off by Grant in November. Many of the Confederate defeats can be attributed to the poor strategic vision of General
Braxton Bragg, who led the Army of Tennessee from
Shiloh to Confederate defeat at Chattanooga. The last major battles came when the Confederates invaded in November 1864 and were checked at Franklin, then totally destroyed by George Thomas at Nashville, in December. Meanwhile
Andrew Johnson, a civilian appointed by
President Abraham Lincoln, was the military governor, and
slavery was abolished.
After the war, Tennessee adopted a new constitution that abolished slavery effective February 22, 1865 and ratified the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on July 18, 1866. Tennessee was the first state readmitted to the Union on July 24, 1866. Because it ratified the Fourteenth Amendment, Tennessee was the only state that seceded from the Union that did not have a military governor during
Reconstruction.
In 1897, the state celebrated its centennial of statehood with a great
exposition.
The need to create work for the unemployed during the
Great Depression, the desire for rural electrification, and the desire to control the annual spring floods and improve shipping on the Tennessee River drove the creation of the
Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933. It quickly became the nation's largest public utility.
During
World War II, Oak Ridge was selected as a
United States Department of Energy national laboratory, one of the principal sites for the
Manhattan Project's production and isolation of weapons-grade fissile material.
Tennessee celebrated its bicentennial in 1996 after a yearlong statewide celebration entitled "Tennessee 200" by opening a new state park at the foot of Capitol Hill in
Nashville.
Demographics
| Historical populations |
|---|
Census
year | Population |
|---|
|
| 1790 | 35,691 |
| 1800 | 105,602 |
| 1810 | 261,727 |
| 1820 | 422,823 |
| 1830 | 681,904 |
| 1840 | 829,210 |
| 1850 | 1,002,717 |
| 1860 | 1,109,801 |
| 1870 | 1,258,520 |
| 1880 | 1,542,359 |
| 1890 | 1,767,518 |
| 1900 | 2,020,616 |
| 1910 | 2,184,789 |
| 1920 | 2,337,885 |
| 1930 | 2,616,556 |
| 1940 | 2,915,841 |
| 1950 | 3,291,718 |
| 1960 | 3,567,089 |
| 1970 | 3,923,687 |
| 1980 | 4,591,120 |
| 1990 | 4,877,185 |
| 2000 | 5,689,283 |
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2005, Tennessee has an estimated population of 5,962,959, which is an increase of 69,661, or 1.2%, from the prior year and an increase of 273,697, or 4.8%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 117,203 people and an increase from net migration of 159,680 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 49,973 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 109,707 people.
In 2000, the five most common self-reported ethnic groups in the state were:
American ,
African American ,
Irish , English , and
German . Those who identify themselves as 'American' are most likely of British or
Scotch-Irish descent.
The state's African-American population is concentrated mainly in Western and Middle Tennessee and the cities of
Memphis,
Nashville,
Clarksville,
Chattanooga, and
Knoxville.
6.6% of Tennessee's population were reported as under 5 years of age, 24.6% under 18, and 12.4% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.3% of the population.
Religion
The religious affiliations of the people of Tennessee are:
- Christian – 82%
- Other Religions – 3%
- Non-Religious – 9%
Source:
Economy
According to U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 2003 Tennessee's gross state product was $199,786,000,000, 1.8% of the total
Gross Domestic Product.
In 2003, the per capita personal income was $28,641, 36th in the nation, and only 91% of the national per capita personal income of $31,472. Total earnings were $167,414,793,000.
Major outputs for the state include textiles, cotton, cattle, and electrical power.
The Tennessee
income tax does not apply to salaries and wages, but most income from stocks, bonds and notes receivable is taxable. All taxable dividends and interest which exceed the $1,250 single exemption or the $2,500 joint exemption are taxable at the rate of 6%. Generally, the state's sales and use tax rate is 7%. Food is taxed at 6%, but candy, dietary supplements and prepared food are taxed at the increased 7% rate. Local sales taxes are collected, and those rates vary from 1.5% to 2.75% . Intangible property is assessed on the shares of stock of stockholders of any loan company, investment company, insurance company or for-profit cemetery companies. The assessment ratio is 40% of the value multiplied by the tax rate for the jurisdiction. Tennessee imposes an inheritance tax on decedents' estates that exceed maximum single exemption limits. www.state.tn.us/revenue/forms/inhgift/guideinhestate.pdf
Tennessee is a
right to work state.
Transportation
Interstate highways
Interstate 40 crosses nearly the entire state in an east-west orientation. Its branch interstate highways include
I-240 in Memphis;
I-440 and
I-840 in Nashville; and
I-140 and
I-640 in Knoxville.
I-26, although technically an east-west interstate, runs from the North Carolina border below
Johnson City to its terminus at
Kingsport.
I-24 is the other east-west interstate crossing Tennessee.
In a north-south orientation are highways
I-55,
I-65,
I-75, and
I-81. Interstate 65 crosses the state through Nashville, while Interstate 75 serves Knoxville and Interstate 55 serves Memphis. Interstate 81 enters the state at Bristol and terminates at its junction with I-40 near
Jefferson City.
I-155 is a branch highway from I-55.
Airports
Major airports within the state include Nashville International Airport ,
Memphis International Airport , McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville,
Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport , and Tri-Cities Regional Airport .
Law and government
Tennessee's governor holds office for a four year term and may serve a maximum of two terms. The governor is the only official who is elected statewide, making him one of the more powerful chief executives in the nation. The state does not elect the
lieutenant-governor directly, contrary to most other states; the Tennessee Senate elects its Speaker who serves as lieutenant governor.
The
Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature, consists of the 33-member Senate and the 99-member House of Representatives. Senators serve four year terms, and House members serve two year terms. Each chamber chooses its own speaker. The speaker of the state Senate also holds the title of lieutenant-governor. Most executive officials are elected by the legislature.
The highest court in Tennessee is the state Supreme Court. It has a chief justice and four associate justices. No more than two justices can be from the same Grand Division. The Court of Appeals has 12 judges. The Court of Criminal Appeals has nine judges.
Tennessee's current state constitution was adopted in 1870. The state had two earlier constitutions. The first was adopted in 1796, the year Tennessee joined the union, and the second was adopted in 1834.
Politics
Tennessee politics, like that of most U.S. States, revolves around the Democratic and Republican Parties. Democrats are very strong in metropolitan Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga. The Democratic Party is also relatively strong in most of Middle Tennessee, and West Tennessee north of Memphis.
The Republicans have the most strength in East Tennessee, one of the few areas of the South with a Republican voting history that predates the 1960s. Much of this region has not elected a Democrat to
Congress since the Civil War. In contrast, the Democrats dominated politics in the rest of the state until the 1960s. The Republicans also have much strength in the suburbs of Memphis and Nashville.
During the
2000 Presidential Election, Tennessee did not vote for
Al Gore, who is a former
U.S. Senator from Tennessee. The people instead voted for Republican
George W. Bush.
Federally, Tennessee sends nine members to the House of Representatives. Currently, the delegation consists of five Democrats and four Republicans.
See also: List of Tennessee Governors, U.S. Congressional Delegations from TennesseeImportant cities and towns
The current capital is
Nashville, though
Knoxville,
Kingston, and
Murfreesboro have all served as
state capitals.
Memphis has the largest population of any city in the state, but Nashville has a larger
metropolitan area.
Chattanooga and Knoxville, both in the eastern part of the state near the Great Smoky Mountains, each has approximately a third of the population of Memphis or Nashville. The city of
Clarksville is the fifth significant population center, some 45 miles northwest of Nashville. The
Johnson City-
Kingsport-
Bristol metropolitan area is the state's fourth largest metropolitan area and is located in the extreme northeastern part of the state.
Major cities
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Secondary cities
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Education
Colleges and universities
