History of the Volunteer State – Tennessee
By Dr. Wayne C. Moore
Nestled amidst the rolling hills and verdant landscapes of the American Southeast lies Tennessee, a state rich in history, culture, and natural beauty. Affectionately known as the "Volunteer State," Tennessee boasts a narrative as diverse and captivating as its geography, from the rugged peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains to the fertile plains of the Mississippi River Delta. This intricate tapestry of events has shaped Tennessee into the vibrant and dynamic state it is today.
Before European settlement, the land that would become Tennessee served as a vast hunting ground and contested territory for numerous Native American tribes. While no single tribe claimed permanent dominion over the entire area, the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Shawnee, and the Six Nations of the Iroquois all frequented the region. The Cherokee, however, established a more permanent presence, primarily inhabiting the southeastern portions of the state. Their villages and way of life were deeply intertwined with the land, utilizing its resources for sustenance and cultural practices.
The first significant European incursion came in 1756 when Earl Loudon, the governor of Virginia, dispatched Andrew Lewis to establish a settlement. Lewis constructed Fort Loudon along the Tennessee River, approximately 30 miles from the present-day city of Knoxville. This outpost, intended to solidify British claims and facilitate trade with the Native Americans, met a tragic end. In 1760, the fort was besieged by hostile Indigenous warriors. The fort fell, and many of its inhabitants were either killed or taken captive, highlighting the precarious nature of early colonial life. A year later, armed men from Virginia and North Carolina retook the fort in 1761 and worked with the Indians for peace.
As the eastern colonies grew, settlers began to push westward, drawn by the promise of fertile land and new opportunities. Around 1708, a group of immigrants from North Carolina, led by James Bobinson, established a settlement along the Watauga River, a headstream of the Tennessee River. Recognizing that they were on Cherokee land, the settlers negotiated an eight-year lease in 1771. Demonstrating a remarkable spirit of self-governance, the settlers organized themselves into the "Watauga Association" and adopted a code of laws to govern their community. This pioneering spirit of self-determination would become a defining characteristic of Tennessee.
The Watauga settlement attracted more newcomers, and settlements expanded along the Holston River valley, venturing over the ridges towards the Clinch River and other waterways. Some even journeyed into Powell Valley, establishing a settlement in the southwestern corner of Virginia. These early pioneers faced numerous challenges, including conflicts with Native Americans, the difficulties of frontier life, and the absence of established legal and political structures.
As the population grew, the settlers’ demands for protection from Native American attacks and the right to navigate the Mississippi River intensified. Frustrated by the perceived indifference of the North Carolina government, the settlers took matters into their own hands. In August 1784, they formed the breakaway State of Franklin, a bold declaration of independence and self-reliance.
The State of Franklin, though unrecognized by the Continental Congress and the North Carolina government, took steps to establish itself as a functioning entity. John Sevier, a charismatic and respected leader, was elected governor. Sevier, renowned as "the greatest of Indian fighters," having fought against the Creek, Choctaw, and Cherokee, played a crucial role in defending the fledgling state from external threats. North Carolina, however, viewed the secession as an act of rebellion and sought to reassert its authority over its western counties. The State of Franklin was short-lived due to internal divisions among East Tennesseans and North Carolina’s policies to reassert control. In 1788, the state passed out of existence. That same year, Sevier was arrested on a charge of treason under North Carolina law, but he escaped. He was then elected to the North Carolina Senate and received a pardon from the governor, ending the treason charge.
In 1789, North Carolina ratified the United States Constitution and ceded its western lands to the federal government. This cession paved the way for the creation of the "Territory South of the Ohio River," often referred to as the Southwest Territory, in 1790, which included both Tennessee and Kentucky. President George Washington appointed William Blount as the territorial governor, entrusting him with the task of establishing a functioning government and preparing the territory for statehood.
By 1794, Tennessee was granted a distinct territorial government, marking a significant step towards achieving its aspirations of becoming a state. Finally, on June 1, 1796, Tennessee was admitted into the Union as the 16th state. The early years of statehood saw the seat of government move several times, starting in Knoxville before relocating to Kingston, Nashville, and Murfreesboro, before finding a permanent home in Nashville in 1826.
The early years of settlement were marked by the introduction of slavery, as planters brought enslaved people from Kentucky and Virginia. Despite this, there was also a notable undercurrent of support for emancipation, primarily driven by white settlers fearing competition with slave labor. The constitutional convention of 1796 granted free blacks the right to vote, provided they met residency and property requirements. However, no comprehensive emancipation law was enacted, setting the stage for future conflicts over the issue of slavery.
Tennessee played a significant role in the War of 1812, particularly in the Gulf region. Andrew Jackson, commander of the Tennessee Militia, upon hearing of the declaration of war, offered his services and those of 2,500 volunteers to the President of the United States. Jackson’s militia, despite facing supply shortages, lack of support from the War Department, and instances of mutiny, achieved a series of victories over the Red Sticks, a traditionalist faction of Creek Indians who resisted American expansion.
Jackson’s victory at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in Alabama in 1814 decisively broke the Creek military power and catapulted Jackson, along with his lieutenants William Carroll and Sam Houston, to national fame. Jackson was appointed major general in the U.S. Army and tasked with defending the Gulf Coast from an impending British invasion.
When British forces threatened New Orleans, Jackson took command of the defenses, leading a diverse force that included militia from several western states and territories. Known for his strict discipline and unwavering resolve, Jackson earned the affectionate nickname "Old Hickory" from his troops, who admired his toughness and determination.
Three years later, Jackson led another force, largely composed of Tennesseans, into Florida during the First Seminole War. These military campaigns resulted in the extinguishment of Native American claims to nearly all of Tennessee and the extension of the state’s western boundary to the Mississippi River through the Chickasaw Treaty of 1818. This opened up a rich new agricultural region, and West Tennessee experienced a boom until the Panic of 1819. By the mid-1820s, the state’s economy rebounded, becoming a major cotton-producing center.
By 1830, the number of African Americans in Tennessee exceeded 140,000, most of whom were enslaved. Efforts to abolish slavery were made at the convention of 1834 but were defeated. The state also retracted the suffrage that had earlier been allowed for free black men.
The issue of slavery increasingly dominated national politics in the 1840s and 1850s. Southerners, including many Tennesseans, became increasingly resentful of what they perceived as Northern interference with slavery. In 1850, delegates from across the South met at the Southern Convention in Nashville to voice their defiance.
Despite these tensions, Tennessee experienced unprecedented economic growth, fueled by agriculture. By 1860, the enslaved population had nearly doubled to 283,019, with only 7,300 free African Americans, representing approximately 25% of the total population.
The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, with his anti-slavery stance, was viewed as a disaster by many in Tennessee. Lincoln had so little support that his name was not even on the ballot. Initially, most Tennesseans opposed secession. However, the attack on Fort Sumter and Lincoln’s call for volunteers to suppress the seceded states shifted public sentiment.
Governor Isham Harris began military mobilization and submitted an ordinance of secession to the General Assembly. In a June 8, 1861, referendum, East Tennessee opposed secession, while West Tennessee strongly favored it. Middle Tennessee’s shift from opposition to support for secession proved decisive. Tennessee officially became the last state to secede from the Union.
Tennessee was a Border State that sent many men to fight on both sides of the Civil War. Approximately 187,000 Confederate and 51,000 Federal soldiers mustered in from Tennessee. Much of the Civil War was fought in Tennessee. Geography dictated a central role for Tennessee as a border state with key rivers. Union efforts focused on securing control of transportation routes.
In February 1862, the Union began the Twin Rivers Campaign. General Ulysses S. Grant captured control over the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers and held off the Confederate counterattack at Shiloh. The Capture of Memphis and Nashville gave the Union control of Tennessee’s Western and Middle sections, confirmed at the Battle of Stones River.
President Abraham Lincoln appointed Andrew Johnson as the state’s military governor after Nashville was captured. This government abolished slavery in the state. Union troops occupied much of Tennessee, depleting resources and contributing to social order breakdown.
The Confederates besieged Chattanooga in the early fall of 1863 but were driven off by General Grant in November. The last major battles came when the Confederates invaded in November 1864 and were checked at Franklin, then destroyed by George Thomas at Nashville in December. Tennessee would see more than its share of devastation.
On January 9, 1865, a State convention assembled at Nashville and proposed amendments to the constitution abolishing slavery. The people ratified these proceedings, and William G. Brownlow was chosen governor. In April, the legislature ratified the 13th Amendment to the National Constitution and elected Senators to Congress. Tennessee was the third state to ratify the 14th Amendment.
Tennessee’s ordeal continued during Reconstruction. Governor Brownlow’s administration acted in concert with the Radical Republicans in Congress. Brownlow gave the vote to freedmen. Accordingly, in February 1867, the Tennessee General Assembly endorsed black suffrage.
With the aid of a solid black vote, Brownlow and his slate of candidates swept to victory in the 1867 elections. The Ku Klux Klan and shadowy vigilante groups emerged.
African Americans were more destitute and unsettled after the war. They poured into Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, and smaller towns. Urban areas experienced a large increase in black populations. One institution created to aid former slaves was the Freedmen’s Bureau, which had its most significant impact on education.
When Brownlow left Tennessee in February 1869 to become a U. S. senator, DeWitt Clinton Senter succeeded in Tennessee’s governorship. Senter permitted ex-Confederate voters’ registration and restoring their civil rights. He was re-elected later that year, and in 1870, a new state constitution was written. They ratified the abolition of slavery and voting rights for freedmen but limited voter participation by enacting a poll tax.
In the 1870s, white elites worked to reclaim political power. Black Tennesseans remained active politically. However, these freedoms would not last for long. The last black lawmakers to serve in Tennessee until the 1960s were elected in 1887.
With the restoration of Democratic Party rule, a reaction set in against the moves made toward racial equality. Lynchings, beatings, and arson were used to enforce white supremacy. By the 1880s, the legislature mandated separate facilities for whites and blacks in public accommodations and railroads. One young woman, Ida B. Wells, challenged the "separate but equal" law.
Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, urged his fellow freedmen to leave the South to homestead in Kansas – the so-called "Exoduster" movement. "Jim Crow" laws gradually whittled down the participation of African Americans in the political system.
In 1900, African Americans made up nearly 24% of the state’s population.
As the new century began, Tennessee was troubled by conflicts between the values of its traditional, agrarian culture and the demands of a modern, increasingly urban world. Issues such as prohibition, women’s suffrage, religion, and education came to the fore.
Tennessee became the focus of national attention during the campaign for women’s voting rights, gaining the right to vote in 1920. Further national attention came to Tennessee’s way during the trial of John T. Scopes. The trial brought national and international media coverage.
In the end, Scopes was convicted and fined $100. Tennessee’s rural culture was under attack by sophisticated urban critics, its music found a national audience. In 1925, WSM began broadcasting the “Grand Ole Opry.” Tennessee thus emerged as the heartland of traditional country music. Memphis became Tennessee’s “Blues Capitol.”
Tennesseans contributed their usual full complement of soldiers during World War I. Tennesseans suffered along with the rest of the nation during the Great Depression. The need to create work for the unemployed drove the Federal creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933. The Depression ended only with the economic stimulus from the country’s entry into World War II.
The pace of change accelerated dramatically after World War II. In 1960, the state had more urban than rural dwellers. In 1953, a new constitutional convention finally removed the poll tax provisions. In the spring of 1960, Tennessee’s Jim Crow laws were challenged.
In support of the strike, Dr. Martin Luther King came to Memphis, where, on April 4, he was assassinated. Riots and civil unrest erupted in African-American areas in numerous cities across the country.
Tennessee continued to grow over the next years during a strong business expansion and maintains one of the country’s lowest tax rates. Today, its economy is primarily based on tourism, entertainment, a burgeoning medical and hospital industry, banking, insurance, agribusiness, and manufacturing.
Tennessee provides a wealth of history and travel destinations for the visitor.