The Flag of Tennessee
Tennessee ( TEN -iss-EE , TEN -iss-ee ), officially the State of Tennessee , is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States . It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina to the east, Georgia , Alabama , and Mississippi to the south, Arkansas to the southwest, and Missouri to the northwest. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. Tennessee is geographically, culturally, and legally divided into three Grand Divisions of East , Middle , and West Tennessee . Nashville is the state's capital and largest city, and anchors its largest metropolitan area. Other major cities include Memphis , Knoxville , Chattanooga , and Clarksville . Tennessee's population as of the 2020 United States census is approximately 6.9 million.
Tennessee is rooted in the Watauga Association , a 1772 frontier pact generally regarded as the first constitutional government west of the Appalachian Mountains . Its name derives from Tanasi (ᏔᎾᏏ ), a Cherokee town in the eastern part of the state that existed before the first European American settlement. Tennessee was initially part of North Carolina, and later the Southwest Territory , before its admission to the Union as the 16th state on June 1, 1796. It earned the nickname "The Volunteer State" early in its history due to a strong tradition of military service. A slave state until the American Civil War , Tennessee was politically divided, with most of its western and middle parts supporting the Confederacy , and most of the eastern region harboring pro -Union sentiment. As a result, Tennessee was the last state to officially secede from the Union and join the Confederacy , and the first former Confederate state readmitted to the Union after the war had ended during the Reconstruction era .
During the 20th century, Tennessee transitioned from a predominantly agrarian society to a more diversified economy. This was aided in part by massive federal investment in the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the city of Oak Ridge , which was established during World War II to house the Manhattan Project 's uranium enrichment facilities for the construction of the world's first atomic bombs . After the war, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory became a key center of scientific research. In 2016, the element tennessine was named for the state, largely in recognition of the roles played by Oak Ridge, Vanderbilt University , and the University of Tennessee in its discovery. Tennessee has also played a major role in the development of many forms of popular music , including country , blues , rock and roll , soul , and gospel . (Full article... )
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DeFord Bailey (December 14, 1899 – July 2, 1982) was an American country music and blues star from the 1920s until 1941. He was one of the first performers to be introduced on Nashville radio station WSM 's Grand Ole Opry , the first African-American performer to appear on the show, and the first performer to record his music in Nashville. Bailey played several instruments in his career but is best known for playing the harmonica , often being referred to as a "harmonica wizard".
Born and raised in Tennessee, Bailey learned how to play the harmonica while recuperating from polio as a young child. He moved to Nashville with relatives in his late teens and was a significant early contributor to Nashville's burgeoning music industry. Among the first generation of entertainers to perform live on the radio, his recorded compositions were well-known and popular. (
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Morristown is a city in and the county seat of Hamblen County, Tennessee , United States. Morristown also extends into Jefferson County on the western and southern ends. The city lies within the Ridge and Valley of the Appalachians. The city's population was recorded to be 30,431 at the 2020 United States census . It is the principal city of the Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Grainger , Hamblen, and Jefferson counties. The Morristown metropolitan area is also part of the Knoxville -Morristown-Sevierville Combined Statistical Area .
Established in 1855, Morristown developed into a thriving community due to its strategic location at the intersection of two major stagecoach routes. It would experience turmoil from battles in its immediate area and its change of control under Union and Confederate forces during the
Civil War . Following the war, Morristown furthered its industrial growth with companies expanding rail access, making it a prominent logistics hub into the 20th century. Since the mid-20th century, the city has established itself as the regional economic hub and
metropolis of the
Lakeway Area region following efforts to expand the industrial sector of the city's economy into a market with over 100 companies, providing a workforce of an estimated 30,000 people. (
Full article... )
List of selected articles
History of Tennessee List of Tennessee state symbols Nashville, Tennessee List of governors of Tennessee Governor of Tennessee East Tennessee Middle Tennessee West Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee Tennessee River Memphis, Tennessee Chattanooga, Tennessee Clarksville, Tennessee Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Cleveland, Tennessee Dolly Parton Tennessee State Guard University of Memphis Toqua (Tennessee) Great Smoky Mountains Great Smoky Mountains Interstate 40 in Tennessee Old Crow Medicine Show Swaggerty Blockhouse Unicoi Mountains Old City, Knoxville Nashville Americans Valerie June Battle of Fort Donelson Battle of Fort Henry Collierville, Tennessee Vanderbilt University Tennessee whiskey Jack Daniel's Grand Ole Opry Battle of Nashville Nashville Superspeedway Johnny Cash Carl Perkins Tennessee Waltz Fainting goat Bessie Smith Cookeville, Tennessee Murfreesboro, Tennessee Bob Corker Edgar Evins State Park Graceland Bledsoe Creek State Park Dollywood Tennessee Valley Authority Black Patch Tobacco Wars Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The following are images from various Tennessee-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 The Tennessee at Chattanooga , 1872, by
Harry Fenn (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 2 Chart showing poverty in Tennessee, by age and gender (red = female) (from
Tennessee )
Image 3 Workers at the
Norris Dam construction camp site in 1933 (from
Tennessee )
Image 4 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson , now a museum in
Davidson County (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 6 Vanderbilt University in Nashville is consistently ranked as one of the top research institutions in the nation (from
Tennessee )
Image 7 A geomap showing the counties of Tennessee colored by the relative range of that county's median income. (from
Tennessee )
Image 8 The
Grand Ole Opry , which was recorded in
Nashville 's
Ryman Auditorium from 1943 to 1974, is the longest-running
radio broadcast in US history. (from
Tennessee )
Image 10 The
Ocoee River was home to the
1996 Summer Olympics whitewater slalom events, the only Olympic sporting event ever held in the state. (from
Tennessee )
Image 11 Calutron operators at the
Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge during the
Manhattan Project (from
Tennessee )
Image 12 Reconstruction of
Fort Loudoun , the first British settlement in Tennessee (from
Tennessee )
Image 13 A geomap showing the counties of Tennessee colored by the relative range of that county's median income. (from
Tennessee )
Image 14 The
1982 World's Fair in Knoxville (from
Tennessee )
Image 17 Nashville's replica of the
Parthenon (built 1897) (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 18 Workers at the
Norris Dam construction camp site in 1933 (from
Tennessee )
Image 19 Vanderbilt University in Nashville is consistently ranked as one of the top research institutions in the nation (from
Tennessee )
Image 20 Chart showing poverty in Tennessee, by age and gender (red = female) (from
Tennessee )
Image 21 Howard Baker served as
Senate Minority and Majority Leader from 1977 to 1985, and was known as "The Great Conciliator" (from
Tennessee )
Image 22 Memphis International Airport , the hub of
FedEx Corporation , is the busiest cargo airport in the world (from
Tennessee )
Image 23 Established in 1942,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest national laboratory in the Department of Energy system (from
Tennessee )
Image 24 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 25 Fall Creek Falls , the tallest waterfall in the eastern United States, is located on the Cumberland Plateau (from
Tennessee )
Image 27 The
1982 World's Fair in Knoxville (from
Tennessee )
Image 28 The
Ocoee River was home to the
1996 Summer Olympics whitewater slalom events, the only Olympic sporting event ever held in the state. (from
Tennessee )
Image 29 Köppen climate types of Tennessee, using 1991–2020
climate normals . (from
Tennessee )
Image 30 A
Nissan Leaf , one of six models manufactured at the
Nissan Smyrna Assembly Plant , the largest automotive assembly plant in North America (from
Tennessee )
Image 32 1861 Bank of Tennessee 1 dollar banknote (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 33 John Bell (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 34 Reconstruction of
Fort Loudoun , the first British settlement in Tennessee (from
Tennessee )
Image 35 A
Nissan Leaf , one of six models manufactured at the
Nissan Smyrna Assembly Plant , the largest automotive assembly plant in North America (from
Tennessee )
Image 36 in 1946 the U.S. Post Office issued a
commemorative stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tennessee statehood. (from
Tennessee )
Image 37 The
resort city of
Gatlinburg borders the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park , which is the most visited national park in the United States. (from
Tennessee )
Image 38 The Southwest Territory in 1790 (from
Tennessee )
Image 40 Surveyor
Daniel Smith's "Map of the Tennassee State" (1796) (from
Tennessee )
Image 41 Calutron operators at the
Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge during the
Manhattan Project (from
Tennessee )
Image 42 Al Gore served as a
United States Senator from Tennessee (1985–1993) and as
Vice President of the United States (1993–2001) (from
Tennessee )
Image 43 The Southwest Territory in 1790 (from
Tennessee )
Image 44 The
Battle of Franklin , November 30, 1864 (from
Tennessee )
Image 47 in 1946 the U.S. Post Office issued a
commemorative stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tennessee statehood. (from
Tennessee )
Image 48 The
resort city of
Gatlinburg borders the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park , which is the most visited national park in the United States. (from
Tennessee )
Image 49 Howard Baker served as
Senate Minority and Majority Leader from 1977 to 1985, and was known as "The Great Conciliator" (from
Tennessee )
Image 50 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 51 Map of counties in Tennessee by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census
Non-Hispanic White 50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90%+
Black or African American 50–60%
(from
Tennessee )
Image 52 The
Battle of Franklin , November 30, 1864 (from
Tennessee )
Image 54 The
Grand Ole Opry , which was recorded in
Nashville 's
Ryman Auditorium from 1943 to 1974, is the longest-running
radio broadcast in US history. (from
Tennessee )
Image 55 Memphis International Airport , the hub of
FedEx Corporation , is the busiest cargo airport in the world (from
Tennessee )
Image 56 Memphis became known as the "Cotton Capital of the World" in the years following the Civil War (from
Tennessee )
Image 57 Fall Creek Falls , the tallest waterfall in the eastern United States, is located on the Cumberland Plateau (from
Tennessee )
Image 58 The
Ryman Auditorium , home of the "Grand Ole Opry" in Nashville (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 59 Memphis became known as the "Cotton Capital of the World" in the years following the Civil War (from
Tennessee )
Image 61 Mount Le Conte in the
Great Smoky Mountains is the tallest mountain in eastern North America, measured from base to summit (from
Tennessee )
Image 62 Köppen climate types of Tennessee, using 1991–2020
climate normals . (from
Tennessee )
Image 63 Mount Le Conte in the
Great Smoky Mountains is the tallest mountain in eastern North America, measured from base to summit (from
Tennessee )
Image 65 Offices of
The Tennessean in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 68 Interstate 40 traverses Tennessee from east to west, and serves the state's three largest cities. (from
Tennessee )
Image 69 Surveyor
Daniel Smith's "Map of the Tennassee State" (1796) (from
Tennessee )
Image 70 Al Gore served as a
United States Senator from Tennessee (1985–1993) and as
Vice President of the United States (1993–2001) (from
Tennessee )
Image 71 Map of counties in Tennessee by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census
Non-Hispanic White 50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90%+
Black or African American 50–60%
(from
Tennessee )
Image 73 Cedar glades are an ecosystem that is found in regions of Middle Tennessee where limestone bedrock is close to the surface (from
Tennessee )
Image 74 Established in 1942,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest national laboratory in the Department of Energy system (from
Tennessee )
Image 75 Offices of
The Tennessean in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 76 Cedar glades are an ecosystem that is found in regions of Middle Tennessee where limestone bedrock is close to the surface (from
Tennessee )
Image 77 Interstate 40 traverses Tennessee from east to west, and serves the state's three largest cities. (from
Tennessee )
Image 78 A View of Memphis, Tennessee , 1871 (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 79 Conquistador Hernando de Soto , first European to visit Tennessee (from
History of Tennessee )
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