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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Indian villages of the Mississippian culture during the Tipton phase (ca. 800 CE to 1600 CE)
Randolph is an unincorporated rural community in Tipton County, Tennessee , United States, located on the banks of the Mississippi River . The lands of the Mississippi River Basin were inhabited by Paleo-Indians and later Native American tribes of the Mississippian culture for thousands of years. The Tipton phase people and the Chickasaw Indian tribe populated the Mississippi River valley near Randolph during the Mississippian period. In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto crossed the Mississippi River at or near Randolph. French explorer Cavelier de La Salle built the first French fortification at or near Randolph on his 1682 canoe expedition of the Mississippi River.
European
settlers arrived in the area around 1800. The town of Randolph was founded in the 1820s as one of the earliest European settlements in Tipton County. The location of Randolph, on the second
Chickasaw Bluff along the banks of the
Mississippi River , just south of the lower mouth of the
Hatchie River , provided for an ideal harbor for
flatboats and
steamboats and made the town an early center of river commerce in
West Tennessee . Randolph shipped more cotton annually than
Memphis until 1840. The commercial success of the community also depended on the use of
slave labor in the cotton fields surrounding the settlement. In 1827, the Randolph Post office was established and in 1834, the first pastor was appointed to the Randolph Methodist congregation. (
Full article... )
List of recognized articles
Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age . Nicknamed the "Empress of the Blues ", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, she is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and was a major influence on fellow blues singers, as well as jazz vocalists.
Born in
Chattanooga, Tennessee , Smith was young when her parents died, and she and her six siblings survived by performing on street corners. She began touring and performed in a group that included
Ma Rainey , and then went out on her own. Her successful recording career with
Columbia Records began in 1923, but her performing career was cut short by a car crash that killed her at the age of 43. (
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 Morristown, Tennessee Fainting goat 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 3 The
1982 World's Fair in Knoxville (from
Tennessee )
Image 4 Köppen climate types of Tennessee, using 1991–2020
climate normals . (from
Tennessee )
Image 5 A geomap showing the counties of Tennessee colored by the relative range of that county's median income. (from
Tennessee )
Image 6 1861 Bank of Tennessee 1 dollar banknote (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 7 John Bell (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 8 in 1946 the U.S. Post Office issued a
commemorative stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tennessee statehood. (from
Tennessee )
Image 9 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
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 11 Chart showing poverty in Tennessee, by age and gender (red = female) (from
Tennessee )
Image 12 Fall Creek Falls , the tallest waterfall in the eastern United States, is located on the Cumberland Plateau (from
Tennessee )
Image 13 Fall Creek Falls , the tallest waterfall in the eastern United States, is located on the Cumberland Plateau (from
Tennessee )
Image 14 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 15 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 16 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 17 Surveyor
Daniel Smith's "Map of the Tennassee State" (1796) (from
Tennessee )
Image 18 The Southwest Territory in 1790 (from
Tennessee )
Image 19 The
Battle of Franklin , November 30, 1864 (from
Tennessee )
Image 20 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 22 Reconstruction of
Fort Loudoun , the first British settlement in Tennessee (from
Tennessee )
Image 25 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson , now a museum in
Davidson County (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 27 Workers at the
Norris Dam construction camp site in 1933 (from
Tennessee )
Image 30 Howard Baker served as
Senate Minority and Majority Leader from 1977 to 1985, and was known as "The Great Conciliator" (from
Tennessee )
Image 31 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 Established in 1942,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest national laboratory in the Department of Energy system (from
Tennessee )
Image 33 Memphis International Airport , the hub of
FedEx Corporation , is the busiest cargo airport in the world (from
Tennessee )
Image 34 Memphis became known as the "Cotton Capital of the World" in the years following the Civil War (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 Köppen climate types of Tennessee, using 1991–2020
climate normals . (from
Tennessee )
Image 37 The Tennessee at Chattanooga , 1872, by
Harry Fenn (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 38 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 39 Nashville's replica of the
Parthenon (built 1897) (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 40 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 41 Vanderbilt University in Nashville is consistently ranked as one of the top research institutions in the nation (from
Tennessee )
Image 42 Offices of
The Tennessean in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 43 Memphis International Airport , the hub of
FedEx Corporation , is the busiest cargo airport in the world (from
Tennessee )
Image 44 The Southwest Territory in 1790 (from
Tennessee )
Image 45 Memphis became known as the "Cotton Capital of the World" in the years following the Civil War (from
Tennessee )
Image 46 Howard Baker served as
Senate Minority and Majority Leader from 1977 to 1985, and was known as "The Great Conciliator" (from
Tennessee )
Image 47 Chart showing poverty in Tennessee, by age and gender (red = female) (from
Tennessee )
Image 48 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 49 The
Ryman Auditorium , home of the "Grand Ole Opry" in Nashville (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 51 The
Battle of Franklin , November 30, 1864 (from
Tennessee )
Image 52 Surveyor
Daniel Smith's "Map of the Tennassee State" (1796) (from
Tennessee )
Image 53 Offices of
The Tennessean in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 55 A geomap showing the counties of Tennessee colored by the relative range of that county's median income. (from
Tennessee )
Image 56 The
1982 World's Fair in Knoxville (from
Tennessee )
Image 57 Cedar glades are an ecosystem that is found in regions of Middle Tennessee where limestone bedrock is close to the surface (from
Tennessee )
Image 58 Mount Le Conte in the
Great Smoky Mountains is the tallest mountain in eastern North America, measured from base to summit (from
Tennessee )
Image 59 A View of Memphis, Tennessee , 1871 (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 60 Established in 1942,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest national laboratory in the Department of Energy system (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 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 63 Cedar glades are an ecosystem that is found in regions of Middle Tennessee where limestone bedrock is close to the surface (from
Tennessee )
Image 64 Reconstruction of
Fort Loudoun , the first British settlement in Tennessee (from
Tennessee )
Image 65 Interstate 40 traverses Tennessee from east to west, and serves the state's three largest cities. (from
Tennessee )
Image 66 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 67 Conquistador Hernando de Soto , first European to visit Tennessee (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 71 Calutron operators at the
Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge during the
Manhattan Project (from
Tennessee )
Image 72 Vanderbilt University in Nashville is consistently ranked as one of the top research institutions in the nation (from
Tennessee )
Image 73 in 1946 the U.S. Post Office issued a
commemorative stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tennessee statehood. (from
Tennessee )
Image 74 Interstate 40 traverses Tennessee from east to west, and serves the state's three largest cities. (from
Tennessee )
Image 76 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 77 Workers at the
Norris Dam construction camp site in 1933 (from
Tennessee )
Image 79 Calutron operators at the
Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge during the
Manhattan Project (from
Tennessee )
... that the August 2021 Tennessee floods were caused by more than 20 inches (510 mm) of rain falling in a 24-hour period?
... that Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park , modeled on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. , was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the statehood of Tennessee in 1996?
... that a section of Interstate 65 in Tennessee was the first part of the Interstate Highway System to open in the state?
... that portions of Tennessee State Route 158 have been called "Front Street", "Front Avenue", "Lakefront Drive", "Neyland Drive", and "James White Parkway"?
... that WLOK , the first Black-owned radio station in Memphis, Tennessee , organizes an annual "Stone Soul Picnic" gospel concert series?
... that the Pellissippi Parkway in East Tennessee takes its name from a Native American name that was applied to both the Clinch and Ohio Rivers ?
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