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The New International Encyclopædia/Tennessee

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Tennent, James Emerson
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Tennessee
Tennessee, The
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Edition of 1905. See also Tennessee on Wikipedia; and the disclaimer.

​TENNESSEE′. A South Central State of the United States, popularly called ‘The Volunteer State.’ It lies between latitudes 35° and 36° 36′ N., and between longitudes 81° 37′ and 90° 28′ W., and is bounded on the north by Kentucky and Virginia, on the east by North Carolina, on the south by Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and on the west by Arkansas and Missouri. The western boundary is formed by the Mississippi River, the eastern by the crest of the Unaka Mountains, while the southern boundary is a straight line. Tennessee has an extreme length from east to west of 432 miles, and an extreme breadth of 109 miles. Its area is 42,050 square miles, giving it the thirty-first rank in size among the States.

Topography. The surface features fall into eight natural and well-marked topographical regions. The easternmost is the Unaka or Great Smoky Mountains, forming a belt of bold ridges. The average elevation of the main ridge is nearly 5000 feet, but a number of peaks within the State rise above 6000 feet, and Mount Guyot has an altitude of 6636 feet. Along the western base of the mountains stretches the Eastern Valley of the Tennessee, forming a succession of almost unbroken parallel minor ridges and valleys with an average elevation of 1000 feet. The valley is bounded on the west by the abrupt and rugged escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau. This is a nearly level table-land, rising about 1000 feet above the East Tennessee Valley, and falling on the western edge in a somewhat less rugged slope to a lower plateau known as the Highland Rim. This occupies the central portion of the State as far west as the north course of the Tennessee River, with an altitude of nearly 1000 feet. As its name implies, it forms a rim encircling the Central Basin, a large oval depression lying several hundred feet below the surrounding highland. The Highland Rim, though generally level, is cut by deep river valleys, and it is separated by the narrow Western Valley of the Tennessee from the Western Plateau Slope. The latter slopes gradually toward the Mississippi River, near which it ends abruptly in a line of bluffs bounding the Mississippi Flood Plain, a low and almost unreclaimed region covered by large lagoons and heavily forested cypress swamps.


​

COPYRIGHT, 1891 AND 1903, BY DODD, MEAD & COMPANY.


​

AREA AND POPULATION OF TENNESSEE BY COUNTIES.

County Map
 Index.  		 County Seat.   Area in 
square
miles. 		Population.
1890. 1900.
 
Anderson G 4  Clinton 350  15,128  17,634 
Bedford E 5  Shelbyville 489  24,739  23,845 
Benton C 4  Camden 430  11,230  11,888 
Bledsoe F 5  Pikeville 400  6,134  6,626 
Blount H 5  Maryville 552  17,589  19,206 
 
Bradley G 5  Cleveland 325  13,607  15,759 
Campbell G 4  Jacksboro 477  13,486  17,317 
Cannon E 5  Woodbury 325  12,197  12,121 
Carroll C 5  Huntingdon 624  23,630  24,250 
Carter J 4  Elizabethton 345  13,389  16,688 
 
Cheatham C 4  Ashland City 347  8,845  10,112 
Chester C 5  Henderson 300  9,069  9,896 
Claiborne H 4  Tazewell 464  15,103  20,696 
Clay F 4  Celina 260  7,260  8,421 
Cocke H 5  Newport 420  16,523  19,153 
 
Coffee E 5  Manchester 412  13,827  15,574 
Crockett B 5  Alamo 267  15,146  15,867 
Cumberland  F 4  Crossville 548  5,376  8,311 
Davidson E 4  Nashville 520   108,174   122,815 
Decatur C 5  Decaturville 287  8,995  10,439 
 
Dekalb F 5  Smithville 322  15,650  16,460 
Dickson D 4  Charlotte 600  13,645  18,635 
Dyer B 5  Dyersburg 500  19,878  23,776 
Fayette B 5  Somerville 618  28,878  29,701 
Fentress F 4  Jamestown 445  5,226  6,106 
 
Franklin E 5  Winchester 610  18,929  20,392 
Gibson C 5  Trenton 625  35,859  30,408 
Giles D 5  Pulaski 605  34,957  33,035 
Grainger H 4  Rutledge 309  13,196  15,512 
Greene B 5  Greenville 615  26,614  30,596 
 
Grundy F 5  Altamont 375  6,345  7,802 
Hamblen H 4  Morristown 165  11,418  12,728 
Hamilton F 5  Chattanooga 427  53,482  61,695 
Hancock H 4  Sneedville 208  10,342  11,147 
Hardeman B 5  Bolivar 655  21,029  22,976 
 
Hardin C 5  Savannah 587  17,698  19,246 
Hawkins H 4  Rogersville 490  22,246  24,267 
Haywood B 5  Brownsville 520  23,558  25,189 
Henderson C 5  Lexington 515  16,336  18,117 
Henry C 4  Paris 625  21,070  24,208 
 
Hickman D 5  Centerville 655  14,499  16,367 
Houston D 4  Erin 200  5,390  6,476 
Humphreys C 4  Waverly 435  11,720  13,398 
Jackson F 4  Gainesboro 325  13,325  15,039 
 
James F 5  Ooltewah 160  4,903  5,407 
Jefferson H 4  Dandridge 310  16,478  18,590 
Johnson J 4  Mountain City  290  8,858  10,589  ​
Knox H 4  Knoxville 520  59,557  74,302 
 
Lake B 4  Tiptonville 128  5,304  7,368 
Lauderdale B 5  Ripley 460  18,756  21,971 
Lawrence D 5  Lawrenceburg  590  12,286  15,402 
Lewis D 5  Hohenwald 295  2,555  4,455 
 
Lincoln E 5  Fayetteville 597  27,382  26,304 
London G 5  London 230  9,273  10,838 
McMinn G 5  Athens 437  17,890  19,163 
McNairy C 5  Selmer 570  15,510  17,760 
Macon F 4  Lafayette 280  10,878  12,881 
 
Madison C 5  Jackson 545  30,497  36,333 
Marion F 5  Jasper 504  15,411  17,281 
Marshall E 5  Lewisburg 315  18,906  18,763 
Maury D 5  Columbia 632  38,112  42,703 
Meigs G 5  Decatur 210  6,930  7,491 
 
Monroe G 5  Madisonville 668  15,329  18,585 
Montgomery  D 4  Clarksville 548  29,697  36,017 
Moore E 5  Lynchburg 145  5,975  5,706 
Morgan G 4  Wartburg 540  7,639  9,587 
Obion B 4  Union City 505  27,273  28,286 
 
Overton F 4  Livingston 459  12,039  13,353 
Perry D 5  Linden 520  7,785  8,800 
Pickett F 4  Byrdstown 165  4,736  5,336 
Polk G 5  Benton 437  8,361  11,357 
Putnam F 4  Cookeville 430  13,683  16,890 
 
Rhea G 5  Dayton 365  12,647  14,318 
Roane G 5  Kingston 442  17,418  22,738 
Robertson D 4  Springfield 500  20,078  25,029 
Rutherford E 5  Murfreesboro 605  35,097  33,543 
Scott G 4  Huntsville 595  9,794  11,077 
 
Sequatchie F 5  Dunlap 263  3,027  3,326 
Sevier H 5  Sevierville 588  18,761  22,021 
Shelby B 5  Memphis 769   112,740   153,557 
Smith F 4  Carthage 334  18,404  19,026 
Stewart D 4  Dover 495  12,193  15,224 
 
Sullivan J 4  Blountville 430  20,879  24,935 
Sumner E 4  Gallatin 520  23,668  26,072 
Tipton B 5  Covington 430  24,271  29,273 
Trousdale E 4  Hartsville 107  5,850  6,004 
Unicoi J 4  Ervin 189  4,619  5,851 
 
Union H 4  Maynardville 237  11,459  12,894 
Van Buren F 5  Spencer 275  2,863  3,126 
Warren F 5  McMinnville 444  14,413  16,410 
Washington J 4  Jonesboro 325  20,354  22,604 
Wayne D 5  Waynesboro 757  11,471  12,936 
 
Weakley C 4  Dresden 565  28,955  32,546 
White F 5  Sparta 370  12,348  14,157 
Williamson D 5  Franklin 500  26,321  26,429 
Wilson E 4  Lebanon 552  27,148  27,078 
 


​ Hydrography. Tennessee belongs wholly to the Mississippi Valley, and its western quarter is drained directly into the Mississippi through a number of streams, the largest of which are the Obion and the Big Hatchie. The remainder of the State is drained by the two great tributaries of the Ohio, the Cumberland and the Tennessee. Both enter the State across the northern boundary in the east, and both leave it over the northern boundary in the west after making a large semicircular curve in which the Tennessee passes beyond the southern State limits. Both of them are large, navigable waterways, and the Tennessee has, besides, a number of navigable headstreams within the State, such as the Clinch, the French Broad, the Holston, and the Hiawassee. There are no lakes except the lagoons and cut-offs in the Mississippi bottomland. The largest of the lagoons is Reelfoot Lake, 25 miles long and 5 miles broad.

Climate. The climate is in general mild, equable, and, except in the western lowlands, remarkably healthful and pleasant. The mean temperature varies but slightly in the different sections of the State, being scarcely two degrees lower in the east than in the west, excepting, of course, on the high mountains in the extreme east. For July the mean temperature is 77°, and for January 38°. The maximum may reach 104°, but the minimum is seldom lower than 10°, though it occasionally falls below zero in the mountains. The rainfall is also nearly equally distributed both as to seasons and localities, being somewhat heavier in the spring than in the autumn and heavier in the middle section than in the east and west. The normal average for the eastern section is 47 inches, for the middle section 52 inches, and for the west 50 inches, while the highest and lowest normals are respectively 61 and 42 inches.

Soil. There is great diversity in the soils of the State, depending on the character of the rock formations, whose outcrops are coincident with the topographical regions. The alluvium of the Mississippi bottoms is the richest soil. It is followed beyond the bluffs by a brown loam becoming sandy and barren toward the Tennessee River. The Highland Rim has a siliceous soil of indifferent quality, but the Central Basin has a very fertile calcareous soil. The Cumberland Plateau is sandy and unproductive, but good magnesian limestone soil again occurs in the East Tennessee Valley.

Flora. Numerous species of oak, as well as beech, hickory, walnut, locust, the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), and persimmon, are common throughout the State. On the mountains the pine, hemlock, sugar maple, and ash are abundant, though pine also grows in the sandy belt of the western plateau. Red cedar is especially common in the Central Basin, and in the swampy lowlands of the west are found the cypress, larch, swamp cedar, and papaw. Tennessee still has a very large forest area, chiefly distributed over the extreme eastern and western sections and in the southwestern and northeastern parts of the middle section.

For Fauna see under the United States.

Geology and Minerals. The outcrops of the geological formations of Tennessee correspond with the topographical regions described above. In the western three-fourths of the State the strata lie nearly horizontal and undisturbed, and the Central Basin and Cumberland Plateau are formed by the wearing away in the one case of the overlying, and in the second case of the surrounding portions of the strata. East of the Cumberland Plateau the strata are upturned so that their exposed edges form the ridges of the East Tennessee Valley and the mountain ranges. The great eastern Archæan area comes but slightly within the State limits in the extreme east. The Unaka Mountains are mostly of the Ocoee ​formation of the Cambrian system. The minor ridges and depressions of the East Tennessee Valley consist of successive outcrops of Potsdam sandstone of the Cambrian, and Trenton limestone, shales, and dolomite belonging to the Lower Silurian age. The Lower Silurian strata pass under the Cumberland Plateau and Highland Rim, and reappear as the surface rock of the Central Basin, and again in the bottom of the Western Tennessee Valley. The plateau strata are Carboniferous, the Highland Rim being Sub-Carboniferous, while the Cumberland Plateau belongs to the Upper Carboniferous system. West of the Western Tennessee the Paleozoic strata disappear, and on their edges the Cretaceous and Tertiary strata rest unconformably. The Cretaceous outcrop is narrow, the greater part of the Western Plateau Slope being Tertiary. Between the bluffs and the Mississippi River the surface is of recent alluvial formation.

There are two great iron belts in the State, one occupying the western part of the Highland Rim, and the other stretching along the western slope of the Unaka Mountains. The ore is chiefly limonite, with some magnetite in the northeast. Copper occurs in the metamorphic rocks in the extreme southeastern corner of the State, and zinc and lead are found in various parts of the East Tennessee Valley. The coal measures of the Cumberland Plateau contain several seams of bituminous coal of workable thickness. Other minerals of importance are hydraulic limestone and marble of a good quality, as well as other building stones derived chiefly from the Silurian strata.

Mining. Tennessee is beginning to acquire considerable importance as a mining State. Coal is excavated in the mountain counties west of the Upper Tennessee River. For several years prior to 1899 the annual value of the coal output was about $2,300,000; subsequently it rose until in 1901 it was valued at $4,067,381, the amount being 3,633,290 short tons. Over 9000 men are employed. There were 404,017 short tons of coke manufactured in that year. The iron ore mined in 1901, 789,494 long tons, was an increase over former years and made the State sixth in rank. Of the total amount, 474,545 tons was brown hematite. The mining of phosphate rock began in 1894 and the output of 1901 was worth $1,192,090, which was less than in the previous year. The marble quarried in the State each year is usually worth between $300,000 and $400,000; in 1901, however, the amount rose to $494,637. The value of limestone quarried for that year was $330,927, a sum larger than usual. Clays found in the State are extensively utilized in the manufacture of brick and tile.

Agriculture. The State has a great diversity of physical conditions with a corresponding variation of soil and crops. The river valleys are generally fertile. The region known as the Central Basin contains a limestone soil of great fertility. In 1900 20,342,058 acres were included in farms, a little over half of this area being improved. While the farm area was but little greater in 1850 than in 1900, the improved area had almost doubled. The average size of farms decreased meanwhile from 261 acres to 90.6 acres. In 1900 12.6 per cent. of the farms were rented for cash, and 27.9 per cent. share rent, the latter having made a large gain during the decade ending with that year. Over one-seventh of the farms are operated by negroes, but only 22.4 per cent. of the negro farmers own their farms.

By far the largest and most valuable crop is corn, the acreage of which increased very considerably in the decade 1890-1900. Wheat is also an important cereal and much more than regained in the decade 1890-1900 what it had lost in the preceding decade. The cultivation of oats, the only other important cereal, has decreased. Cotton is one of the leading crops in the southwest corner of the State, and it is of much importance also in some of the northern counties. The area in hay and forage has increased more than threefold since 1880. Dry peas and sorghum cane are noteworthy products, as are also Irish and sweet potatoes. Peanuts are grown in large quantities in the Tennessee Valley. The climate is favorable to fruit culture, and in 1900 there were over 11,700,000 fruit trees, of which 7,700,000 were apple trees. There was a large increase in the number of all varieties of fruit trees in the decade ending with 1900. Of the 12,944 acres reported in small fruits in 1899, 11,548 acres were in strawberries. Watermelons and various vegetables are extensively raised. The following table is self-explanatory:

CROP 1900,
acres 		1890,
acres
Corn  3,374,574   2,791,324
Wheat 1,426,112  877,361
Oats 235,313  588,138
Rye 16,556  26,443
Hay and forage  645,617  571,553
Cotton 623,137  747,471
Tobacco 71,849  51,471
Peanuts 19,534  16,244
Dry peas 82,841  ............
Potatoes 27,103  36,992
Sweet potatoes  23,174  23,746
Sorghum cane 31,364  40,303

Stock-Raising. The number of cattle increased between 1870 and 1890, but decreased in the following decade. Both horses and mules increased in each decade from 1870 to 1900. Sheep, on the contrary, fell off in numbers. In 1899 $1,510,183 was received from sales of dairy products. The following table gives the number of stock for two census years:

1900 1890
Dairy cows 321,676  345,311
Other cattle 590,507  620,028
Horses 352,388  311,842
Mules and asses  262,509  203,639
Sheep 307,804  540,996
Swine  1,976,984   1,922,912

Forests and Forest Products. Tennessee stood first among Southern States in 1900 in the value of its lumber products. It is estimated that the State contains 27,300 square miles of wooded area. Increased activity in the lumber industry began after 1880. The value of products more than doubled between 1890 and 1900. The value of planing mill products decreased during the same period.

Manufactures. Since 1880 the manufacturing industry has grown rapidly, the value of products increasing 95.2 per cent. in 1880-90, and 48.5 per cent. in the subsequent decade, the value in 1900 being $107,437,879. There were in ​the latter year 50,107 persons engaged as wage-earners in the industry. The recent growth is noteworthy in that textile manufacturing, the most prominent industry in a number of other Southern States, is not here important. The basis of the State's manufactures is its wealth of grain, timber, and minerals, together with its water power and advantages for river and railroad transportation. Flouring and grist mill products (whose value increased 74.8 per cent. between 1890 and 1900) and timber products each rank by far the first among the manufacturing interests. The abundance of coal and iron ore has given rise to a flourishing iron and steel industry, and to the manufacture of foundry and machine-shop products. The manufacture of cottonseed oil and cake is of greater importance than that of cotton textiles. The value of leather products in 1900 was more than twice that in 1890. There was a very large increase in the manufacture of tobacco products. The following table shows the relative importance of the leading branches for 1890 and 1900:

INDUSTRIES  Year  Number of
 establishments  		Average
number
 wage-earners  		Value of products,
including custom
 work and repairing 
Total for selected industries for State
1900 3,787  28,478  $67,168,395 
1890 2,102  21,596  43,628,010 
Increase, 1890 to 1900 ...... 1,685  6,882  $23,540,385 
Per cent. of increase ...... 80.2  31.9  54.0 
 
Per cent. of total of all industries in State
1900 47.3  56.8  62.5 
1890 46.1  57.6  60.3 
 
Flouring and grist-mill products
1900 1,618  1,154  $21,798,929 
1890 918  1,417  12,474,284 
Foundry and machine-shop products
1900 95  3,146  4,074,509 
1890 68  2,620  4,427,187 
Iron and steel
1900 16  1,979  5,080,624 
1890 15  1,472  4,247,868 
Textiles—total
1900 72  4,251  3,907,279 
1890 69  3,051  3,724,138 
 Cotton goods
1900 17  2,108  1,994,935 
1890 20  2,124  2,507,719 
 Hosiery and knit goods
1900 4  511  395,150 
1890 ......  ......  .............. 
 Woolen goods
1900 51  1,632  1,517,194 
1890 49  927  1,216,419 
Oil, cottonseed and cake
1900 17  751  2,980,041 
1890 15  1,030  2,504,741 
Tobacco—total
1900 92  1,237  3,010,602 
1890 54  700  853,529 
 Chewing, smoking, and snuff
1900 35  615  1,541,475 
1890 24  531  577,690 
 Cigars and cigarettes
1900 35  161  290,647 
1890 25  139  236,807 
 Stemming and rehandling
1900 22  461  1,178,480 
1890 5  30  39,032 
Leather, tanned, curried, and finished
1900 44  803  2,802,117 
1890 60  612  1,266,556 
Cars and general shop construction and
repairs by steam railroad companies
1900 16  2,817  3,113,053 
1890 10  1,772  1,605,778 
Lumber and timber products
1900 1,732  11,192  18,127,784 
1890 820  7,424  9,073,686 
Lumber, planing mill products,
including sash, doors, and blinds
1900 85  1,148  2,273,457 
1890 73  1,498  3,450,243 

Transportation. The State has the advantage of water transportation afforded by the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers. A number of trunk line railroads cross the State, most of them centring in the State's chief port, Memphis. Among the railroads are the Nashville, Chattanooga and Saint Louis, the Louisville and Nashville, the Illinois Central, and the Southern. The mileage increased from 1253 in 1860 to 1843 in 1880, 2767 in 1890, and 3184 miles in 1900.

Banks. The first bank in the State was the Nashville Bank, established in 1807, with a capital of $200,000. In 1811 the Bank of the State of Tennessee followed, with the State as one of the stockholders. A second Bank of the State of Tennessee was in existence from 1820 to 1832. The State funds were transferred to the new Union Bank of Tennessee, with a capital of $3,000,000, of which $500,000 were subscribed by the State. The tendency to intrust the banking business to the State was still alive, and in 1838 the third venture was made by the organization of the Bank of Tennessee, with a capital of $5,000,000, all of which was to be supplied by the State, partly from funds on hand and partly by sale of bonds. It started with an actual capital of only $2,073,355, which was all the State could get together. The following twenty years were comparatively profitable for the banking business of the State, but the panic of 1857 forced many concerns into liquidation, and before they recovered from it the great political conflict came, almost destroying the banking institutions. In 1866, by order of the Legislature, the Bank of Tennessee was formally placed in liquidation, when its assets of $12,478,483 were found to consist mainly of Confederate bonds, certificates, treasury bonds, etc. In 1883 the State finally assumed the liability for the bank notes, and they were redeemed for special certificates of indebtedness. The depositors of the bank, including the State school fund, never realized anything. In 1869 there were 13 national banks and one State bank. The State banking system regained its ground after 1890. The present free banking law is lax. There is no system of bank examinations and no governmental control, and the liability of stockholders is strictly limited. The Constitution ​prohibits the State forming a bank or even holding stock in one. The condition of the various banks in 1902 is shown below:

National
banks 		State
banks
Number of banks.  59 153
Capital  $7,140,000   $6,463,000 
Surplus  1,845,000  1,554,000
Cash, etc.  2,615,000  4,791,000
Deposits 26,780,000 24,714,000
Loans 26,339,000 19,949,000

Government. The present Constitution was adopted in February, 1870. Proposed amendments must receive a majority vote of the members elected to each House of two consecutive Legislatures, followed by a majority approval of all the citizens voting for Representatives. The Legislature cannot propose amendments oftener than once in six years. The Legislature can at any time submit to the people the question of a new constitutional convention, a majority of the votes cast being decisive. Voters must be United States citizens who have resided in the State twelve months, in the county six months, and have paid poll taxes.

There is a maximum limit of 99 to the number of Representatives and the Senators are limited to one-third the number of Representatives. Both are elected for a term of two years, elections being held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the even years, and the Legislature meeting on the first Monday in the following January. Members receive $4 per day and mileage, but the wage shall not exceed seventy-five days for a regular session, or twenty days for an extra session. Ministers and priests are ineligible to the Legislature, and atheists and duelists to any civil office.

The executive power is vested in a Governor who is chosen every two years; a Secretary of State, elected by the Legislature for four years; a Treasurer and Comptroller of the Treasury, elected in the same manner for two years; an Attorney-General, appointed by the Supreme Court judges, and who serves six years; and a State Superintendent of Schools, nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, serving two years. The Governor can call extra sessions, and has the pardoning and veto power. His veto, however, is overridden by a majority vote of the members elected to each House. There is a Supreme Court of five judges, elected for eight years. Judges of the circuit, chancery, and other inferior courts are elected by their respective districts for eight years. Nashville is the capital. The State has 10 Representatives in the Lower House of Congress.

Militia. In 1900 the State had 384,249 men of militia age. The organized militia in 1901 numbered 1304.

Finances. The history of the public debt constitutes the most important and interesting part of the financial history of the State. The first debt was created in 1832 and 1838 for the purpose of establishing State banks. Between 1840 and 1850 the State inaugurated the system of public improvements. Bonds were issued to turnpike and railroad companies for construction, and first mortgages were the usual guarantees. In 1861 the total amount of bonds outstanding was over $18,000,000, and a war loan of $3,000,000 was added. The four years of the Civil War destroyed the sources of State income, made payment of interest impossible, and swelled the total indebtedness considerably. In 1865 it rose to $25,277,406, out of which $5,169,740 was interest overdue. The current interest charges alone amounted to $1,185,048, while the revenue was far below it, taxation inadequate, and the amount actually collected considerably less than the sum assessed. Most of the companies to which the bonds were issued failed to pay the interest. The carpet-bag régime that followed the Civil War did not improve matters. New bonds to the amount of $3,408,000 were issued to 14 railroad companies in 1868, interest remained unpaid, and in 1869 the total debt reached $39,896,504. Measures of relief were then passed by the Legislature; sale of the delinquent roads was authorized, and the solvent railroads were permitted to pay their debts in State bonds which were below par. By these means the debt was rapidly reduced to $27,920,386 in 1874. Yet even then the State was unable to meet its obligations. Repudiating began to be talked of toward 1880, and, frightened by this agitation the bondholders began to offer various plans of settlement. A plan of refunding at 50 per cent. was agreed to by the bondholders and the Legislature in 1879, but was rejected by popular vote.

In that year the debt question was the main campaign issue, and the repudiation party lost. A final settlement was reached in 1883, when the State debt proper was sealed down 20-24 per cent., and the railroad guarantee bonds 50 per cent. The total debt was reduced bv this operation from $28,000,000 to about $15,000,000. The con- version was completed in 1890. In 1900 the public debt was $17,023,600. The general tax is at present the main source of income (about 50 per cent.). Licenses give 25 per cent. and a ta.x on railroad and other corporations about 15 per cent. The net receipts in 1900 (omitting the operations of the loan accounts) were $2,069,624, the net disbursements $1,801,911.

Population. The population increased from 35,691 in 1790 to 422,823 in 1820, 1,002,717 in 1850, 1,109,801 in 1860, 1,258,520 in 1870, 1,542,359 in 1880, 1,767,518 in 1890, and 2,020,616 in 1900. From lowest in rank among the States it rose to fifth in 1850 and declined to fourteenth in 1900. The negro population in 1900 numbered 480,430, showing an increase of less than 200 over 1890. There were 17,746 foreign born. The population per square mile in 1900 was 48.4. In that year there were nine cities which had more than 4000 inhabitants each. In 1900 Memphis had a population of 102,320; Nashville, 80,865; Knoxville, 32,637; Chattanooga, 30,154; and Jackson, 14,511.

Religion. About two-fifths of the church membership is Methodist and about one-third Baptist. The Presbyterians and the Disciples of Christ also have strong followings.

Education. In 1900, 20.7 per cent, of the population over ten years of age were illiterate. This was a reduction from 38.7 in 1880. The per cent. for the native white population was 14.2 and for the colored 41.6. In 1900 there were 573,287 whites and 195,556 colored persons between the ages of 6 and 21. The school enrollment for that year was 485,354 and the average attendance 270,662 whites and 67,904 colored. ​Between 1875 and 1900 imith progress was made, and the State is in advance of most Southern States. There is a State Superintendent of Public Schools nominated biennially by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. For local supervision a superintendent for each county is chosen by the County Court biennially; and in each district there are three directors, elected by the people for three years, one going out each year. The law requires State and county superintendents to be persons of literary and scientific attainments and of skill and experience in the art of teaching. The county courts may elect boards of education in their respective counties, and these boards have authority to establish one or more high schools in their county. The text books used are uniform throughout the State. In the country districts the primary course covers six years, but two additional years may he taken in many districts in the so-called secondary school. In 1900 there were 4960 male and 4235 female teachers. The expenditure upon the country schools for the year was $1,751,047, of which $1,403,848 was for salaries of superintendents and teachers. There was an additional $597,006 expended for city schools. Normal school training is provided for by the Peabody College for Teachers (q.v.) at Nashville. A large number of students at this institution are aided by the grants of scholarships. The higher institutions of learning include some of national reputation. See Tennessee, University of; Nashville, University of; Vanderbilt University; Fisk University.

Charitable and Penal Institutions. There is an unsalaried Board of Charities appointed by the Governor which investigates the whole system of public charities and correctional institutions, and reports thereon to the Legislature. The plans for new buildings, modifications, etc., must be submitted to it for suggestions and criticism. The State maintains three hospitals for the insane, namely, the Western Hospital near Bolivar, the Central Hospital near Nashville, and the Eastern Hospital near Knoxville. There is a State school for the deaf at Knoxville, one for the blind at Nashville, and an industrial school at Nashville. The State also maintains a Confederate soldiers' home near Nashville. The main prison at Nashville had on December 1, 1902, 923 convicts, and the branch prison at Petros had 762 convicts on the same date. Over two-thirds of the total number are negroes. The prisoners at the branch prison are worked in coal mines, but are not leased to contractors. The revenue from convict labor is greater than the cost of maintaining the convicts.

History. Probably De Soto (q.v.) reached the Mississippi at the present site of Memphis in 1541. La Salle, about 1682, built a fort at this point, and called it Fort Prud'homme. The place was again occupied by the French in 1714. The grant by Charles II. to the Lords Proprietors of Carolina of the territory between latitudes 29° and 36° 30′ N. in 1665 included this territory. (See North Carolina.) The first English settlement was Fort Loudon, built in 1756, at the suggestion of Governor Loudon of Virginia, and garrisoned by royal troops, but afterwards captured by the Cherokees. Before this, however, Dr. Thomas Walker with a party of Virginians had named the Cumberland River and Mountains, and Daniel Boone (q.v.) and others had entered the wilderness, which was regarded as a common hunting ground by the Cherokees, Creeks, Miamis, Choctaws, and Chickasaws. In 1768 the Iroquois, who claimed sovereignty by conquest, ceded their claim to the English, and in 1769 William Bean's cabin on the Watauga marked the beginning of real settlement. James Robertson (q.v.) and others came in 1770, another settlement was made near Rogersville in 1771, and soon after Jacob Brown opened a store on the Nollichucky. After the defeat of the Regulators (q.v.) in North Carolina, a great number of settlers came, supposing the territory to be Virginia soil. When the territory was found to be within North Carolina, the inhabitants of the first two settlements met in 1772 and formed the Watauga Association (q.v.), which served as a form of government for several years. In 1775 Col. Richard Henderson (q.v.) bought from the Indians the territoiy between the Cumberland and the Kentucky Rivers. More settlers came in 1778-79 and in 1780 a compact of government was drawn up at Nashborough, by Col. Henderson, who had been Chief Justice of North Carolina, and James Robertson, who had been one of the signers of the Watauga Association. These two compacts were much alike and served their purpose excellently.

The Watauga settlers in 1775 or 1776 gave the name Washington District to their colony, and in 1776 it was annexed to North Carolina, though some had dreamed of a separate State. The number of settlers increased rapidly and nearly 500 men under John Sevier (q.v.) and Isaac Shelby (q.v.) went across the mountains and took part in the attack on the British under Ferguson, at King's Mountain (q.v.), in 1780. All this time the settlers were harassed by severe Indian wars. In 1784 North Carolina ceded to the General Government all the territory of the present State on condition that the cession be accepted within two years, but retained until that time full sovereignty. The inhabitants, indignant at being transferred without their consent, and thinking that they had been abandoned, elected delegates from each military company, who met at Jonesboro, August 23, 1784, and formed the State of Franklin, or Frankland; John Sevier was chosen Governor. Congress ignored the request to be recognized as a State and North Carolina promptly repealed the act of cession and asserted its jurisdiction. Civil war was averted by the tact of the North Carolina Governors. Confusion, however, reigned, as there were two bodies of officers, and many settlers neglected to pay taxes to either, though furs, skins, and other articles were made legal tender by the infant State. At the expiration of Sevier's term in 1788, the State of Franklin ended. In this attempt at Statehood the Cumberland settlers did not join. Davidson County was laid out in 1783 and the Davidson Academy (now the University of Nashville) was founded in 1785. Indian troubles threatened the life of the settlement, and the intrigues of the Spaniards, who still held Louisiana and the Mississippi, made the position more difficult. See McGillivray, Alexander.

In February, 1790, North Carolina again ceded the territory to the General Government, ​stipulating that all the advantages of the Ordinance of 1787 (q.v.) should be preserved to the inhabitants, except that slavery should not be prohibited. The act of government for the ‘Territory South of the Ohio’ was passed in April, 1790, and the seat of government was moved from Rogersville to Knoxville. The Indians were severely punished in 1794 and the Spanish influence was broken. In the same year the first Territorial Assembly met. In 1795, as the territory was found to contain more than 60,000 white inhabitants, a constitutional convention was called, which met in January, 1796. A constitution for the ‘State of Tennessee’ modeled after that of North Carolina was adopted without submission to popular vote; the first General Assembly met March 28th, and the State was admitted June 1, 1796. Almost from the date of admission there was a sharp distinction between East and Middle (West) Tennessee, which was recognized in the appointment of the judiciary. In wealth and material progress the mountainous eastern part lagged behind. The western part of the State began to fill up after 1818. Memphis was laid out in 1819, and three sections came now to be recognized in law. The progress of the State was rapid, though the growth was almost entirely along agricultural lines. The State early began to construct internal improvements. Turnpike roads were built in 1804, and after 1823 roads and canals were pushed forward. The first railroad was chartered in 1831, but the Memphis and Charleston road was not built until 1857. Much State aid was voted to the railroads, and the redemption of the bonds issued for this purpose was a political issue as late as 1882. The eastern part of the State did not share equally in these benefits.

There was a strong Union party in the State at the outbreak of the Civil War, and in February, 1861, the people refused to hold a convention to consider secession, but with President Lincoln's call for troops sentiment changed, and through the influence of Governor Harris the State declared itself by popular vote out of the Union, June 8th, though East Tennessee had voted against secession more than two to one. On June 17th a Union convention of delegates from the eastern counties and a few middle counties met at Greeneville and petitioned to be allowed to form a separate State. The request was ignored by the Legislature, and the presence of a Confederate army prevented further action on the part of the Unionists. During the war the State furnished about 115,000 soldiers to the Confederate cause and 31,092 to the Federal army. When the advance of Federal troops drove Governor Harris from Nashville, Andrew Johnson (q.v.), who had refused to resign his seat in the United States Senate on the secession of the State, was appointed military governor. He attempted to reorganize the State in 1864, and sent up Lincoln electors, who were rejected by Congress. In 1865 the Radical Legislature proceeded to extreme measures. Suffrage was extended to negroes under the Constitution of 1834, which gave that right to every freeman. The State was readmitted July 23, 1866, but there was much disorder. The Ku-Klux Klan (q.v.) appeared, and in 1869 nine counties in Middle and West Tennessee were declared under martial law. For a time after the war the recovery of the State was slow, but the development of the past twenty years has been exceedingly rapid. The principal events have been the conflicts between convict and free labor in the mines in 1891-93, and the Tennessee Centennial Exposition (q.v.), held at Nashville in 1897.

In the Presidential elections Tennessee chose Democratic-Republican electors from 1796 to 1824. In 1828 and again in 1832 the only issue was Jackson, and the voters were almost unanimous for him. In 1836, however, Hugh Lawson White, the States-Rights Democrat, was successful in spite of Jackson's efforts. From 1840 to 1852 Whig electors were chosen. Clay receiving the vote in 1844, though Polk was a resident of the State. In 1856 the vote was cast for Buchanan. The Constitutional Union ticket headed by John Bell was successful in 1860. The State voted for Grant in 1868, but since that time it has been Democratic. From the State have come many men of national reputation, including three Presidents, Jackson, Polk, and Johnson.

Governors of Tennessee
STATE OF FRANKLIN
John Sevier 1785-88
TERRITORY SOUTH OF THE OHIO
William Blount 1790-96
STATE OF TENNESSEE
John Sevier Democratic-Republican  1796-1801
Archibald Roan ““ 1801-03
John Sevier ““ 1803-09
Willie Blount ““ 1809-15
Joseph McMinn ““ 1815-21
William Carroll ““ 1821-27
Sam Houston ““ 1827-29
William Hall (acting) 1829
William Carroll Democrat 1829-35
Newton Cannon States-Rights Democrat 1835-39
James K. Polk Democrat 1839-41
James C. Jones Whig 1841-45
Aaron V. Brown Democrat 1845-47
Neil S. Brown Whig 1847-49
William Trousdale Democrat 1849-51
William B. Campbell Whig 1851-53
Andrew Johnson Democrat 1853-57
Isham G. Harris “ 1857-62
Andrew Johnson Military 1862-65
Interregnum 4th March-5th April, 1865
William G. Brownlow Republican 1865-69
DeWitt C. Senter Conservative-Republican 1869-71
John C. Brown Democrat 1871-75
James D. Porter “ 1875-79
Albert S. Marks “ 1879-81
Alvin Hawkins Republican 1881-83
William B. Bate Democrat 1883-87
Robert L. Taylor “ 1887-91
John P. Buchanan “ 1891-93
Peter Turney “ 1893-97
Robert L. Taylor “ 1897-99
Benton McMillin “ 1899-1903
James B. Frazier “ 1903—

Bibliography. Killebrew and Safford, Introduction to the Resources of Tennessee (Nashville, 1874); Killebrew, Tennessee, Its Agricultural and Mineral Wealth (ib., 1877); Wright, “Antiquities of Tennessee,” in Smithsonian Institution Report for 1874 (Washington, 1875); Jones, “Explorations of the Aboriginal Remains of Tennessee,” in Smithsonian Institution Contributions to Knowledge, vol. xxii. (Washington, 1876); Gates, West Tennessee, Its Advantages and Its Resources (Jackson, Tenn., 1885); Thruston, The Antiquities of Tennessee (2d ed., Cincinnati, 1897). For history, consult: Roosevelt, The Winning of the West (New York, 1889-96); Putnam, History of Middle Tennessee (Nashville, 1859); Phelan, History of Tennessee (Boston, 1889); Haywood, Civil and Political History of ​Tennessee (Nashville, 1891); Caldwell, Studies in the Constitutional History of Tennessee (Cincinnati, 1895); Allison, Dropped Stitches in Tennessee History (Nashville, 1897); McGee, History of Tennessee (New York, 1899); Temple, East Tennessee and the Civil War (Cincinnati, 1899); Fertig, Secession and Reconstruction of Tennessee (University of Chicago Press, 1898); Tennessee Historical Society Papers.

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