TENNESSEE
TENNESSEE HISTORY
TENNESSEE
Tennessee State Seal
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Tennessee State Flag
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Tennessee Information
State size: 42,144 square miles
(34th in size)
State capital: Nashville (named
after Francis Nash, a
Revolutionary War General
Major cities: Chattanooga,
Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville
TENNESSEE
Tennessee Information
Admission to union: The 16th State
Date entered the union: June 1,
1796
Origin of state name: Named after
the Indian village “Tanasi”
State nickname: Volunteer State
Motto: Tennessee – America at its
Best
TENNESSEE
Tennessee Information
Bordering states: Missouri,
Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina,
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia,
and Arkansas
State bird: Mockingbird
State flower: Iris
State tree: Yellow Poplar
State dog: Blue Tick Coon Hound
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TENNESSEE GOVERNMENT
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Tennessee’s Current
Governor
Bill Haslam
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Tennessee State Government
Executive Branch: Governor
Judicial Branch: State Supreme
Court
Legislative Branch: House of
Representatives and Senate
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Legislative Branch
House of Representatives consists
of 99 members who each serve a
two-year term in office.
There are 99 representatives, one
for each district.
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Legislative Branch
Senate consist of 33 members who
serve four-year terms in office.
The state is divided into 33
senatorial districts from which each
senator is elected.
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State Government Powers
Education
Police
State highways
Trade inside the state
Collect taxes
Set up banks
Set up courts
Borrow money
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THE THREE GRAND DIVISIONS
OF TENNESSEE
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Tennessee is Divided into
Three Grand Divisions
West Tennessee
Middle Tennessee
East Tennessee
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West Tennessee
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West Tennessee
Major city: Memphis
– Known for being in the center of
shipping and trade for the South.
– Home of Elvis Presley and Oprah
Winfrey.
Mississippi River, located in West
Tennessee, is a major water route
for the South.
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Middle Tennessee
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Middle Tennessee
Major city: Nashville
– Capital city of Tennessee and known
for being the roadway to country
music.
– Home of Andrew Jackson, Fred
Thompson, and Al Gore, Jr.
Cumberland River and Tennessee
River are tributaries to the
Mississippi River.
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East Tennessee
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East Tennessee
 Major cities:
– Knoxville: Home of the UT Volunteers.
– Chattanooga: Known for the
Chattanooga Choo Choo and Look Out
Mountain. Home of Davey Crockett and
Dolly Parton.
 Rivers include Holston River and the
Tennessee River.
 Home to the most visited National Park in
the U.S., “The Great Smokey Mountains.”
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TENNESSEE POPULATION
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Tennessee Population Today
Population (2008): 6,214,888
(16th in size)
Tennessee’s population lives in
both rural (country) and urban
(city) areas.
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TENNESSEE STATEHOOD
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Statehood
June 1, 1796, Tennessee became
the 16th state to join the United
States of America.
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IMPORTANT FIGURES OF
TENNESSEE HISTORY
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John Sevier
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John Sevier
Tennessee voters chose Sevier to
be their first governor. He was
governor for 12 years, directed the
government to build roads, and
worked with Native American tribes
to gain more land for settlers.
Sevier County is named after him.
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Andrew Jackson
Jackson played
a role in
founding the
City of Memphis
and won
election to the
United States
Congress.
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Andrew Jackson
 During the war of 1812, he
volunteered to fight and earned the
nickname “Old Hickory.”
 Jackson was elected 7th President of
the United States in 1828 and elected
a second time in 1832 because he
was a war hero. Jackson was seen as
a strong, independent man of the
people – a common man who stood
up for the common people.
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Andrew Johnson
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Andrew Johnson
Five days after the war ended,
President Abraham Lincoln was
killed. His Vice President, Andrew
Johnson of Tennessee, became
the 17th President of the United
States.
He led our country through the
Reconstruction Period.
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James K. Polk
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James K. Polk
James Polk was a United States
Representative and a speaker of
the House. He was elected the
11th President of the United
States.
During his office, America
extended its western border to the
Pacific Ocean.
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Austin Peay
Governor of
Tennessee
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Austin Peay
Governor of Tennessee, 19011927.
Native of Kentucky and the first
and only Governor of Tennessee
to die while in office.
Austin Peay University is named
after him.
Known for his work toward the
transportation (roads) in
Tennessee.
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Anne Dallas Dudley
Nashville
native and
women’s
suffrage
(right to vote)
leader.
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Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Civil Rights
activist who is
most famous for
his speech, “I
Have a Dream”
King was killed
in Memphis, TN,
on April 4, 1968
by James Earl
Ray
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Nancy Ward
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Nancy Ward
Born as a member of the Cherokee
tribe sometime around 1738, her
Cherokee name was Nan’yehi.
As European settlers took over
parts of Tennessee, she began to
blend into the white world, and she
became known as Nancy Ward.
She was known to help keep the
peace between Cherokee people
and the European settlers.
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Nancy Ward
 Nancy Ward, the famed Beloved Woman of
Chota, rests in a small hilltop cemetery
overlooking the Ocoee River, where U.S.
Highway 411 crosses near the ancient ford
of the Warrior's Path and the old Federal
Road.