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 its western and middle parts supporting the Confederacy and the eastern region harboring pro -Union sentiment. As a result, Tennessee was the last state to secede and the first readmitted to the Union after the war.
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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Timberlake's "Draught of the Cherokee Country." Timberlake's "Tennessee River" is now known as the Little Tennessee River. North is to the left.
Overhill Cherokee was the term for the Cherokee people located in their historic settlements in what is now the U.S. state of Tennessee in the Southeastern United States , on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains . This name was used by 18th-century European traders and explorers from British colonies along the Atlantic coast, as they had to cross the mountains to reach these settlements.
Situated along the lower
Little Tennessee , lower
Tellico , lower
Hiwassee and upper
Tennessee rivers, the
Overhill towns rose to prominence within the
Cherokee Nation in the early 18th century. They began to standardize trade with British colonists. In the early part of the century, the Overhill towns' remote location at the far end of the
Trading Path meant they were reached only by those traders and explorers adventurous enough to make the difficult journey to the interior over the mountain range. By the middle of the century, the Overhill towns were consistently courted by both British and French emissaries, as the two powers struggled for the control of the North American continent and the lucrative
fur trade . (
Full article... )
List of recognized articles
Nashville Superspeedway is a 1.330-mile (2.140 km) tri-oval intermediate speedway in Lebanon, Tennessee . The track has held a variety of racing series since its opening in 2001, including NASCAR and the IndyCar Series . It has been owned by Speedway Motorsports, LLC (SMI) since 2021, with Matt Greci currently serving as the track's general manager. The track is served by Interstate 840 and Tennessee State Route 452 .
The track has a current permanent seating capacity of 25,000, with potential to expand to 38,000 with temporary grandstands. Along with the main track, the track complex also features a 1.8 miles (2.9 km) road course layout that uses parts of the main track along with an infield road course that is used to make a "
roval ". The complex initially planned to expand further to include a drag strip, short track, and a dedicated road course; however, these plans were scrapped. (
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 Johnny Cash Carl Perkins Tennessee Waltz Morristown, Tennessee 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 Memphis International Airport , the hub of
FedEx Corporation , is the busiest cargo airport in the world (from
Tennessee )
Image 3 Howard Baker served as
Senate Minority and Majority Leader from 1977 to 1985, and was known as "The Great Conciliator" (from
Tennessee )
Image 4 Workers at the
Norris Dam construction camp site in 1933 (from
Tennessee )
Image 7 The
Battle of Franklin , November 30, 1864 (from
Tennessee )
Image 8 The
Battle of Franklin , November 30, 1864 (from
Tennessee )
Image 9 Howard Baker served as
Senate Minority and Majority Leader from 1977 to 1985, and was known as "The Great Conciliator" (from
Tennessee )
Image 10 Köppen climate types of Tennessee, using 1991-2020
climate normals . (from
Tennessee )
Image 12 Workers at the
Norris Dam construction camp site in 1933 (from
Tennessee )
Image 13 Chart showing poverty in Tennessee, by age and gender (red = female) (from
Tennessee )
Image 14 Established in 1942,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest national laboratory in the Department of Energy system (from
Tennessee )
Image 15 1861 Bank of Tennessee 1 dollar banknote (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 16 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 17 Surveyor
Daniel Smith's "Map of the Tennassee State" (1796) (from
Tennessee )
Image 18 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 20 The
1982 World's Fair in Knoxville (from
Tennessee )
Image 21 Vanderbilt University in Nashville is consistently ranked as one of the top research institutions in the nation (from
Tennessee )
Image 22 A View of Memphis, Tennessee , 1871 (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 23 A geomap showing the counties of Tennessee colored by the relative range of that county's median income. (from
Tennessee )
Image 24 Cedar glades are an ecosystem that is found in regions of Middle Tennessee where limestone bedrock is close to the surface (from
Tennessee )
Image 25 The
Ryman Auditorium , home of the "Grand Ole Opry" in Nashville (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 26 Conquistador Hernando de Soto , first European to visit Tennessee (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 27 Mount Le Conte in the
Great Smoky Mountains is the tallest mountain in eastern North America, measured from base to summit (from
Tennessee )
Image 28 Chart showing poverty in Tennessee, by age and gender (red = female) (from
Tennessee )
Image 29 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 30 Offices of
The Tennessean in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 31 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson , now a museum in
Davidson County (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 32 Calutron operators at the
Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge during the
Manhattan Project (from
Tennessee )
Image 34 Surveyor
Daniel Smith's "Map of the Tennassee State" (1796) (from
Tennessee )
Image 35 Mount Le Conte in the
Great Smoky Mountains is the tallest mountain in eastern North America, measured from base to summit (from
Tennessee )
Image 36 Memphis became known as the "Cotton Capital of the World" in the years following the Civil War (from
Tennessee )
Image 37 Memphis became known as the "Cotton Capital of the World" in the years following the Civil War (from
Tennessee )
Image 38 The Southwest Territory in 1790 (from
Tennessee )
Image 39 John Bell (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 41 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 42 Vanderbilt University in Nashville is consistently ranked as one of the top research institutions in the nation (from
Tennessee )
Image 44 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 47 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 48 in 1946 the U.S. Post Office issued a
commemorative stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tennessee statehood. (from
Tennessee )
Image 49 Calutron operators at the
Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge during the
Manhattan Project (from
Tennessee )
Image 50 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 51 Interstate 40 traverses Tennessee from east to west, and serves the state's three largest cities. (from
Tennessee )
Image 53 The
1982 World's Fair in Knoxville (from
Tennessee )
Image 54 Established in 1942,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest national laboratory in the Department of Energy system (from
Tennessee )
Image 55 Interstate 40 traverses Tennessee from east to west, and serves the state's three largest cities. (from
Tennessee )
Image 56 Fall Creek Falls , the tallest waterfall in the eastern United States, is located on the Cumberland Plateau (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 in 1946 the U.S. Post Office issued a
commemorative stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tennessee statehood. (from
Tennessee )
Image 60 Köppen climate types of Tennessee, using 1991-2020
climate normals . (from
Tennessee )
Image 61 The Southwest Territory in 1790 (from
Tennessee )
Image 62 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 63 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 64 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 65 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 67 Memphis International Airport , the hub of
FedEx Corporation , is the busiest cargo airport in the world (from
Tennessee )
Image 68 Cedar glades are an ecosystem that is found in regions of Middle Tennessee where limestone bedrock is close to the surface (from
Tennessee )
Image 69 A geomap showing the counties of Tennessee colored by the relative range of that county's median income. (from
Tennessee )
Image 70 The Tennessee at Chattanooga , 1872, by
Harry Fenn (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 71 Offices of
The Tennessean in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 72 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 73 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 74 Nashville's replica of the
Parthenon (built 1897) (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 76 Reconstruction of
Fort Loudoun , the first British settlement in Tennessee (from
Tennessee )
Image 78 Reconstruction of
Fort Loudoun , the first British settlement in Tennessee (from
Tennessee )
Image 79 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 )
... that Symphyotrichum kentuckiense , the Kentucky aster, is only found on limestone cedar glades and limestone roadsides in Alabama , Georgia , Kentucky , and Tennessee ?
... that professional golfer Cary Middlecoff co-owned Memphis, Tennessee , radio station WCBR in the mid-1950s?
... that college basketball player Jett Howard almost signed at Tennessee , but instead chose the Michigan team of his father Juwan Howard ?
... that TV stations in Nashville and in Memphis, Tennessee , both on channel 30, lost their Fox affiliations in 1990?
... that Tennessee State Route 396 was constructed to provide access to the Spring Hill Manufacturing plant of Saturn Corporation ?
... that Gerald Willis , after working as a bus driver at age 15, started a business that earned $2 million per year and built a replica of the Hermitage after watching The President's Lady ?
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