Tennessee is a state in the southern United States, in the group of states of the Southeast Center (East South Central States). The area is 109 thousand sq. km, the population is 5.9 million people (2004). The administrative center is the city of Nashville. Other important cities: Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga. See counties in Tennessee.
Tennessee borders the states of Kentucky and Virginia to the north, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, and Arkansas and Missouri to the west. To the east lies the southern Appalachian Mountains, the Great Smoky Mountains. Their highest point is Mount Clingmans Dome (2025 m). Between the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers in the west is lowland. Between the mountains and the lowlands lies the Cumberland Plateau. The main rivers are the Tennessee (formed near Knoxville at the confluence of the Holston and French Broad rivers) and the Cumberland. Soils are predominantly brown forest. Deciduous forests (oak, hickory, dark poplar) grow on the slopes of the mountains. The climate is subtropical continental. The average temperature in January is 4 °С, in July 25 °С. Precipitation falls 1150 mm per year.
- AbbreviationFinder: Introduction to the state of Tennessee, covering commonly used acronyms and the list of main cities and town in Tennessee.
Major transport hub. Port on the Cumberland River. Shipping (carried out along the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers). In the Tennessee River Valley, there is a complex of power plants (hydroelectric power plant, thermal power plant and nuclear power plant in Oak Ridge). Non-ferrous metallurgy (aluminum smelting – in Alcoa). In industry, the main share is accounted for by mechanical engineering (electrical engineering, agricultural machinery, automobiles), woodworking, petrochemical, printing, food and textile industries, as well as the production of rubber and plastics, fertilizers, and artificial fibers. A major center for the production of whiskey. Music Industry (in Nashville). They grow tobacco and soybeans. Corn, wheat, cotton, forage grasses are also cultivated.
University of Tennessee at Knoxville (under it the Institute for the Study of Space), many branches (founded in 1794). Strongly expanded due to the donated land. Tourism. Numerous universities and colleges. Concert hall Grand-ol-owry.
Representatives of the Mound Builder culture were the first inhabitants of Tennessee, and the first European to visit these places in 1541 was E. de Soto. Then there lived the Cherokee (Cherokee), Shawnee (Shawnee) and Chickasaw (Chickasaw) tribes. In the 17th and 18th centuries, England and France fought for these lands. In 1763, according to the Treaty of Paris, land east of the river. The Mississippi were ceded to England. The stable colonization of Tennessee began. In 1772, the Watoga Association was created by the inhabitants of the state, which protected the interests of the region and administered justice. Its leaders J. Sevier and J. Robertson in 1779 founded a settlement on the site of modern Nashville. The victory at Kings Mountain in 1780 played an important role in the colonial independence movement. Detachments under the command of Sevier and I. Shelby prevented the unification of British forces and thereby decided the outcome of the War of Independence. At the same time, there are numerous clashes with the Cherokee tribes. In 1784, the state of Franklin was created in eastern Tennessee from the lands transferred by North Carolina to the disposal of the federal authorities. In 1788, its governor, Sevier, was arrested (North Carolina refused to recognize the new state) and the state ceased to exist. In 1790, J. Washington appointed the governor of all US territories south of the river. Ohio W. Blount. In 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state of the United States. In the Anglo-American War of 1812-1814, the inhabitants of the state took an active part. At the Battle of New Orleans, the majority of the American army was Tennessee. E. Jackson especially excelled. The state also took an active part in all the wars with the Indians. During the Civil War, the population of the state was not united. The unity of the Union and the abolition of slavery were supported in the east, the Confederation and slavery were supported by the inhabitants of the central and western parts of the state. Due to its geographical location, the state hosted a large number of battles. At the start of the Civil War, Fort Donelson and Fort Henry were fortified centers of the Confederates. In February 1862, the northerners captured both forts. Military rule was introduced in the state, headed by the military governor of the state, E. Johnson (future President of the United States). The state is the site of one of the last battles of the Civil War (Battle of Nashville, December 1864). Tennessee was liberated from the Confederate army. After the Civil War, industry began to develop, during the period of restoration of economic and political life (the so-called Reconstruction of the South). In 1870, the current state constitution was adopted. In 1925, the entire state followed the trial (the so-called “monkey trial”) in Dayton of a schoolteacher who taught Darwin’s theory of evolution in violation of state law. In 1940-1950, with Tennessee at the center of events, he became the leader of the resurgent “New South”. In the 1960s, there was an active struggle for civil rights in the state. On April 4, 1968, Negro civil rights leader M. L. King was assassinated in Memphis.. In 1980, population growth increased due to migration. At the end of the 20th century, numerous American and Japanese automobile factories were built in the state. Agriculture (which plays a minor role in the economy) is dominated by small farms. Agricultural areas are in the lowlands of the Mississippi Valley. Zinc is being mined (first place in the USA). The eastern part of the state is traditionally an industrial zone, the western part is rural.
Among the state’s natural attractions: Fort Donelson National Park and Historic Site, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (1934), and many of the attractions are located in the cities of Nashville and Memphis.
