On June 1, 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state admitted to the United States.
Interestingly, it wasn’t the first time Tennessee sought statehood. A decade earlier, a swath of Tennessee’s eastern territory — one owned by North Carolina and offered to Congress as a payment on the state’s war debt — took the occasion to declare its independence and apply for statehood under the name Franklin, reportedly as a tribute to Benjamin Franklin. The petition ultimately failed, winning some votes but not enough to reach the two-thirds majority needed for statehood under the Articles of Confederation.
Tennessee’s nickname, The Volunteer State, comes from the state’s overwhelming response to the War of 1812. When state officials put out a call for volunteers to join the fight, Tennesseans answered and then some; more than 50,000 Tennesseans came forward to fill several thousand spots — a feat that prompted the Nashville Daily Union to crown it “The Volunteer State” in an 1847 editorial.
“We answered the call and sent a lot more volunteers than requested,” said Tennessee Sen. Becky Massey, who represents the 6th District and is a 2014 CSG Toll Fellow. “We did the same thing when Texas was being formed, sending all those people to fight at the Alamo. But that’s something you’ll see time and time again in Tennessee: People want to do what they can to help their neighbor.”
Tennessee also played a pivotal, if little known, role in the women’s suffrage movement. The 19th Amendment, first introduced in Congress in 1878, repeatedly failed to win support in the years that followed. By 1920, the amendment had passed in 35 states and needed one more for ratification when Tennessee took up the measure. Crowds flocked to Nashville to witness the so-called “War of the Roses,” where pro-suffragists wore yellow roses on their lapels to show their support and those opposed wore red roses. Ultimately, it came down to the final vote from the youngest member of the General Assembly, Harry T. Burn, a 24-year-old legislator, who opted at the eleventh hour to switch his stance and support the measure, adding he was swayed by a note from his mother.
“She couldn’t vote, of course, so she sent a letter to her son saying, ‘You take care of those women now,’” Massey said. “His mother’s letter was in his pocket when he changed his vote. Anyway, it’s a fascinating story, and it was one of those times where a single vote made a big difference.”
An agricultural state with diverse geography ranging from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the east to the fertile plains along the Mississippi River, Tennessee is also home to the nation’s most-visited national park: the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park is one of the few that doesn’t charge an entrance fee, Massey said, adding that the policy stems, in part, from the park’s history as a privately-owned logging tract purchased via a local fundraising campaign.
“It was a community-driven effort,” Massey said. “School kids would give their pennies to the cause, and that got everyone’s attention, with civic leaders and non-profits soon getting involved. Eventually, John D. Rockefeller gave $5 million, which Congress matched, and the land was purchased. But that campaign explains why we can never charge for entry to the park: Because it was the community that raised the money to buy it.”
Tourism is Tennessee’s second biggest economic driver, behind agriculture. One of the state’s biggest tourism draws is Nashville, known as “Music City,” and its reputation as the center of the nation’s country music industry.
“There have been so many musical icons that started their careers here,” Massey said. “Elvis, of course, is the first big one. But the era the followed also brough Johnny Cash, Chet Atkins, Jerry Lee Louis, and so many others. Then we have the blues in West Tennessee, where Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner got their start. And then there’s Dolly Parton, who is beloved and still going strong. There’s just so much musical talent here. I like to say that if they’re not from Tennessee, they’re living here now.”
The city is home to Gibson, Inc., the second-largest American manufacturer of guitars, which produces a variety of classic guitars, such as the Les Paul and the SG. And it also is home to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which boasts a huge archive of pre-World War II country music recordings, photographic prints, and musical instruments and stage costumes.
But perhaps Nashville’s biggest musical attractions is the Grand Ole Opry, which began in the 1920s as a live radio broadcast and went on to launch the careers of countless musical stars including Bill Monroe, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams and Loretta Lynn.
“The Grand Ole Opry still does shows to this day,” Massey said. “It used to be housed in the historic Ryman Auditorium but moved in the 1970s to a larger venue, called the Grand Ole Opry House. President Nixon came to the dedication ceremony, and I still have a photograph from that day, with President Nixon and his wife, Pat, at the ceremony — and my mother is right there, standing behind them. So yes, music is a big deal in Tennessee and a big part of the culture here.”