On June 1, 1796, President Washington signed the law formally admitting Tennessee as the 16th state to join the union. This week, we’ll take a look at how Tennessee got there.
We last looked at this region back in Episode 335. At that time, the western counties of North Carolina were sick of the abuse they were getting from the rest of the state, and declared themselves to be the independent State of Franklin.
North Carolina had already agreed to cede this land to the Continental Congress in 1784, but Congress refused to accept it. The residents then felt free to form their own state and applied to Congress for recognition.
Collapse of Franklin
Between 1784 and 1788, the state of Franklin operated independently of North Carolina. It elected Revolutionary War hero John Sevier as its president. The government continued to work with the Confederation Congress to gain recognition, and made treaties with Indian tribes to justify its land claims.
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| Map of Tennessee, 1796 |
North Carolina sought to divide Franklin by establishing local leaders that supported the view that they should remain part of North Carolina. Very quickly John Tipton assumed that leadership role.
Tipton had originally been a part of the movement to form the independent State of Franklin. He was also a political rival of Sevier. When the Franklin legislature unanimously elected Sevier as president, and Tipton could not even get a seat in the legislature, he took great offense. He was further disenchanted when the state constitution he supported, which favored strict religious requirements and morality laws, was rejected in favor of a constitution that was simply a modified version of the North Carolina Constitution. Tipton saw his dream for the new state, and his role in the leadership, disappear.
In the loyalist election run by the North Carolina government in August of 1786, Tipton won election as a representative from the disputed western counties to the North Carolina legislature. Tipton became a leading advocate for crushing the State of Franklin and keeping the western counties within the state of North Carolina.
For the next two years, the people living in this disputed territory were subject to two different governments that conflicted with one another. There were two sets of militia, two court systems, and two separate demands for the payment of taxes. The situation became so dire that in 1787, Sevier and North Carolina General Evan Shelby had to reach a temporary understanding that residents would not be forced to pay taxes to one jurisdiction if they had already paid taxes to the other.
This agreement was only a temporary one to prevent an all out civil war between the two groups. At the same time, North Carolina Governor Richard Caswell, who had been friends with Sevier, promised that if the Franklin movement ended its efforts at independence, North Carolina would allow a peaceful separation under its own terms at a later date. North Carolina also encouraged Franklin supporters to jump ship by promising to forgive the years of back taxes due to North Carolina, if they would abandon the movement.
These conciliatory efforts, along with North Carolina’s ability to isolate Franklin economically, the movement lost support. Franklin’s government began to collapse in late 1787 officials feared holding an election because it would almost certainly result in a contest of arms that would leave many dead.. When President Sevier’s term ended in March of 1788, there was no legislature in place to replace him and no infrastructure to hold a new election. With that, the Franklin government collapsed completely and the state largely faded away.
Sevier Resists
Sevier, however, and other smaller numbers of men refused to give up. In February 1788, just before Sevier’s term ended and while Sevier was away trying to make agreements with local Indian tribes, Tipton had the North Carolina sheriff raid Sevier’s plantation and seize his slaves for nonpayment of North Carolina taxes.
When Sevier returned he discovered that his slaves were at Tipton’s plantation. He rounded up 150 men to take back his property by force. His men surrounded the plantation, but Tipton refused to concede. Sevier men outnumbered the 15 defenders by 10 to 1. They even brought up a small field cannon to force a surrender. Tipton, however, refused to back down. He dared the attackers to fire. Sevier could not follow through on his threat. He was not ready to massacre Tipton and kick off a larger war, which he would almost certainly lose.
Sevier’s men besieged the plantation for a few days. They did take pot shots at a few defenders who stepped outside the house, killing one and wounding another. Finally a relief force arrived, scattering Sevier’s army and capturing their cannon.
Two of Sevier’s sons were captured following the retreat. Tipton threatened to hang both of them but backed down after they pleaded for mercy. Despite this incident, things seemed to be returning to unity with North Carolina largely back in control.
Governor Caswell’s policy of persuasion had had an impact, but North Carolina replaced him with Governor Samuel Johnston. According to most sources, Johnston was not particularly interested in the frontier issues. As a colonial legislator, he had sponsored legislation to punish western colonists who had rebelled at Alamance. Those advising him, including Tipton, advised the governor that Sevier remained a threat to North Carolina.
Sevier had reached an understanding with North Carolina Militia commander Evan Shelby, but Shelby had been replaced by Joseph Martin, who very much wanted to use force to crush the Franklin movement. Martin convinced Governor Johnston that this was the right policy. He suggested that Sevier was incorrigible and would never settle. He asserted that Sevier had killed a Cherokee chief and was on the brink of inviting a larger Cherokee war against the region, and that he might be raising a western army to attack North Carolina directly.
None of these accusations seemed to have much basis in fact, but it was enough for Governor Johnston to order Sevier’s arrest for high treason. Johnston issued the order in July, 1788. Sevier, at the time, was leading an army but one that was fighting off attacks from Cherokee and Chickamauga warriors on the frontier.
Arrest and Redemption
When Sevier returned home in the fall, Tipton formed a posse, cornered Sevier at the home of a friend and arrested him. He placed Sevier in handcuffs and brought him to Morgantown. Along the way, one of the guards informed Sevier that one of the guards planned to murder him. Sevier tried to make an escape but his horse got tangled in the underbrush. The guard that was determined to kill Sevier, a man named French, caught up with Sevier, pulled his pistol and shot Sevier in the head. Fortunately, the ball had fallen out of the pistol before it was fired, leaving Sevier with only a powder burn.
The posse delivered Sevier to the Sheriff of Burke County. Sevier, however, still had a loyal following. Word of his arrest soon resulted in 2000 men picking up their arms and riding to rescue Sevier.
The army assembled at Jonesboro. Those commanding the volunteer force, including Sevier’s sons, met to debate how to proceed best. One of the officers, Major James Cozby suggested that the best way to rescue Sevier was not with a large army but rather a small group of men who could conduct a jailbreak. Cozby hand picked five other men, all of whom were officers who had served under Sevier during the Revolution War and in the Indian wars.
By the time the men arrived in Morgantown, the treason trial against Sevier had already begun. Thousands of people surrounded the court house as spectators. Cozby left four of the men and their horses on the outskirts of the crowd. He and Captain Nathaniel Evans rode into the crowd and made their way up to the courthouse door, bringing Sevier’s horse with them. Cozby walked the courtroom, made eye contact with Sevier and made sure Sevier saw his horse standing by the courthouse door.
Cozby then shouted at the judge, creating a distraction. Sevier took that moment to dash for the door, jump on his horse and ride off at a full gallop. During the confusion, Cozby and Evans also managed to get back to their horses and ride away. Although the sheriff’s deputies gave chase, they were unable to catch anyone.
Part of this success may have been do to with the fact that most of the anti-Sevier advocates, including Tipton and Martin, had already gone into hiding. Sevier’s capture had brought on threats by mobs to lynch these men. Therefore, people who probably could have identified Sevier’s friends and who had an inclination to do so, were not at the trial.
Despite his escape, Sevier was a wanted fugitive from the law. But his popularity remained so high among the people in the western counties that it soon became apparent that officials needed to come to some accommodation with him.
While on the run from the law, the voters elected Sevier to the North Carolina State Senate. In November, 1789, Sevier showed up at the capital, demanding to take his seat. Other representatives, including Tipton, objected to seating a wanted fugitive. Sevier was so popular though, that debate turned to a resolution to withdraw the charges against him and restore his rights of citizenship. Debate on the matter grew so intense that Tipton attempted to strangle one of Sevier’s advocates on the House floor. Others broke up the fight, but soon a duel was planned for the two men, but the matter was settled before the actual duel occurred.
The resolution passed and Sevier took his seat. That was not the end of his redemption. Shortly afterward, Militia General Martin submitted a claim for a militia campaign against the Chickamauga. By tradition, the western militia had defended themselves against the Indians and had borne their own costs. The legislature was so offended by the claim for expenses, that they removed Martin as brigadier general of the western militia. In his place, they appointed, guess who: John Sevier! So in a matter of days, Sevier went from being a criminal target of the militia, to being their new commander.
The following year, Sevier left the state legislature. North Carolina had finally ratified the US Constitution. The voters of western North Carolina elected Sevier to the US House of Representatives and sent him to Congress.
Southwest Territory
While in Congress, Sevier helped to arrange North Carolina’s second attempt to cede western lands to the Federal Government. This time it was more successful. Congress accepted the land cession and established the Southwest Territory in the spring of 1790. President Washington appointed William Blount as governor of the Southwest Territory.
I mentioned Blount before as one of the speculators who got caught up in the effort to buy the Yazoo lands of western Georgia. Blount had also been active in the movement to get North Carolina to ratify the Constitution. After Blount lost a bid to become one of North Carolina’s first US Senators, President Washington offered him the governorship of the Southwest Territory, which is essentially what became Tennessee. This was in thanks for his efforts in bringing North Carolina into the Union.
Western settlers were initially skeptical of Blount, who was from eastern North Carolina. But Blount made friends with Sevier, who still held the trust of the westerners. Blount also tried to appoint Tipton as a Justice of the Peace, but Tipton refused the appointment. Blount made efforts to end the feud between Sevier and Tipton. He made some progress, at one point convincing Tipton to burn a petition that he had been circulating to discredit Sevier. But the two men never really got past their differences.
Much of Blount’s efforts however, were focused on peace with the Indians. In 1791, he managed to get agreement to the Treaty of Holston with the Cherokee, establishing which lands were reserved for Indians and which were open for settlement.
The area that became the southwest territory already had seven counties, Washington, Sullivan, Greene, Davidson, Sumner, Hawkins, and Tennessee counties. As territorial governor Blount created two more counties in 1792, Knox county, named for his superior, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Jefferson County. Both of these were set on lands acquired through the Treaty of Holston.
In October, Blount established the territorial capital of the territory at a fort along the Tennessee River in Knox county. The town became known as Knoxville.
Territorial Legislature
Under the rules set by Congress for the territory, it would at first be controlled by the governor, a secretary and three federal judges all appointed by the president. Once the population reached 5000 qualified voters, they would establish a territorial legislature. To vote, one had to be a free white male at least 21 years old and with at least 50 acres of land.
A 1791 census showed over 6000 qualified voters, but Governor Blount delayed establishing a legislature for over two years. Blount wanted to consolidate his own power in the territory, and perhaps put himself in a better position to enrich himself with western land grants. He argued that the delay was over the lack of taxes to support a legislature, but this led to pushback from the people.
The territory finally held its first elections in late 1793, leading to the legislature being seated in February of 1794. Under the territorial rules, the people elected a house of representatives. The house then nominated ten men to form a legislative council, essentially an upper house. President Washington would select five of those ten men to serve in that upper house. Among those selected for the legislative council was John Sevier. The legislature also elected a territorial non-voting delegate to represent the territory in the US Congress.
The legislature got to work, quickly forming Sevier County in 1794 and Blount County in 1795. They also chartered three colleges, Blount College, which eventually became the University of Tennessee, Greeneville College, and Washington College. They set up a territorial tax code, setting the maximum land tax at 12.5 cents per 100 acres. They also authorized public lotteries for special government projects.
For statehood, the Northwest Ordinance a territory needed 60,000 free inhabitants before applying for statehood. People assumed the same rule would apply to the Southwest Territory. In 1795, the legislature called on Governor Blount to conduct a census The results of the census revealed in November a free population of over 66,000 plus another 10,000 slaves.
Constitutional Convention
The legislature promptly called for a Constitutional Convention to meet in Knoxville in January of 1796. Each of the eleven counties sent five delegates for a total of 55 delegates at the convention. They chose Blount to serve as the Convention Chairman. Interestingly, Sevier did not serve as a delegate to the convention.
The main purpose of the convention was to write a constitution. There was some debate about whether to have a single house legislature or a bicameral legislature with two houses. They chose the latter. There was also considerable debate over religious tests for office. The original proposal required all office holders to believe in the “divine authority of the old and new testaments.” This was removed and replaced with a prohibition on anyone holding office who denied the existence of God. They also excluded ministers from serving in the state legislature.
Another important provision mandated that all land be taxed at the same rate, based on acreage, not value. This was a boon to land speculators who held particularly valuable parcels of land. Another issue came up because of a significant portion of the population who operated farms on Indian lands. Since they could not officially own this land, they could not serve since they were not land owners. The delegates added a special exception to allow these people to serve in office.
Voting, however, removed all land ownership requirements. Any free adult male who resided in the state for at least six months was free to vote. Voting was open to both black and white men, as long as they were free.
One of the more controversial debates was over what might happen if the Federal government refused their application for admission into the Union Remember the whole State of Franklin controversy happened when North Carolina had tried to cede this territory before, Congress rejected taking it, and the population formed the State of Franklin.
One delegate proposed that they make clear that they would exist as an independent state, whether or not the Federal government allowed them to join the Union. This revived fears of a whole new State of Franklin part 2 controversy where the people would once again be fighting the rest of the country for their own independence.
The response to this was that the Federal government had already taken control of the territory. It gave every indication that it was ready to include them in the union, and there was no need to provoke controversy unless some rejection actually happened. The majority of delegates voted to table the question and move on to other things. However, the preamble of the Constitution they drafted did make clear that the people “do mutually agree with each other to form themselves into a free and independent state.”
One other decision that the Convention had to decide was what to call the new state. They avoided calling it Franklin, mostly out of concern that it would dredge up again those divisions that had plagued the region for the last decade. A young lawyer at the convention, Andrew Jackson, suggested they call the state Tennessee, named after the Tennessee River, which, in turn took its name from the Cherokee Town of Tenase.
The main problem with that name was that there was already a Tennessee County. That county agreed to change its name and give the name to the new State.
Statehood
When the convention ended on February 6, 1796, the process moved pretty quickly. Blount forwarded the state constitution to Secretary of State Timothy Pickering. Without waiting for any response, the Tennessee General Assembly convened its first secession at the end of March.
President Washington forwarded the constitution and application for statehood to Congress on April 8. Congress, of course, had its concerns. The main concern was political. Federalists were concerned that Tennessee would vote for Thomas Jefferson in the upcoming presidential elections later that year, potentially harming Adams’ chances of winning. Some of them argued that the census was “rigged” and that Tennessee really didn’t have a free population of 60,000 people. Some argued the territory should be divided into two states, which would have greatly delayed the process since each of those state would have to develop a population of 60,000.
After about a month of debate, the house passed a bill approving admission by a vote of 43 to 30. The matter then went to the Senate, which promptly voted against admission. The two houses then worked out a deal which granted admission, but also reduced Tennessee’s initial house delegation, from two to one person until the 1800 census. This also had the effect of giving the state one less electoral vote for the next two presidential elections.
With this change, the Senate withdrew its objections to statehood and the bill passed on May 31. The next day, June 1, President Washington signed the admission bill, formally admitted Tennessee into the Union as the 16th state.
Next Week: George Washington gives his farewell address.
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Next Episode 395 Washington's Farewell Address (coming soon)
Previous Episode 393 Yazoo Land Scandal
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Further Reading
Websites
How Tennessee Became a State: https://tnmuseum.org/junior-curators/posts/how-tennessee-became-a-state
Tennessee Statehood History https://www.visitknoxville.com/tennessee-statehood/tennessee-statehood-history
Tennessee: From Territory to Statehood https://tnsoshistory.com/chapter3
John Sevier: https://tn250.com/voices-volunteers/posts/john-sevier
Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)
Arthur, John Preston Western North Carolina: A History (from 1730 to 1913), Raleigh, NC: Edward Buncombe Chapter of the DAR, 1914.
Garrett, William R. History of Tennessee: Its People and its Institutions, Nashville: The Brandon Co. 1900.
Gilmore, James R. John Sevier as a Commonwealth-Builder, New York: D. Appleton and Co. 1898.
Karns, T.C. Tennessee History Stories, Richmond: B.F. Johnson Printing Co. 1904.
Phelan, James History of Tennessee: The Making of a State, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and co. 1888.
Turner, Francis Marion Life of General John Sevier, New York: The Neale Publishing Co. 1910.
Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*
Corlew, Robert, et. al Tennessee: A Short History, Univ. of Tennessee Press, 1969.
Durham, Walter T. Before Tennessee: The Southwest Territory, 1790-1796, Rocky Mount Historical Assn. 1990.
Finger, John R. Tennessee Frontiers: Three Regions in Transition, Indiana Univ. Press, 2001
Foster, Dave Tennessee: Territory to Statehood, Top Tenn. Press, 2000 (borrow on archive.org)
Langsdon, Phillip R. Tennessee: A Political History, Hillsboro Press, 2000.
* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
