TENNESSEE, USA — Tennessee is celebrating 226 years of statehood!
Before the Revolutionary War, the British set aside the land that would become Tennessee for Native Americans, but people in Virginia and North Carolina illegally settled the land before it was a state, causing years of conflict and war with the Native Americans. The settlers also complained the state wasn't protecting them.
North Carolina gave up the land to the federal government to pay off war debts, and the settlers' first attempt to form a new state was called the State of Franklin. Despite having a state constitution and a governor and being in existence from 1785-1788, the federal government did not recognize Franklin and instead relegated the land as part of the Southwest Territory.
Eventually, Tennessee completed the new steps outlined in the U.S. Constitution to become a state, and it worked!
On June 1, 1796, President George Washington made Tennessee the 16th state to join the United States. John Sevier served as the first governor, and Knoxville was its first capital.
Discover stories from Tennessee's history in our YouTube playlist:
To celebrate its 226th birthday, here are some facts you may (or may not) know about the Volunteer State.
The current capital is Nashville, but Kingston in Roane County was the capital for a day before it was a state in 1807.
Tennessee's nickname as the "Volunteer State" came from the War of 1812 because of the number of volunteers from the state militia who fought.
Its state slogan, "Tennessee - America at Its Best!," was adopted by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1965.
The state motto, "Agriculture and Commerce," was taken from the wording used on the state seal and adopted by the General Assembly in 1987.
There are 10 state songs:
- My Homeland, Tennessee
- Rocky Top
- A Bicentennial Rap: 1796-1996
- When It's Iris Time in Tennessee
- Tennessee (1992)
- Smoky Mountain Rain
- My Tennessee
- The Pride of Tennessee
- Tennessee (2012)
- Tennessee Waltz
Tennessee has many state symbols too:
- State bird- mockingbird
- State cultivated flower- iris
- State wildflowers- Passion Flower and Tennessee Coneflower
- State gem- Tennessee River Pearls
- State beverage- milk
- State fruit- tomato
- State wild animal- raccoon
- State fossil- Pterotrigonia
- State insects- firefly and ladybeetle
- State reptile- Eastern Box Turtle
- State tree- Tulip Poplar
- State dog- bluetick coonhound