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TENNESSEE
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TENNESSEE , a See also:South Central See also:state of the See also:United States of See also:North See also:America, lying between See also:latitude 350 and latitude 36° 40' N. and between See also:longitude 81° 37' and longitude 90° 28' W. It is bounded on the N. by See also:Kentucky and See also:Virginia along a See also:line which, because of erroneous surveys, varies considerably, See also:east of the Tennessee See also:river, from the intended boundary—the line of latitude 36° 30' N.—the See also:variations all being measured to the north of that parallel; on the E. by North Carolina along the line of the See also:crest of the culminating See also:ridge of the Unaka Mountains till within 26 m. of the See also:Georgia frontier, where it turns due south, giving to Tennessee a triangular piece of territory which should have belonged to North Carolina; on the S. by Georgia, See also:Alabama and See also:Mississippi along the 35th parallel of N. See also:lat.; on the W. by the Mississippi river which separates it from See also:Arkansas and See also:Missouri. The extreme length of the state from E. to W. is 432 m., and the extreme breadth is 109 m. its See also:area being 42,022 sq. m., of which 335 sq. m. is See also:water See also:surface.
See also:Physical Features.—Tennessee is traversed in the east by the Unaka Ridges of the Older Appalachian Mountains and by the See also:Great Appalachian Valley; in the See also:middle by the See also:Cumberland See also:Plateau, the Highland Rim Plateau, and the See also:Nashville See also:Basin of the Appalachian Plateau; and in the See also:west by the Gulf Coastal Plains and a narrow See also:strip of the Mississippi See also:Flood See also:Plain. From a maximum See also:elevation of 6636 ft. at See also:Mount See also:Guyot on the North Carolina border, in See also:Sevier See also:county, the surface descends to 117 ft. or less on the Mississippi Flood Plain in the S.W. corner of the state. The See also:general slope, however, is west by north. About 1700 sq. m. are at least 2000 ft. above the See also:sea, but 28,200 sq. m. are less than moo ft. above the sea, and the mean elevation of the state is approximately 900 ft. The Unaka Mountains, which occupy a See also:belt 8 to 10 m. wide along its E. border, are a See also:series of somewhat irregular ridges See also:developed on complexly folded and faulted crystalline rocks. Sixteen peaks exceed 6000 ft. in height. They are Mount Guyot (6636 ft.), Clirgman See also:Dome (6619 ft.), Mount Le See also:Conte (6612 ft,), Mount See also:Curtis (6568 ft.), Mount Safford (6835 ft.), Mount Love (6443 ft.), Mount See also: The valley areas vary in height from 600 ft. in the south-west to moo ft. in the north-east. In the north-east the ridges are more numerous and higher than in the south-west, where See also: It is 18 rn See also:long, has a maximum width of 3 m., and is the only large lake in the state. The whole of the Appalachian See also:Province of Tennessee and the See also:southern portion of the Cumberland Plateau, the Highland Rim, and the See also:Lowland Basin are drained southward and westward by the Tennessee river and its tributaries. The valley of the Lower Tennessee is drained northward by the same river. The northern portion of the Cumberland Plateau, Highland Rim, and Lowland Basin are drained northward and westward by the Cumberland river and its tributaries. The western slope of the East Gulf Plains is drained directly into the Mississippi by several small streams. See also:Fauna.—A few See also:black bears inhabit the Unaka Mountain region. See also:Deer are quite numerous in the forests of the east See also:half of the state. The See also:wolf, See also:fox, See also:lynx (" wildcat "), See also:otter, See also:mink and See also:beaver have become rare. Squirrels, rabbits, See also:wood-chucks, skunks, muskrats and opossums are See also:common. Among See also:game-birds there are a few See also:wild turkeys, wild geese and bob-white (locally " See also:partridge "), and greater See also:numbers of See also:grouse and various ducks; among See also:song-birds the See also:robin, bluebird and mocking-See also:bird are common; and there are also woodpeckers, whippoorwills, blackbirds, See also:hawks, owls, crows and buzzards. There are a few speckled See also:trout in the mountain streams, but the commoner See also:fish are See also:bass, See also:perch, catfish, crappies, See also:pike, See also:drum See also:buffalo, See also:carp, suckers and eels. Rattlesnakes and moccasins, or cottonmouths, both venomous, are occasionally seen. See also:Flora.—Originally the state was well covered with forests, and about one-half of it is still woodland containing a large variety of trees. On the mountains the trees are chiefly pines, firs, spruce and See also:hemlock. In the swamps of the western part of the state, especially on the Mississippi Flood Plain, the See also:cypress is dominant. In the Lowland Basin small groves of what was once an extensive See also:forest of red See also:cedar remain. See also:Poplar and See also:larch are much more abundant in the western than in the eastern half of the state, and See also:pine is much more abundant in the eastern than in the western half. But in most parts of the state there are mixed forests of white oak, red oak, ash, red See also:gum, black gum, See also:maple, See also:hickory, See also:chestnut, sycamore, See also:magnolia, See also:tulip See also:tree, See also:cherry, pecan, See also:walnut, See also:elm, See also:beech, See also:locust and See also:persimmon. See also:Birch, mulberry, See also:linden, See also:willow, bass-wood, See also:dogwood, the See also:sorrel tree, pawpaw and wild See also:plum are common, There are a few varieties of the rare shittimwuod tree (Bumelia lanuginosa). Among indigenous shrubs and vines are the See also:hazel, See also:blackberry, See also:gooseberry, whortleberry, See also:huckleberry, See also:grape and See also:cranberry. See also:Blue grass is indigenous in the Lowland Basin. Of numerous medicinal herbs See also:ginseng is the most important. See also:Climate: Tennessee is noted for its delightful climate. The mean summer temperature ranges according to elevation from 62° F. on the Unaka Mountains to 72° on the Cumberland Plateau, to 75° in the Valley of East Tennessee and on the Highland Rim, to 77° in the Lowland Basin, and to about 78° on the East Gulf Plains. But the mean See also:winter temperature for each of these divisions varies little from 38°, and the mean See also:annual temperature ranges only from 57° in East Tennessee to 58° in Middle Tennessee and to 60° in West Tennessee. The See also:altitude being the same, the mean annual temperature on the south border of the state is about 2° higher than that on the north border. Usually the highest temperatures of the See also:year are in See also:July and the lowest in See also:January. In some regions there 1s no See also:record of a temperature as high as 100°; in others there is none as low as –to°; and the See also:average See also:absolute range is about 90°. However, during a See also:period of fifty-four years (1854–1908) the records show a range of extremes from -30° at See also:Erasmus, Cumber-See also:land county, in See also:February 1899, to 107° at several places in July 1901. Rarely there are killing frosts, especially in the southern and western parts of the state from the third See also:week in See also:April to the middle of See also:October. An average annual precipitation of about 5o in. is quite equally distributed over the state and a little more than one-half of it 1s well distributed through the See also:spring and summer months. The average annual snowfall is about 8 in., and the snowfalls are usually See also:light and melt within a few days. The average number of clear, See also:fair, or only partly cloudy days during a year in Tennessee is 260. The warm, moisture-bearing winds See also:blow low from the south or south-west with a See also:free sweep across the state in a direction nearly parallel with the trend of the mountains. Above these are upper currents from the north or north-west. The commingling of the two currents gives rise frequently to See also:westerly and occasionally to easterly winds. The average velocity of the winds is comparatively low and violent storms' are rare. See also:Soil.—The Lowland Basin, the less elevated parts of the Valley of East Tennessee, and parts of the See also:outer portion of the Highland Rim have a fertile See also:limestone soil. The deep See also:deposit of silt on the Mississippi Flood Plain is even more fertile. There are narrow strips of See also:rich See also:alluvium along many other See also:rivers. The soils on the mountains, on the ridges of the Valley of East Tennessee, and on the E. slope of the East Gulf Plains vary greatly according to the rocks from which they are derived. In the Cumberland Plateau, in the inner portion of the Highland Rim, and in the W. slope of the East Gulf Plains there is for the most part a light sandy soil, much of it too poor for cultivation. See also:Agriculture.—The See also:total area of farms in the state in 1900 was 20,342,058 acres, of which about one-half was classed as " improved." The average See also:size was 90.6 acres, and the average number of acres of improved land per See also:farm was 45.6. Of the total farm acreage 68.8 per cent. was held or operated by owners or part owners, 9'4 per cent. by See also:cash tenants, 17.4 per cent. by See also:share tenants, and the See also:remainder under See also:miscellaneous See also:tenure. Some 15.1 per cent. of all the farms were operated by coloured farmers, who in 1899 produced 22.2 per cent. of the agricultural products of the state, not fed to live stock. The total value of farms, including buildings, was $265,150,750 (the value of buildings being 23.8 per cent. of the total); in addition implements and machinery valued at $15,232,670 were employed. The See also:principal products and their values in 1909 were: See also:wheat, 8,320,000 bushels ($9,568,000); See also:Indian See also:corn, 78,650,000 bushels ($55,055,000); oats, 4,000,000 bushels ($2,120,000); See also:cotton, 240,000 See also:bales; See also:tobacco, 53,290,000 Ib, ($4,156,620). The average yield per See also:acre in 1909 was, of wheat 10.4 bushels, of Indian corn 22 bushels, of cotton (1908) 218 lb, of tobacco 730 lb. Cotton is not raised to any extent except in the rich alluvial land of the Mississippi Valley. Tennessee ranked fifth among the tobacco-growing states in 1899 and fourth in 1909. Considerable areas in the central part of the state are admirably adapted for grazing and the raising of See also:fine horses and See also:cattle. The value of live stock on farms and ranges on the 1st of January 1910 was as follows: horses, $36,288,000; mules, $35,670,000; milch cows, $8,828,000; other cattle, $7,797,000; See also:swine, $8,216,000.
See also:Mining.—Previous to the See also:close of the Civil War (1865) mining had been carried on upon a comparatively small See also:scale, but immediately thereafter See also:attention was attracted to the extensive and valuable deposits of See also:coal and See also:iron ore, and their development was begun on a large scale. The minerals of most commercial importance are coal, iron ores, See also:copper ores, See also:marble and phosphate See also:rock.
About 5000 sq. m., or almost one-eighth of the area of the state, is underlaid by the coal See also:measures, which occupy a belt in the Cumber-land Plateau from 5o to 70 M. wide extending entirely across the easterly part of the state in a north-easterly, south-westerly direction. The coal is of the soft or " bituminous " See also:kind, generally of excellent quality, and much of it suitable for See also:conversion Into See also:gas and See also:coke, of which latter 468,092 long tons were produced in 1905. The mining of coal in the state has developed rapidly in connexion with the notable expansion of the iron and See also:steel See also:industries of the South. In 1908 the product was 6,199,171 tons, valued at $7,118,499.
Iron ore is found and has been See also:mined in many places in the state. The deposits of most commercial importance are the limonites and See also: In the See also:early See also:history of Tennessee iron of See also:superior quality was produced, in small See also:charcoal furnaces, from the brown hematites of the central part of the state. A little later, considerable quantities of this iron were shipped and marketed at See also:Pittsburg. After the close of the Civil War (1865) the iron resources of the state attracted renewed attention, particularly the brown and red hematites, and large and See also:modern furnaces were erected in the See also:Chattanooga See also:district to reduce these ores. The output of iron ore was 874,542 tons (valued at $1,123,527) in 1902, when Tennessee ranked fifth among the iron ore producing states. Owing to the See also:industrial depression following 1907 the output was only 635,343 tons, valued at $876,007, in 1908. The only copper mines of industrial importance are the Ducktown mines in the extreme south-eastern corner of the state. Copper has been mined here since 1847, and notwithstanding the difficulties of transportation through a rough mountain region, mines were rapidly developed, and in 1855 over 14,000 tons of ore, See also:worth more than a million dollars, were marketed. These mines were the principal source of the See also:supply of copper for the Confederate States during the Civil War. The opening, in 1869, of a railway passing directly through the mining territory, made it possible to See also:work the mines more profitably, and operations were developed on a large scale. In 1908, 618,806 See also:short tons of ore were mined, producing, from the smelters on the ground, 19,710,103 lb of metallic copper. The ore is a sulphide, and in 1898 an extensive plant was erected to manufacture sulphuric See also:acid as a by-product. In 1892–1893 large deposits of phosphate rock of high quality were discovered in the central-southern part of the state about 6o m. south-west of Nashville, and the rapid development of quarries was begun. The output increased from 19,188 tons in 1894 to 638,612 tons (valued at $3,047,836) in 1907, when Tennessee ranked second among the states of the See also:Union in the See also:production of phosphate-rock. The introduction of this new supply had a marked effect on the fertilizer business of the See also:country. Inexhaustible deposits of marble are fond in Eastern Tennessee in an area about too m. long by 20 m.Wide, the centre of whichis See also:Knox county, the deposits extending southward into Georgia. These See also:marbles are of a distinctive See also:character, being usually mottled in See also:bright shades of red, See also:pink, See also:chocolate and See also:grey. They are employed principally for interior decoration, and. were thus largely used in the capitol at Nashville and in the See also:National Capitol at See also:Washington. Systematic See also:quarrying of these marbles was begun as early as 1838, and the output of the quarries has constantly increased since the Civil War. In 1908 Tennessee produced 179 ozs. of fine See also:gold and 57,696 ozs. of fine See also:silver, a part of each coming, as a by-product, from the copper refineries. See also:Zinc ore is mined on a small scale in the eastern part of the state, the product in 1908 being 341 short tons of metallic zinc valued at $32,054. Among the other minerals found and mined to a limited extent are See also:lead, See also:manganese, See also:barytes, fluorspar, See also:slate, See also:granite and See also:petroleum. The total value of all minerals was $19,277,031 in 1908. Manufactures.—To an unusual degree the natural resources of the state supply the raw material for its manufactures. The ownership of industrial establishments is largely in the hands of individuals, firms, and comparatively small corporations, rather than of large combinations, the average See also:capital per See also:establishment in 1905 being about $32,000. The amount of capital invested in manufacturing in 1880 was $20,092,845, and the value of the products was $37,074,886. In 1905 capitalization (under the factory See also:system) had increased to $102,439,481, and value of products to $137,960,476. This rapid industrial growth has been due in no small degree to the great natural resources of the state and its excellent transportation facilities. Judged by the value of products, regardless of cost of materials used, the See also:flour and grist See also: The manufacture of cotton goods was the See also:chief sub-See also:division of the industry, employing 153,375 spindles, 3008 looms and 1787 See also:knitting See also:machines.
The See also:printing and See also:publishing industry of the state had an invested capital of $4,408,584 and products valued at $5,063,580. The manufacture of See also:malt and distilled liquors employed (1905) a capital of $3,220,899, and the value of the product was $2,400,256. Among the other important manufacturing industries of the state and the value of their products in 1905 are: men's clothing, $2,961,581; patent medicines, $2,680,610; cotton-See also:seed oil and oil cake, $3,743,927; tobacco, $404,241; artificial See also:ice, $727,263; agricultural implements, $768,895; and coke, $809,801.
Transportation.—The railway mileage of Tennessee increased from I253 m. in 1860 to 3184 in 1900, and 3480 on the 1st of January 1909. The principal See also:railways operating in the state in 1910 were the Louisville & Nashville, the Nashville, Chattanooga & St See also: Of the total population of the state in 1906, 697,570 were members of religious denominations. There 1 The populations in other See also:census years were as follows: (1790), 35,691; (1800), 105,602; (1810), 261,727; (1820), 422,823; (1830), 681,904; (1840), 829,210; (1850), 1,002,717; (186o), 1,109,801; (1870), 1,258,520. were 277,170 See also:Baptists, 241,396 Methodists, 79,337 Presbyterians, 56,315 Disciples of See also:Christ, 17,252 See also:Roman Catholics, 7874 See also:Protestant Episcopalians, 3225 See also:Lutherans, 2875 United Brethren and 2426 Congregationalists. From 1890 to 1900 the See also:urban population (i.e. the population of places having 4000 inhabitants or more) increased from 219,792 to 285,886, or 30.1 per cent., the semi-urban population (i.e. the population of incorporated places, or the approximate See also:equivalent, having less than 4000 inhabitants) increased from 87,351 to 114,837, 10.9 per cent. of the total increase in population; while the rural population (i.e. population outside of incorporated places) increased from 1,460,375 to 1,619,893, 63 per cent. of the total. The principal cities of the state, with population for 1910, are Memphis, 131,105; Nashville, 110,364; Chattanooga, 44,604 and Knoxville, 36,346. See also:Government.—Tennessee has had three constitutions, but the See also:present one, adopted in 1870, is a See also:reproduction of the second (1834) with only a few changes. Amendments may be proposed not oftener than once in six years by a See also:majority of the members elected to each See also:house of the legislature, but before they can be adopted they must be agreed to first by two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the next succeeding legislature, and later by a majority of all the citizens of the state voting for representatives at the next See also:regular See also:election. The legislature may, also, submit to the See also:people the question of calling a See also:convention to amend or revise the constitution, and such a convention must be called whenever, upon the submission of this proposition, a majority of the votes are See also:cast in favour of it. Every See also:attempt to amend or revise the present constitution has, however, been unsuccessful. The right of See also:suffrage is given to every male See also:citizen of the United States who has attained the See also:age of twenty-one years and has been a See also:resident of the state for one year, provided he has paid his See also:poll tax and has not been convicted of See also:bribery, See also:larceny or other infamous See also:crime. The election of the See also:governor, members of the General See also:Assembly and congressmen is held biennially, in even numbered years, on the first Tuesday after the first See also:Monday in See also:November, but the election of judicial and county See also:officers is held on the first See also:Thursday in See also:August. The governor is the only state executive officer who is elected by the people. He is elected for a See also:term of two years and is not eligible for more than three consecutive terms. He must be at least See also:thirty years of age and have been a citizen of the state for the last seven years before election. Although See also:commander-in-chief of the state forces, he may See also:call the See also:militia into service only when there is a See also:rebellion or an invasion and the General Assembly declares that the public safety requires it. The officers of the See also:penitentiary and of the reformatory for boys are authorized to advise the governor with respect to an application for the See also:pardon of an inmate of their institution, but he is not See also:bound by their See also:advice and there is no real restriction on his See also:power to pardon except that he is not permitted to pardon in cases of See also:impeachment. Among the more important officers appointed by the governor are the See also:superintendent of public instruction, the See also:commissioner of agriculture, See also:statistics and mines, an assayer, state entomologist, and officers of the penitentiary. The governor may See also:veto bills passed by the General Assembly, but to override his veto the See also:vote of only a See also:bare majority of the members elected to each house is required. The governor's See also:salary is $4000 a year. There is no See also:lieutenant-governor; in See also:case of a vacancy in the See also:office of governor the See also:speaker of the See also:Senate becomes acting governor. The secretary of state, the See also:comptroller, and the treasurer are elected by a See also:joint See also:ballot of the Senate and the House of Representatives each for a term of two years; the See also:attorney-general is appointed by the See also:judges of the supreme See also:court for a term of eight years. Both senators and representatives are elected for a term of two 4lyears by counties or by districts having approximately the same population. The number of representatives is limited by the constitution to 99, and the number of senators to one-third the number of representatives. The qualifications prescribed for senators and representatives are that they shall have been citizens of the state for three years and residents of the county or district they are to represent for one year immediately preceding the election, and that senators shall be at least thirty years of age. The legislature meets biennially, in See also:odd numbered years, on the first Monday in January, and the length of the session is limited by a See also:provision that the members shall be paid four dollars a See also:day, besides an See also:allowance for travelling expenses, not to exceed 7 days; whenever the governor calls an extra session they are not paid for more than 20 days. Bills of•whatever character may originate in either house, but no See also:bill can become a See also:law until it has passed both houses by a majority of all the members to which the house is entitled under the constitution_ and if the governor vetoes a bill it cannot become a law until it has again passed both houses by such a majority. Only the more customary restrictions are placed upon the legislature by the constitution ; such, for example, as that it shall pass no See also:laws impairing the See also:obligation of contracts, no ex See also:post facto laws, no law authorizing imprisonment for See also:debt, no law restraining the freedom of the See also:press or freedom of speech, and that it shall not lend the See also:credit of the state or make the state " owner in whole or in part of any See also:bank or a stockholder with others in any association, See also:company, See also:corporation or See also:municipality." The See also:administration of See also:justice is vested in a supreme court, a court of civil appeals, See also:chancery courts, See also:circuit courts, county courts, justice of the See also:peace courts, and, in certain cities and towns, a See also:recorder's court. The supreme court consists of five judges elected by the state at large for a term of eight years, one for each of three See also:grand divisions (eastern, middle and western) and two for the state at large. Each See also:judge must be at least thirty-five years of age and have been a resident of the state for five years before his election. The judges designate one of their number to preside as chief justice. The court has appellate See also:jurisdiction only. For the eastern district it sits at Knoxville; for the middle district at Nashville; and for the western district at See also:Jackson. The concurrence of three judges is necessary to a decision. The court of civil appeals, which in 1907 was substituted for the court of chancery appeals, is also composed of five judges not more than two of whom shall reside in the same grand division. They are elected for a term of eight years, and each of them must be at least thirty years of age and have resided in the state for five years before election. This court has jurisdiction of appeals from See also:equity courts in which the amount in controversy does not exceed $1000, except in cases involving the constitutionality of a Tennessee See also:statute, contested election or state See also:revenue, and See also:ejectment suits; it has jurisdiction also of civil cases tried in the circuit and common law courts in which writs of See also:error or appeals in the nature of writs of error are applied for. It may See also:transfer any case to the supreme court or the supreme court may assume jurisdiction of any of its cases by issuing a See also:writ of certiorari, but otherwise its decrees are final. The state is divided into twelve chancery districts in each of which a See also:chancellor is elected for a term of eight years, and at every county-seat in each district a court of chancery is held. The court has exclusive See also:original jurisdiction in equity cases in which the amount in controversy exceeds fifty dollars, concurrent jurisdiction with the county court in such matters as the administration of estates, the See also:appointment and removal of guardians, and concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts in proceedings for See also:divorce. The state is also divided into nineteen circuits, in each of which a circuit judge is elected for a term of eight years, and at every county-seat in each circuit a circuit court is held. The original jurisdiction of the circuit courts extends to all cases both civil and criminal not exclusively conferred upon some other court, and they have appellate jurisdiction in all suits and actions begun in the lower courts. In several of the counties the county court is composed of a county judge, elected for a term of eight years, together with the justices of the peace in the county, and in the other counties it consists of the justices of the peace alone. Its judicial business is principally the See also:probate of See also:wills and matters See also:relating to the administration of estates. Each county is divided into civil districts varying in number according to population, and each district elects at least two justices of the peace for a term of six years; each county See also:town or incorporated town also elects one justice of the peace. The jurisdiction of a justice of the peace, usually coextensive with the county, extends to the collection of notes of See also:hand not exceeding $1000; to the See also:settlement of accounts not exceeding $500; to suits for the recovery of See also:property or suits demanding See also:payment for See also:damages, except for See also:libel or See also:slander, not exceeding $500; to equity cases in which the amount in controversy does not exceed $5o; and to various other small cases. A recorder has concurrent jurisdiction with a justice of the peace. See also:Local Government.—The government of each county is vested principally in the county court. This See also:body represents and acts for the county as a corporation; has See also:charge of the erection and repair of county buildings; levies the county taxes, which are limited by law, however, to three See also:mills on the See also:dollar exclusive of those for See also:schools, public highways, See also:interest on the county debt, and other See also:special purposes; divides the county into See also:highway districts, and chooses a highway coimissioner for each district for a term of two years; and chooses a superintendent of schools, a surveyor, a public See also:administrator and public See also:guardian, a See also:board for the equalization of taxes, a See also:coroner, a See also:ranger, and a jail physician or See also:health officer each for a term of two years, three commissioners of the poor for a term of three years (one each year), and a keeper and sealer of weights and measures to serve during its See also:pleasure. A county trustee, whose See also:duty it is to collect state and county taxes, and a See also:sheriff are elected by the county for a term of two years; a clerk of the county court and a See also:register are also elected by the county for a term of four years; and the county judge or chairman of the county court, the clerk of the county court, and the county health officer constitute a county board of health. In each civil district
of a county which contains the county seat there are two constables, and in other civil districts of the county one See also:constable elected for a term of two years. The general law for the See also:incorporation of cities and towns vests the government of each municipality accepting its provisions principally in a See also:mayor and two aldermen from each See also: If the husband is the plaintiff his interest in his wife's property is not impaired by the See also:dissolution of the marriage, but the See also:defendant wife forfeits all her interest in his property. Either party may marry again, but a defendant who has been found guilty of adultery is not permitted to marry the co-See also:respondent during the life of the plaintiff. A See also:homestead of a See also:head of a See also:family to the value of $1000 is exempt from forced See also:sale except for the collection of taxes, debts contracted for its See also:purchase or in making improvements upon it, or fines for voting out of the election district, for carrying concealed weapons, or for giving away or selling intoxicating liquors on election days. If the owner is married the homestead cannot be sold without the joint consent of husband and wife, and the wife's consent, as in other conveyances by married women, must be certified before the court or a commissioner appointed by the court. The homestead inures for the benefit of the widow and See also:minor children. Ninety per cent. of the salary, See also:wages or income of each person eighteen years of age or over is also exempt from See also:attachment provided such salary, wages or income does not exceed $40 per See also:month, and in any case $36 per month of the salary, wages or income of a person eighteen years of age or over cannot be attached. The employment of children under 14 } ears of age in any workshop, factory or mine within the state is forbidden by a law of 1901, and the employment of women or of boys under 16 years of age in any manufacturing establishment is limited to 6o See also:hours a week by a law of 1907. Both the sale and the manufacture of intoxicating drinks are prohibited by law. Charities, &c.—The charitable and penal institutions of the state consist of the Central See also:Hospital for the Insane near Nashville; the Eastern Hospital for the Insane near Knoxville; the Western Hospital for the Insane near See also:Bolivar; the Tennessee School for the See also:blind at Nashville; the Tennessee See also:Deaf and Dumb School at Knoxville; the Confederate Soldiers' See also:Home near Nashville, on the " Hermitage," the estate formerly belonging to See also:Andrew Jackson; and the Penitentiary and the Tennessee Industrial School, both at Nashville; and in 1907 the legislature passed an See also:Act for the establishment in See also:Davidson county of the Tennessee Reformatory for boys. Each hospital for the insane is governed by a board of five trustees appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate, for a term of six years, and for the immediate supervision of each the trustees appoint a superintendent for a term of eight years. The Schools for the Blind and the Deaf and Dumb are each managed by a board of trustees, vacancies in which are filled by the remaining trustees with the concurrence of the legislature. The Confederate Soldiers' Home is managed by a board of fifteen trustees, of whom six are women, each serving until See also:death or resignation, when his or her successor is appointed by the governor upon the recommendation of the corporation known as the Association of Confederate Soldiers. The Penitentiary is governed by a board of three See also:prison commissioners, a superintendent, a See also:warden, an assistant or See also:deputy warden, a matron, a physician, and a See also:chaplain, all appointed by the governor, the Commissioners for a term of four years, the other officers fora term of two years. The prisoners are kept at labour principally in the state coal-mines, in manufacturing coke, on farms, or at See also:contract labour within the prison walls; not more than 199 prisoners are to be leased to any one See also:firm or corporation, or to be employed in any one business within the walls. The income to the state from the prison is greater than the disbursements for its See also:maintenance. By See also:good conduct a convict may shorten his term of service one month the first year, two months the second year, three months each year from the third to the tenth inclusive, and four months each subsequent year. The Industrial School, which is for See also:orphan, helpless, wayward and abandoned children, is governed by a board of See also:directors consisting of the governor, comptroller, secretary of state, and treasurer as ex officio members, and seven other members, a portion retiring every two years, and their successors being appointed by the remaining directors with the concurrence of the senate. The act for establishing the Tennessee Reformatory for Boys provides that the institution shall be governed by a board of trustees consisting of the governor and five other members, one retiring each year; that boys under eighteen years of age who are convicted of a penitentiary offence shall be sent to it ; that the trustees may transfer incorrigible boys to the penitentiary, put others out in, the service of citizens on See also:probation, or recommend them to the governor for pardon. A general See also:control of all public charities and correctional institutions is exercised by an unsalaried Board of State Charities consisting of the governor and six members appointed by him for a term of three years, two retiring every two years. The principal duties of this board are to examine the See also:condition and the management of such institutions and See also:report to the governor; and county and city authorities must submit to it for See also:criticism all plans for new jails, public infirmaries, and hospitals. See also:Education.—For the administration of the common school system each county having five or more civil districts is divided into five school districts, and in counties having five or less than five civil districts each civil district constitutes a school district. Each school district elects one member of the county board of education, and in counties having less than five school districts one or more members of the county board, the number of which is always five, besides the county superintendent who is ex officio its secretary, are elected by the county at large, and to this county board of education together with district advisory boards is entrusted the management and control of the common schools. By the general education law enacted in 1909, 25 per cent. of the See also:gross state revenue is paid into the general education fund, 61 per cent. of this fund is apportioned among the several counties according to their school population, and to per cent. of it constitutes a special fund to be apportioned among eligible counties in proportion to their school population but in inverse ratio to their taxable property; to have the use of any portion of this special fund a county must See also:levy for the maintenance of common schools a tax not less than See also:forty cents on each $100 of taxable property, a tax of $2 on each taxable poll, and such See also:privilege taxes as the state permits it to levy for school purposes. Each county court may provide for one or more county high schools to be maintained in part by additional county taxes and miscellaneous funds, and 8 per cent. of the state school fund is set apart for the encouragement of counties in this matter. In 1908 there was a county high school in each of 23 counties, and in 1910 in each of 5o counties. The high schools are largely under the control of the state board of education, consisting of the governor (See also:president), state superintendent of public instruction (secretary and treasurer), and six other members appointed by the governor. When the general education law was enacted in 1909 Tennessee had no state normal schools, but by the law 13 per cent. of the state educational fund is set apart for the establishment and maintenance of schools solely for the education and professional training of teachers for the elementary schools; one for white teachers in each of three grand divisions of the state, and one agricultural and industrial normal school for the industrial education of negroes and for pre-paring See also:negro teachers for the common schools, and the management of these schools is vested in the state board of education. At the head of the state educational system is the University of Tennessee, which embraces a See also:college of liberal arts, a See also:graduate See also:department; a college of See also:engineering, a college of agriculture, a school of See also:pharmacy, an industrial department, and a law department at Knoxville, and medical and dental departments at Nashville. The institution is governed by a board of trustees consisting of the governor, the state superintendent of public instruction, the commissioner of agriculture, the president of the university and twelve other members; two from the city of Knoxville and one from each congressional district, two elected each year. Seven per cent. of the general school fund is set apart for its maintenance; it was founded in 1794. For the higher education of teachers Tennessee has the See also:Peabody College for Teachers, at Nashville, founded (1875) and maintained chiefly with proceeds from the See also:George Peabody Fund for the improvement of education in the South. 'Other institutions of higher learning, not under the control of the state, are: the University of Nashville (non-See also:sect., 1785) ; Washington and See also:Tusculum College (non-sect., 1794), at See also:Greenville; Maryville College (Presbyterian, 1819), at Maryville; Cumberland University (Presbyterian, 1842), at See also:Lebanon; See also:Burritt College (non-sect., 1848), at See also:Spencer;.
Hiwassee College (non-sect., 1849), at Sweetwater; See also:Bethel College (Presbyterian 185o). at See also:McKenzie; See also:Carson and See also:Newman College (Baptist, 1851), at See also:Jefferson City; See also:Walden University (Methodist, 1866), at Nashville; See also:Fisk University (Congregational, 1866), at Nashville; University of Chattanooga (Methodist, 1867), at Chattanooga; University of the South (Protestant Episcopal, 1868), at Sewanee; See also: Real estate is assessed biennially; personal property, privileges and polls annually. Assessments are examined and revised both by a county board of equalization and a state board of equalization. The county board consists of five members elected annually by the county court; justices of the peace are ineligible to election on this board, as are also all persons who have served on it within five years. The state board consists of the secretary of state, treasurer and comptroller. The clerk of the county court collects all taxes of persons, companies or corporations subject to a privilege tax; the county trustee the taxes of other persons. Three revenue commissioners, one of whom is an See also:expert accountant, are elected biennially by each county court to examine the books and reports of the collectors, and three state revenue agents are appointed biennially by the comptroller to examine the records of all officials charged with the collection or disbursement of state or county revenue. The state revenue for the two years ending the 19th of See also:December 1906 amounted to $3,804,740, and the cost of conducting the state government for these two years was $3,568,977., The bonded debt of the state See also:grew from $16,643,666 on the 1st of October 1859 to $37,080,666 on the 1st of October 1869, but by the 19th of December 1906 it had been reduced to $14,236,766.
History.—The present site of Memphis may be the point where the See also:Spanish explorer, Hernando de See also:Soto, reached the Mississippi river, but this cannot be determined with certainty. Father See also:Marquette in his voyage down the Mississippi camped upon the western border, and La Salle built Fort Prud'homme upon the See also:Chickasaw Bluffs, probably on the site of Memphis, in 1682, but it was abandoned, then rebuilt, and again abandoned. The territory was included in the English See also: In 1756 or 1757, Fort Loudon, named in honour of See also: Courts were held, but any conflict of jurisdiction with Virginia or North Carolina was avoided. In 1775 the settlement on the Nollichucky was forced to join the association, and in the same year the land was bought from the Indians in the See also:hope of averting war. With the approach of the War of See also:Independence, the See also:dream of be-coming a See also:separate colony with a royal governor was abandoned, and on petition of the inhabitants the territory was annexed to North Carolina in 1776 as the Washington District, which in 1777 became Washington county, with the Mississippi river as the western boundary. The population increased rapidly and soon several new counties were created.
During the War of Independence the See also:hardy mountaineers under John Sevier and Evan See also:Shelby did valiant service against both the royal troops and the See also:Loyalists in South Carolina, chiefly as See also:partisan rangers under See also: Congress, however, ignored the See also:request, and the See also:diplomacy of the North Carolina authorities caused a reaction. For a time two sets of officials claimed recognition, but when the North Carolina legislature a second time passed an act of oblivion and remitted-the taxes unpaid since 1784, the See also:tide was turned. No successor to Sevier was elected, and he was arrested on a charge of See also:treason, but was allowed to See also:escape, and soon afterwards was again appointed brigadier-general of militia.
Meanwhile, settlers had pushed on further into the wilderness. On the 17th of See also: A form of government similar to the Watauga Association was devised, and See also:block-houses were built for See also:defence against the Indians. Robertson was sent as a delegate to the North Carolina legislature in 1783 and through his instrumentality the settlements became Davidson county. Nashville, which had been founded as Nashborough in 1780, became the county seat. Finally, in 1843, it became the state capital. Robertson, the dominant figure in the early years, struggled to counteract the efforts of Spanish intriguers among the Indians, and when diplomacy failed led the settlers against the Indian towns. On the 25th of February 1790 North Carolina again ceded the territory to the general government, stipulating that all the general provisions of the See also:Ordinance of 1787 should apply except that forbidding See also:slavery. Congress accepted the cession and, on the 26th of May 1790, passed an act for the government of the " Territory south of the River Ohio." William See also:Blount was appointed the first governor, and in 1792 Knoxville became the seat of government. The chief events of Blount's administration were the contests with the Indians, the purchase of their lands, and the struggle against Spanish See also:influence. A census ordered by the Territorial legislature in 1795 showed more than 6o,000 free inhabitants (the number prescribed before the Territory could become a state), and accordingly a convention to draft a state constitution met in Knoxville on the 1th of January 1796. The See also:instrument, which closely followed the constitution of North Carolina, was proclaimed without sub-See also:mission to popular vote. John Sevier was elected governor, and William Blount and William Cocke United States senators. In spite of the opposition of. the Federalist party, whose leaders foresaw that Tennessee would be Republican, it was admitted to the Union as the sixteenth state on the 1st of See also:June 1796. With the rapid increase of population, the dread of Indian and Spaniard declined. Churches and schools were built, and soon many of the comforts and some of the luxuries of life made their See also:appearance. The public school system was inaugurated in 1830, but not until 1845 was'the principle of taxation for support fully recognized. As in all new states, the question of a circulating medium was acute during the first half of the 19th See also:century, and state See also:banks were organized, which suspended specie payments in times of See also:financial stringency. The Bank of Tennessee, organized in 1838, had behind it the credit of the state, and it was hoped that See also:money for education and for See also:internal improvements might be secured from its profits. The management became a question of party politics, and during the Civil War its funds were used to advance the Confederate cause. The development of the western See also:section along the Mississippi was rapid after the beginning of the century. Memphis, founded in 1819, was thought as See also:late as 1832 to be in Mississippi, and not until 1837 was the southern boundary, which according to the North Carolina cession was 35°, finally established.' In common with other river towns, the disorderly See also:element in Memphis was large, and the gamblers, robbers and See also:horse thieves were only suppressed by local vigilance committees. The See also:peculiar topographical conditions made the three sections of the state almost separate commonwealths, and demand for better means of communication was insistent. The policy of state aid to internal improvements found See also:advocates very early in spite of the Republican affiliations of the state, but a definite See also:programme was not laid out until 1829, when commissioners for internal improvements were appointed and an See also:expenditure of $150,000 was authorized. In 1835 the state agreed to subscribe one-third to the capital stock of companies organized to See also:lay out turnpikes, railways, &c., and four years later the proportion became one-half. Though these ' For account of the settlement of the dispute over the northern boundary, see KeNTucKY.agreements were soon repealed, the general policy was continued, and in 1861 more than $17,000,000 of the state debt was due to these subscriptions, from which there was little return. Though President Andrew Jackson was for many years practically a See also:dictator in Tennessee politics, his arbitrary methods and his intolerance of any sort of independence on the part of his followers led to a revolt in 1836, when the electoral vote of the state was given to See also:Hugh See also:Lawson White, then United States senator from Tennessee, who had been one of Jackson's most devoted adherents. White's followers called themselves See also:Anti-See also:Van Buren Democrats, but the proscription which they suffered drove most of them into the Whig party, which carried the state in presidential elections until 1856, when the vote was cast for James See also:Buchanan, the Democratic See also:candidate. The Whig party was so strong that James K. See also:Polk (Democrat), a resident of the state, lost its electoral vote in 1844. With the disintegration of the Whig party, the state again became nominally Democratic, though Union sentiment was strong, particularly in East Tennessee. There were few large plantations and fewer slaves in that mountainous region, while the middle and western sections were more in See also:harmony with the sentiment in Mississippi and Alabama. In 185o representatives of nine Southern states met in a convention at Nashville (q.v.) to consider the questions . at issue between the North and the South. The vote of the state was given for See also:Bell and See also:Everett in 1860, and the people as a whole were opposed to See also:secession. The proposition to call a convention to vote on the question of secession was voted down on the 9th of February 1861, but after President Lincoln's call for troops the legislature submitted the question of secession directly to the people, and meanwhile, on the 7th of May 1861, entered into a " Military See also:League " with the Confederacy. An overwhelming vote was cast on the 8th of June in favour of secession, and on the 24th Governor I. G. See also:Harris (1818–1897) issued a See also:proclamation declaring Tennessee out of the Union. Andrew See also: The See also:capture of See also:Island No. to in the Mississippi on the 7th of April opened the river as far south as Memphis, which was captured in June. On the 31st of December and the 2nd of January General William S. See also:Rosecrans (Federal) fought with General Braxton See also:Bragg (Confederate) the bloody but indecisive battle of See also: Then General J. B. See also:Hood moved into Tennessee, expecting Sherman to follow him. Sherman, however, sent reinforcements to Thomas and continued his march to the sea. Hood fought with General John M. See also:Schofield at Franklin, and on the 15th—16th of December was utterly defeated by Thomas at Nashville, the Federals thus securing virtually undisputed control of the state.' After the occupation of the state by the Federal armies in 1862 Andrew Johnson was appointed military governor by the president (confirmed March 3, 1862), and held the office until inaugurated See also:vice-president on the 4th of March 1865. Re-publican See also:electors attempted to cast the vote of the state in 1864, but were not recognized by Congress. Tennessee was the first of the Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union (July 24, 1866), after ratifying the Constitution of the United States with amendments, declaring the ordinance of secession void, voting to abolish slavery, and declaring the war debt void. The state escaped " See also:carpet bag " government, but the native whites in control under the leadership of William G. Brownlow (18o5—1877) confined the See also:franchise to those who had always been uncompromisingly Union in sentiment and conferred suffrage upon the negroes (February 25, 1867). The Ku Klux Klan, originating in 1865 as a youthful prank at See also:Pulaski, Tennessee, spread over the state and the entire South, and in 1860 nine counties in the middle and western sections were placed under See also:martial law. At the elections in 1869 the Republican party split into two factions. The conservative candidate was elected by the aid of the Democrats, who also secured a majority of the legislature, which has never been lost since that time. The constitution was revised in 1870. For a considerable time after the war the state seemed to make little material progress, but since 188o it has made rapid strides. The principal occurrences have been the final compounding of the old state debt at fifty cents on the dollar in 1882, the rapid growth of cities, and the increased importance of mining and manufacturing. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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