Tennessee

Tennessee is a state of the United States of America and is one of the southern states. The name Tennessee comes from Tanasi, the name of a Native American settlement on the Little Tennessee River. One of Tennessee's nicknames is Volunteer State. It dates from the time of the British-American War, in which numerous citizens of Tennessee fought as volunteers for their country.

Tennessee is famous for the blues, the birth of rock 'n' roll (Memphis), country music (Nashville), and whiskey (Jack Daniel's and George Dickel).

 

Regions

Each region has a distinct musical heritage: blues in the west, country-west in the middle, and bluegrass in the east.

West Tennessee borders the Mississippi River and forms the northern limit of cultural influence in the Lower Mississippi Delta region.
Central Tennessee, with Nashville and its backdrop of rolling hills, is the state's most prosperous region.
East Tennessee, with the cities of Chattanooga and Knoxville, is mountainous and reflects Appalachian influence.

 

Cities

1 Memphis – largest city in the state of Tennessee
2 Nashville—Capital
3 Knoxville
4 Chattanooga
5 Clarksville
6 Johnson City

 

Other destinations

Fort Donelson National Battlefield cover are of two Confederate forts Donelson and Heiman that stand overlooking Cumberland river.

Shiloh National Military Park is a former battle site where Union forces fought with the Confederate army on April 6– April 7, 1862.

Casey Jones Village, in Jackson.
Ruby Falls, 1720 South Scenic Highway Chattanooga, TN 37409. Email: info1@rubyfalls.com. Price: The tourist attraction "Ruby Falls" is located in Lookout Mountain near Rock City and Chattanooga

 

Eating

While there are fewer and fewer places to taste truly authentic "Southern" food outside of a private family's table, the state still has some truly great local cuisine. Local specialties include Nashville hot chicken and Memphis-style barbecue, including the famous rib tips.

In Memphis, it would be a crime to miss the rendezvous where the President and Vice President of the United States gather.

 

Drinks

Tennessee whiskey meets the legal requirements for bourbon whiskey, with the additional requirements that it be filtered through maple charcoal after distillation and before aging, and that it be manufactured in the state.

 

What to do

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a World Heritage Biosphere Reserve that attracts millions of visitors from the region and around the world each year. Covering nearly 1,000 square miles (over 2,000 km2), the park is home to temperate rainforests and some of the rarest and most unique plants in North America. The park suffers from high levels of air pollution due to the surrounding cities of Knoxville and Sevierville and the Tennessee Valley Authority's numerous coal-fired power plants.

Traffic congestion within the park's Cades Cove "loop" is quite severe, as many people stop to admire the expansive valley views and the many deer and bears that roam freely through the area. If you do plan to go, try to car pool if you can.

Depending on where you visit, there are plenty of things to do in Tennessee, including white-water rafting on the Ocoee River, sightseeing in Gatlinburg, and touring Music City in Nashville. For an outdoor adventure, rafting on the Ocoee River, the former site of the Olympics, is a must. You can have an all-day adventure down the Ocoee River and experience the fun of the outdoors.

 

Keep Safe

Bad Weather
Flooding
During the spring months, the state is often heavily affected by storms that bring the potential for major flooding. These floods are never minor, are often widespread, and can last for days or weeks; in May 2010, the state experienced a "once in a thousand year flood," resulting in numerous deaths and over $2 billion in property damage throughout the state.

Anyone traveling to the region during this season should consider planning ahead. Before embarking on a trip, obtain information about weather phenomena in the region. If a flood warning is in effect for the area you plan to travel, or if there is a threat of flooding, consider postponing your travel plans or taking an alternate route to your final destination. Areas devastated by flooding are not safe for non-essential travel and should be avoided.

Thunderstorms and Tornadoes
Although not near an official "tornado zone," the state (especially in the central and western regions) experiences very severe thunderstorms during the spring and summer months. While these thunderstorms often have the potential to produce small tornadoes, they are not without the potential to produce large tornadoes: in April 2009, the city of Murfreesboro was hit by an intense EF-4 tornado that killed two people and caused $40 million in property damage.

For this reason, travelers in the area during this time of year should be aware of changing weather conditions.

For more information on this subject, see our Tornado Safety page.

Racial Discrimination
In terms of race relations, racism is not as prevalent in this state. If you feel you might be targeted by racists, it is wise to avoid poor neighborhoods. Young Tennesseans are generally more progressive and tolerant than their seniors.

 

Respect

Tennessee, like nearly all Southern states, is conservative, but a bit more progressive than, say, Mississippi.

As in nearly all Southern states, old-fashioned rules of etiquette and courtesy are followed. Failure to follow such nuances can be painfully conspicuous.

 

Etymology

The term Tenesí was used for the first time in an expedition commanded by Captain Juan Pardo, a Spanish explorer, when he and his men passed through an indigenous town called "Tanasqui" in 1567 while traveling inland from present-day South Carolina. . Europeans later found a Cherokee village called Tanasi (or Tanase) in present-day Monroe County. The town was situated along the river of the same name (now known as the Little Tennessee River).

The meaning and origin of the name are uncertain. It has been suggested that it would be a Cherokee modification of an earlier Yuchi/Creek word. It has also been said to mean 'meeting place' and 'winding river'.

The modern English term Tennessee is attributed to James Glen, the governor of South Carolina, who used this name in his official correspondence around 1750. In 1788, North Carolina called Tennessee County the third county established in what is now It would be the center of the State of Tennessee. The term Tennessee was eventually adopted at a constitutional convention convened in 1796 to create a new state.

 

History

12,000 years ago, Paleo-Native Americans settled in what is now Tennessee. In addition to projectile tips, the skeleton of a Williamson County mastodon was found with incised marks typical of this earliest period.

The Archaic Period (c.8000-1000 BC) is the Icehouse Bottom archaeological site south of Fort Loudoun in Monroe County, dating to around 7500 BC. Other sites from this period, but much younger, include Rose Island, just a few miles downriver from Icehouse Bottom, and the Eva site in Benton County. It is attributed to the Big Sandy culture and was between 2000 and 1000, possibly 500 BC.

The Pinson Mounds in Madison County and Old Stone Fort in Coffee County have been excavated from the Woodland Period (1000 BC-1000 AD), both of which date from the first half of the 1st millennium AD . The Pinson Mounds are among the largest mounds of the Middle Woodland Period in the southeastern United States. This structure includes at least 12 mounds. The Old Stone Fort site is an extensive ceremonial site with a complicated access route. At the time, it was on a peninsula that was almost inaccessible.

Dating from the Mississippi culture era (circa 1000-1600) are villages along most of the state's rivers, including Chucalissa near Memphis, Mound Bottom in Cheatham County, the Shiloh Mounds in Hardin County, and the Toqua site in Monroe County. Excavations at the McMahan Mound Site in Sevier County - where a mound 73 m wide from about 1200 to 1500 was found - and at Townsend in Blount County - where archaeologists unearthed a village palisade from about 1200 - specified this Picture from these mound builders in Tennessee.

From 1539 to 1543, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto traversed the area east of the Mississippi River. It is disputed which tribes the archaeological remains of the 16th and 17th centuries belong to. In the 18th century, only the Cherokee lived permanently in Tennessee. Although the Chickasaw controlled the western part of what is now the state, there is no evidence that they did anything there other than hunt. The Shawnee and Creek briefly occupied some areas, but archaeological evidence is virtually non-existent.

Early settlement by European colonists pushed most of the native people south and west, particularly the Muskogee and Yuchi tribes. Until the founding of the state, the area was under the administration of North Carolina and was known as the Southwest Territory. The Southwest Territory was considered lawless for a very long time due to the failure of the North Carolina government to establish adequate governance.

From 1785 to 1788 the first attempt was made to found a federal state in the USA. The state of Franklin was founded in what is now East Tennessee. After five years of feuding with the North Carolina government and frequent Indian raids, the Greeneville government collapsed and the area returned to North Carolina control. On June 1, 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state to join the United States by an incorporation approved by the Senate. From 1838 to 1839, the remaining approximately 17,000 Cherokee were deported to western Arkansas. This forced march, which killed about 4,000 Indians, is known as the Trail of Tears.

On June 8, 1861, after a referendum that was successful at the second attempt, Tennessee was the last of the southern states to leave the Union and joined the Confederate States of America on July 2. In certain areas there was a clear majority of opponents of secession who, after the referendum at a meeting in Greeneville, decided that East Tennessee should remain in the United States, without being able to prevail against Nashville. Several battles took place on Tennessee soil during the war, such as the Battle of Chattanooga, the Battle of Nashville, and the Battle of Franklin. After the American Civil War, the state adopted a new constitution abolishing slavery on February 22, 1865, and ratified the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution on July 18, 1866. Tennessee was the first of the breakaway states to rejoin the United States (July 24, 1866).

Tennessee experienced a tremendous economic boom in the 20th century. In particular, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory made Tennessee an important industrial location in the USA. In the 1960s and 1970s, the state was a focus of the civil rights movement fighting against racial segregation that was prevalent at the time. From the point of view of the fighters for equal rights, Tennessee was one of the most backward states. In 1967 Tennessee was forced by the Supreme Court to become one of the last states in the United States to lift the ban on intermarriage. In 1975, the United States Supreme Court illegaled a Tennessee law that mandated that intelligent design pseudoscience and the theory of evolution be given equal amounts of time in biology classes in Tennessee state schools.

 

Geography

Neighbore states

Tennessee is bounded on the north by the states of Kentucky and Virginia, on the east by North Carolina, on the south by Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and on the west by Arkansas and Missouri. This makes Tennessee (together with Missouri, which also borders eight states) the US state with the largest number of neighboring states. The Tennessee River flows through the state.

 

Climate

Most of the state has a humid subtropical climate, with the exception of some of the higher elevations in the Appalachians, which are characterized as having a temperate mountain climate or a humid continental climate due to cooler temperatures. The Gulf of Mexico is the dominant factor in Tennessee's climate, as with southerly winds it is responsible for most of the state's annual precipitation. In general, the state has hot summers and mild, cool winters with generous rainfall throughout the year. On average, the state sees 50 inches (130 cm) of annual precipitation. Snowfall ranges from 5 inches (13 cm) in western Tennessee to more than 16 inches (41 cm) in the highest mountains in eastern Tennessee.

Summer in the state is generally hot and humid, with most of the territory averaging a high of around 90 °F (32 °C) during the summer months. Winters are usually mild, although the increase in cold is more noticeable at higher elevations. In general, for areas outside of the highest mountains, average minimum temperatures hover around freezing for most of the state. The highest temperature recorded is 113 °F (45 °C) in Perryville on August 9, 1930, while the lowest temperature recorded is -32 °F (-36 °C) in the mountains on December 30, 1930. 1917.

While the state is located far enough from the coast to avoid any direct impact from a hurricane, the state's location makes it likely to be affected by the remnants of tropical cyclones that weaken the land and can cause significant rainfall, such as Tropical Storm Chris of 1982. The average number of thunderstorms per year is 50, some of which can be especially severe, with heavy hail and damaging winds. Tornadoes can be quite common, especially in central and western Tennessee, where they sometimes cause fatalities. Winter storms are an occasional problem, although ice storms are more likely. Fog is quite common throughout the country, especially in much of the Great Smoky Mountains.

 

Politics

Tennessee was the center of the black civil rights movement in the 1960s, which culminated in the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis. Tennessee's political landscape changed earlier than in other southern states. The Tennessee Valley Authority made earlier industrialization and thus a more modern social order possible than, for example, in Mississippi or Alabama. The conservative democrats of the southern states already lost their position of power here during the time of the civil rights movement. The establishment of the Republicans began with the presidential election in 1952. Since then, the Democrats have only won in 1964, 1976 and with Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. Al Gore's home state, which today is significantly influenced by the Bible Belt, is considered to be predominantly conservative. It can therefore now be referred to as the Red State. Tennessee has eleven electors in the Electoral College. In 1980 there were ten.

The state is represented in the US Senate by two Republicans, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty. The Tennessee delegation to the House of Representatives at the 117th Congress consists of seven Republicans and two Democrats. Republican Bill Lee has been governor since January 2019, replacing fellow party member Bill Haslam.

 

Economy

Already in 2001, marijuana cultivation had displaced tobacco in Tennessee's economy.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 2003 Tennessee's GDP reached $199,786,000,000, representing 1.8% of the national total.

In 2003 the per capita income reached $28,641, ranking as the 36th state according to per capita income. Tennessee ranks at 91% of the national median income per capita.

The state sales tax reaches 7%, while counties add 2.25%, for a total of 9.25%. Some cities add other taxes. Tennessee has one of the lowest sales taxes in the United States.

 

Culture

Music

Beale Street in Memphis is considered by many to be the birthplace of blues music, with musicians like W-C Handy beginning their career playing in clubs in the area in early 1909. In 1995, Mexican-American singer Selena recorded one of his songs for her latest English album, called I Could Fall in Love, on Franklin.

Memphis was also the birthplace of Sun Records, where musicians such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Miley Cyrus and Charlie Rich began their careers and where rock and roll took shape in the early 1900s. 1950s.

The 1927 recording sessions in Bristol marked the beginning of country music, and the rise of the Grand Ole Opry, which in the 1930s helped make Nashville the center of the country music recording industry.

 

Language

Most Tennesseans speak in the dialect of the Southern United States. This dialect changes slightly as it travels across the region, and is especially noticeable in rural areas.

Generally speaking, Southerners speak more slowly and politely than Northerners. Visitors, especially those from large cities visiting Tennessee's small mountain towns, will need to get used to the different pace of speech. Speaking quickly and bluntly can be perceived as inconsiderate and may elicit a negative response. Some Tennesseans, especially those who live in rural or mountainous areas, may be difficult to understand if they are not accustomed to the colloquialisms, smoothness, and speaking accents of the southern and Appalachian regions of the United States.

 

Sport

Tennessee has three major league sports teams. The Nashville Tennessee Titans have played in the National Football League since 1997, winning a conference championship in 1999 but losing in Super Bowl XXXIV. Meanwhile, the Memphis Grizzlies have played in the National Basketball Association since 2001, reaching the conference finals in 2012/13. Finally, the Nashville Predators have played in the National Hockey League since 1998, and in 2016/2017 they also achieved a conference championship to play for the Stanley Cup.

The Tennessee Volunteers are a college sports team in the Southeastern Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, based in Knoxville. In American football they have achieved 13 conference championships and 25 bowls, highlighting four Sugar Bowls, three Cotton Bowls, one Orange Bowl and one Fiesta Bowl. Meanwhile, in men's basketball they have won four conference championships.

The ovals at Bristol Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway and Nashville Speedway USA have hosted NASCAR and IndyCar Series races. Meanwhile, the Memphis Open has been held since 1958 as part of the PGA Tour. The Memphis Tournament is a tennis tournament on the ATP Tour since 1976 and the WTA Tour since 2002.