All About Tennessee
Tennessee is a constituent state of the United States of America. Located in the upper South of the eastern United States, it became the 16th state of the Union in 1796. The geography of Tennessee, an area of 42,144 square miles (109,153 square kilometres) is unique. Its extreme breadth of 432 miles (695 kilometres) stretches from the Appalachian Mountain boundary with North Carolina in the east to the Mississippi River borders with Missouri and Arkansas in the west. Its narrow width, only 112 miles, separates its northern neighbours, Kentucky and Virginia, from Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi on the south. Nashville is the capital and Memphis the largest city.
Tennessee embodies so many diverse elements of the nation that it constitutes a virtual microcosm of the country. Early pioneers in East and Middle Tennessee, far removed from established authority, set precedents of self-government that are identified with the frontier tradition. From the beginning, Tennesseans, despite loyalty to the larger society, found that they had to rely on themselves for security. This nurtured a spirit of independence that persists today. Furthermore, the geographic diversity has created a variety of economic, social, and cultural patterns within the state. While the East is well known for its mountain tradition, the Bluegrass area of Middle Tennessee is a balanced agricultural and commercial region, and the West has an economy based largely on cotton and the Mississippi River, with closer ties to the Deep South.
Even though Tennessean Andrew Jackson long symbolized the Democratic Party of the common people, the rival Whig Party carried the state for many years. Strongly divided by the Civil War and its own version of Reconstruction, Tennessee became a part of the solid Democratic South, lagging in wealth and prestige behind the rest of the nation. The dreams of the industrialists of the late 19th century were not realized until the second part of the 20th. In the 1970s, with the return of the Republicans to prominence, Tennessee became once again a two-party state. As the South has become a part of the Sunbelt, the state has shared in this emerging prosperity.
The state is divided into six natural regions. In the extreme eastern part of the state lie the Unaka Mountains - a section of which is popularly known as the Great Smoky Mountains - with 16 peaks that rise above 6,000 feet (1,830 metres); the tallest of them, Clingmans Dome, rises to 6,643 feet (2,025 metres). The Great Valley of East Tennessee, varying from 30 to 60 miles in width, includes a series of low ridges that rise above the intervening valleys. The Cumberland Plateau has a generally flat, slightly undulating surface cut by deep and sometimes wide river valleys. The Interior Low Plateau in Middle Tennessee is dominated by the Nashville, or Central, Basin and the Highland Rim. About 60 miles wide, and running roughly north to south across the state, the basin floor is a slightly rolling terrain punctuated by small hills known as knobs. To the west, the eastern Gulf Coastal Plain undulates only slightly and is laced with meandering, low-banked streams. In the extreme west, the plain ends in the Mississippi alluvial plain, a narrow strip of swamp and floodplain alongside the river.
Manufacturing dominates the state's economy, accounting for nearly a third of the total state product. The major products manufactured in the state are chemicals, foods, aluminum, rubber products, nylon, and whiskey. Because of the dependence on manufacturing, recent administrations have sought to attract industry to Tennessee. As a result, many firms, some from Japan, have located plants in the state. Tourism is an important industry because of the scenery, the facilities in parks, the abundance of historic sites, and entertainment facilities. Tennessee is also a centre for insurance, printing, and the recording of music. There has been an increase in service jobs in the state.
Large numbers of vacationers visit the state each year. Opryland USA, a musical theme park featuring the Grand Ole Opry, is a major attraction. The natural beauty of the region draws visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (shared with North Carolina), the largest national park in the eastern United States, and to Tennessee's 51 state parks, many of which encompass man-made lakes. In addition, there are many historic sites, of which the Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson, near Nashville, and the Civil War battlefield of Shiloh are the most famous.
Tennessee's river system is a vital component of the state's transportation complex. Railroads remain important, despite a general decline. The most notable recent addition to the highway system has been the network of interstate routes and urban beltways. Nashville and Memphis are important regional transportation centres, not only in highways but also in air travel.
