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| former regions and territories of the united states | |
| history of tennessee | |
| 1790 establishments | |
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The name "Territory South of the River Ohio" suggests a much larger territory than modern-day Tennessee. Even though Kentucky was south of the Ohio River, it was still a part of Virginia when the Southwest Territory was organized in 1790, and it would stay part of Virginia until it became a state in 1792. The land south of modern-day Tennessee was either still claimed by Georgia or disputed with Spain . Part of it would be organized as the Mississippi Territory in 1798, two years after the Southwest Territory had passed from existence. The Southwest Territory is not the same as the modern Southwestern United States . HISTORY During the colonial period, land that would become the Southwest Territory was part of North Carolina 's land grant, but the Smoky Mountains prevented North Carolina from pursuing any interest in the territory. Trade, political interest, and settlement came instead from Virginia and South Carolina . North Carolina organized some of the territory into counties between 1777 and 1778 but continued to neglect the demands of settlers for basic services and defense against American Indians . In 1784 these counties formed the State Of Franklin . John Sevier was named governor and the area began operating as an independent, although unrecognized, state. At about the same time, settlers in the other parts of the state were making overtures for an alliance with Spain, which controlled the lower Mississippi. North Carolina began to reassert control, and the State of Franklin quietly ceased to exist in 1788. North Carolina ratified the , Cherokee and Creek warriors attacked settlements in the Cumberland area. Settlers in this area formed a local militia and in the Nickajack Expedition of 1794 took it upon themselves to raze several Chickamauga villages. Threats of similar actions against the Creek brought a period of reapproachment with the native tribes. When Congress organized the Southwest Territory, it had legislated that all of the provisions of the , and it was not obvious whether this delegate would be a member of the House, Senate, or both. Moreover, there were doubts about the constitutionality of such a delegate. Nonetheless, on November 18 , a week after White's credentials were presented to the House and after two days of debate, White became the first Delegate To The House Of Representatives . He would be the only Delegate from the Southwest Territory. In 1795, a Census revealed there were enough people to petition for statehood and a referendum showed a three-to-one majority in favor of becoming a state. Governor Blount convened a Constitutional Convention and delegates drafted a state constitition. Voters elected Sevier as governor and the new legislature selected Blount and William Cocke as U.S. Senator s and Andrew Jackson as the U.S. Representative . The Southwest Territory was the first federal territory to petition to join the Union and there was some dissension in the U.S. Congress about how to proceed. Nonetheless, Tennessee was admitted to the Union on June 1 , 1796 as the 16th U.S. State . The Southwest Territory ceased to exist at that point. SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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