Tennessee Travel Guide
Flanked to the west by the mighty Mississippi and to the east by the Appalachian Mountains, Tennessee is a flat oblong shaped state more than twice as wide as it is from north to south. Whilst not a state without scenic 'outdoorsy' appeal its attraction as a tourist destination lies in its rich history and cultural significance. Don't let the phrase 'cultural significance' put you off what that is referring to is the fact that the state spawned Rock and Roll.
The state divides roughly into three geographical areas and this diversity has played its part in the cultural/historical life of the state. The river and the marshy land on it's banks give way to the plantations and prosperity of the middle part of the state whilst to the east lie the farm lands stretching to the slopes of the Smoky Mountains.
The French set up a fort on the river in 1739 although the state was nominally British. The first real settlers were British Protestant farmers who opened up the state from the east in the 1790's. In 1796 Tennessee became the 16th State and began to grow rapidly thanks to both cultivating and trading in cotton. All this came to an end with the civil war. Tennessee seceded -last- from the union in 1861 despite being a state deeply divided by the dispute, the slave owning plantation owners prevailing and thereby ensuring that Tennessee would see some of the most intense fighting of the conflict. After the war the state fell into decline and it was only with the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (you must remember that from your 'O' level Geography?) that the economy began to revive once more. The TVA was a hydroelectric scheme that provided cheap power and ensured the shift from an agricultural to an industrial economy.
Although the state has the natural beauty of the Smoky Mountain National Park and the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park not to mention the Mighty Mississippi, visitors are drawn to the two largest centres of population in the state…
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