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COMMEMORATING 225 YEARS OF TENNESSEE STATEHOOD WITH THE KICKOFF
CELEBRATION IN JONESOBOROUGH
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HON. DIANA HARSHBARGER
of tennessee
in the house of representatives
Friday, June 11, 2021
Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate 225 years of Tennessee statehood. June 1, 2021 began a year-long celebration which will rightfully begin in the oldest town in Tennessee, Jonesborough, located in the First Congressional District and which was established seventeen years before Tennessee was granted statehood.
The original territory of Tennessee consisted of six counties--
Washington, Sullivan, Greene, Davidson, Sumner, and Tennessee (later Montgomery & Robertson)--under the jurisdiction of North Carolina from 1777 to 1788. The counties requested protection from Native Americans and the right to navigate the Mississippi River but North Carolina neglected these territories so, in 1784, dissatisfied East Tennesseans formed the breakaway state of Franklin, or ``Frankland,'' under the direction of John Sevier, the newly named governor. As North Carolinian officials discovered the territory's attempted independence, they slowly reasserted their authority over the area. Disagreements among rival factions, coupled with the North Carolina resistance, doomed the state of Franklin, which passed out of existence in 1788. The following year, North Carolina gave its Tennessee lands to the Federal government which designated it as the Territory of the United States, South of the River Ohio, also known as the Southwest Territory. William Blount governed the territory and, in 1795, called for a constitutional convention in Knoxville to begin the process of joining the Union. Tennessee became the first Federal territory to apply for statehood and, after a close vote on June 1, 1796, became the 16th state of the Union.
Our Governor, Bill Lee, has declared the theme for this yearlong celebration ``Untold Tennessee.'' He has encouraged Tennesseans to share their untold stories of people, places and events that have shaped our state since its beginning. With Jonesborough being the oldest town in Tennessee, established seventeen years prior to statehood, and home to the International Storytelling Center, it is only fitting that those stories begin to be told here.
Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating the Great State of Tennessee on 225 years of statehood and Jonesborough, located in the First Congressional District, on being the site of the kickoff of the yearlong celebration. I am proud to be a Tennessean and, even more so, to represent the people of the First District who will all be part of the next 225 years of stories that will continue to shape our state.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 102
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