PART II.

THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE FROM ITS ADMISSION INTO THE UNION, 1796, TO THE

PRESENT TIME.

DIVISION I.

TENNESSEE UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1796.

DIVISION II.

TENNESSEE UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1834.

DIVISION III.

TENNESSEE UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1870.

DIVISION I.

TENNESSEE UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1796.

CHAPTER XIX.

ADMINISTRATION OF SEVIER-1796-1801.

240. Sevier Governor for the Constitutional Period of Six Years.Under the Constitution, the governor was the only officer elected by the people of the whole State.

Gov. JOHN SEVIER.

His term of office was fixed at two years, and he was prohibited from serving more than six years in any period of eight years. John Sevier was elected governor without opposition, and was twice reelected with a like unanimity.

241. Sevier an East Tennessean. At the time of his first election, Sevier was beyond the meridian of life. His country had passed the heroic period, in which he had shone with such He was the matchless splendor.

He

idol of East Tennessee. He had been the leader of its people from the time Robertson crossed the mountains in 1779. He had defended them against the Indians, to whom his name carried more terror than a regiment of soldiers.1 had fought back the invading British, and, with Isaac Shelby, had shed immortal glory on East Tennessee at the decisive battle of King's Mountain. During all its ill-starred career, he had been the chief magistrate of the daring young State of Franklin. And after its

1Gov. William Blount to the Secretary of War.

downfall, he had been elected to Congress from the Western District of North Carolina, being the first representative in the United States Congress from the Mississippi Valley.

242. Sevier not in Touch with Middle Tennessee.-While East Tennessee had leaned on John Sevier for safety, the Cumberland settlements had never looked to him, nor been the immediate objects of his brilliant achievements. They had not witnessed his daring feats of arms, nor been thrilled by the influence of his great personal magnetism. His presence was well-nigh irresistible, and was, in a measure, necessary to his popularity. These facts had an important influence on his career, as the center of population began to move to the westward of the Cumberland Mountains.

243. Putting the State in Accord with the Federal Government.Before the State was admitted to the Union, it had elected two United States Senators, and provided for the election of two Representatives and four Presidential Electors. After its admission, the Senate refused to seat the Senators from Tennessee, on the ground that they were prematurely elected. Congress likewise passed an act allowing the State but one representative in Congress, which had the effect also to reduce the number of electors from four to three. As soon as these facts reached the governor, he called an extra session of the General Assembly, which met on the 30th day of July, and continued in session ten days. They reëlected Senators Blount and Cocke; passed an act for the election of one Congressman from the State at large; and provided for the appointment of three Presidential Electors.

244. Jackson Elected to Congress.-Andrew Jackson offered himself as a candidate for Congress, and was elected without opposition, being the first representative in Congress from Tennessee: He was the second officer elected by the people of the whole State, Governor Sevier having been the first. Jackson was then a young man of twenty-nine. He had lived in the country since reaching his majority, in 1788. Under the Territorial government he had made reputation as a district attorney. He was a leading member of the Convention that framed the Constitution for the new State, for which he is said to have suggested the name of Tennessee. He was the greatest leader of men this country has ever produced, and had even then gathered around him the nucleus of a following which afterwards became all-powerful, not in the State only, but in the nation as well.

245. Jackson and Anderson Elected to the Senate.- Before the general election in August, rumors of the imprudent conduct of William

Blount, which resulted in his expulsion from the United States Senate, had reached Tennessee. It was rightly conjectured that he could not be reëlected. Joseph Anderson, who became distinguished for his eminent services, both to the State and nation,

I was elected to succeed him. At the same session of the Legislature, Andrew Jackson, who had consented to become a candidate, was elected to succeed William Cocke, whose term in the Senate had also expired.

246. Question of the Indian Boundary.The question of most immediate and pressing interest to the State government, at that time, was the controversy between its people and the neighboring Indians concerning the boundary between them. Governor Sevier determined at the outset, that the safety and security of the settlers would be best promoted by a policy of peace and friendship with the Indians. A few years of quiet, he thought, would see the number of settlers so augmented that their progress could never again be seriously retarded by the Indians.

JOSEPH ANDERSON.

247. Running the Indian Line. The treaty of Holston had been made in 1791, but was not carried into effect for some time, because of misunderstandings as to the line. Afterwards, the line was actually run and marked. In the meantime, the settlements south of the French Broad and Holston rivers, begun under the Franklin Treaties of Dumplin and Coyatee, had been extended to the Little Tennessee. Moreover, Powell's Valley was being settled under grants from North Carolina. Both of these settlements extended into the Indian country. (See Map of Public Lands, paragraph 270.) The removal of the settlers who were found beyond the line caused intense excitement on the frontiers. But through it all the peace policy of Governor Sevier was pursued with firmness, justice, and patience.

248. The Question of the Public Lands. There were two other questions of vital interest to the people of the State. They were (1) the disposition of the public lands, and (2) the organization and regulation of the militia. Under an act of North Carolina, a land office was opened in Washington County in 1777. A similar office was opened in Sullivan County upon its formation two years later. Both of these offices were closed in 1781. A land office known as John Armstrong's office was opened in 1783.