U.S. History: Civil War-Geographic Politics—The Road to Secession in Tennessee

Visitors to the State of Tennessee in the 1960s were probably puzzled at the state border signs that read, “Welcome to the Three States of Tennessee.” Yet, no assertion could better describe the state’s unique geographical qualities. Predestined by forces of nature to be divided, intrastate sectionalism was present from the initial settlement of the region in the early 1760s. Throughout the state’s history, geography and geology played a crucial role in the political and cultural climate. No greater example of this exists than during the American Civil War. Tennesseans’ loyalties were sharply divided along geographic lines. With its unique position as the gateway to the entire Western Confederacy, Tennessee found itself the prime battleground of the West. Tennessee was the last state to secede from the Union, although the vote to do so was not unanimous. Although the government in Nashville was Confederate and over 100,000 men joined the ranks of the Confederate Provisional Army, about 50,000 Tennesseans volunteered to fight for the Federal Army. One might question why a state that seceded still supplied volunteers to the Union Army in such a large number. The answer can be derived from a study of the state’s variegated terrain and the geographic isolationism of Eastern Tennessee. This lesson will explore how Tennessee’s unique geography affected how the three grand divisions of the state viewed slavery, secession, and the Civil War. Students will examine topographical maps, letters, photographs, and newspaper transcripts in order to understand how politics, policy, and the Civil War were shaped by the state’s variegated terrain.