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history
The state flag was designed by LeRoy Reeves of the Third Regiment, Tennesse Infantry, who made the following explanation of his design:
The three stars are of pure white, representing the three grand divisions of the state. They are bound together by the endless circle of the blue field, the symbol being three bound together in one—an indissoluble trinity. The large field is crimson. The final blue bar relieves the sameness of the crimson field and prevents the flag from showing too much crimson when hanging limp. The white edgings contrast more strongly the other colours.
This flag was adopted as the official flag of the state of Tennessee by an act of the General Assembly passed and approved April 17, 1905. The design of the flag was described by that act, Chapter 498 of the Public Acts of 1905, as follows:
An oblong flag or banner in length one and two thirds times its width, the large or principal field of same to be of colour red, but said flag or banner ending at its free or outer end in a perpendicular bar of blue, of uniform width, running from side to side—that is to say from top to bottom of said flag or banner—and separated from the red field by a narrow margin or stripe of white of uniform width; the width of the white stripe to be one fifth that of the blue bar, and the total width of the bar and stripe together to be equal to one-eighth of the width of the flag. In the centre of the red field shall be a smaller circular field of blue, separated from the surrounding red field shall be a smaller circular field of blue, separated from the surrounding red field by a circular margin or stripe of white of uniform width and of the same width as the straight margin or stripe first mentioned. The breadth or diameter of the circular blue field, exclusive of the white margin, shall be equal to one-half of the width of the flag. Inside the circular blue field shall be three five-pointed stars of white distributed at equal intervals around a point, the centre of the blue field, and of such size and arrangement that one point of each star shall approach as closely as practicable without actually touching one point of each of the other two around the centre point of the field; and the two outer points of each star shall approach as nearly as practicable without actually touching the periphery of the blue field. The arrangement of the three stars shall be such that the centres of no two stars shall be in a line parallel to either the side or end of the flag, but intermediate between same; and the highest star shall be the one nearest the upper confined corner of the flag.
The three stars are of pure white, representing the three grand divisions of the state. They are bound together by the endless circle of the blue field, the symbol being three bound together in one—an indissoluble trinity. The large field is crimson. The final blue bar relieves the sameness of the crimson field and prevents the flag from showing too much crimson when hanging limp. The white edgings contrast more strongly the other colours.
This flag was adopted as the official flag of the state of Tennessee by an act of the General Assembly passed and approved April 17, 1905. The design of the flag was described by that act, Chapter 498 of the Public Acts of 1905, as follows:
An oblong flag or banner in length one and two thirds times its width, the large or principal field of same to be of colour red, but said flag or banner ending at its free or outer end in a perpendicular bar of blue, of uniform width, running from side to side—that is to say from top to bottom of said flag or banner—and separated from the red field by a narrow margin or stripe of white of uniform width; the width of the white stripe to be one fifth that of the blue bar, and the total width of the bar and stripe together to be equal to one-eighth of the width of the flag. In the centre of the red field shall be a smaller circular field of blue, separated from the surrounding red field shall be a smaller circular field of blue, separated from the surrounding red field by a circular margin or stripe of white of uniform width and of the same width as the straight margin or stripe first mentioned. The breadth or diameter of the circular blue field, exclusive of the white margin, shall be equal to one-half of the width of the flag. Inside the circular blue field shall be three five-pointed stars of white distributed at equal intervals around a point, the centre of the blue field, and of such size and arrangement that one point of each star shall approach as closely as practicable without actually touching one point of each of the other two around the centre point of the field; and the two outer points of each star shall approach as nearly as practicable without actually touching the periphery of the blue field. The arrangement of the three stars shall be such that the centres of no two stars shall be in a line parallel to either the side or end of the flag, but intermediate between same; and the highest star shall be the one nearest the upper confined corner of the flag.
Nickname: The Volunteer State.
Capital: Nashville.
Constitution: The 16th State.
Statehood: June 1st 1796.
Motto: Agriculture and commerce
History:
Although Indians probably lived in the region at least 8,000 years ago, the earliest known groups were the Mound Builders. They settled the area about 1,000 years ago. Cherokee, Chickamauga, and Chickasaw Indians were living there when the first white explorers arrived.
Spanish explorers entered the region during the 1500's. The British and French went there during the 1600's. Britain gained sole control of the region in 1763. Two months after the American Civil War began in 1861, Tennessee became the last state to secede (withdraw) from the Union. On July 24, 1866, Tennessee became the first Confederate state to be readmitted.
In 1925, a Tennessee high school teacher, John T. Scopes, was convicted of violating a state law that prohibited teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. The trial aroused national controversy.
In 1933, the federal government established the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to conserve and develop Tennessee River Valley resources.
An enormous music industry grew up in Nashville during the mid-1900's. On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed in Memphis.
In 1985, the Tennessee River was connected to the Gulf of Mexico by the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway project.
Bird:
According to the Nashville Banner of April 16, 1933, the mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, was selected on April 11, 1933, as state bird of Tennessee in an election conducted by the Tennessee Ornithological Society. The choice was confirmed by Senate Joint Resolution 51 adopted by the General Assembly in 1933.
The mockingbird is akin to the brown thrasher and the catbird. It is ashen gray above, with darker, white-edged wings and whitish underparts; its length, inclusive of the long tail, is about 10 inches. One of the finest singers among North American birds, it possesses a melodious song of its own, and is especially noted for its skill in mimicking the songs of other birds.
Economy:
Agriculture: Soybeans, cotton, tobacco, livestock and livestock products, dairy products.
Industry: Chemicals, transportation equipment, rubber, plastics.
Flower:
In 1919, the General Assembly, by Senate Joint Resolution 13, provided that a state flower be chosen by the school children of Tennessee. Accordingly, a vote was taken and the passion flower was chosen. In 1933, however, the Legislature adopted Senate Joint Resolution 53 designating the iris as the “State Flower of Tennessee,” but failed to formally rescind the designation of the passion flower as the state flower. To eliminate this confusion, in 1973 the 88th General Assembly, by Chapter 16, designated the passion flower the state wildflower and the iris the state cultivated flower.
Cultivated Flower:
The iris, genus Iridaceae, is an herbacious perennial of which there are about 170 species, including several North American varieties, the most common of which is the Blue Flag. While there are several different colours among the iris, and the act naming the iris as the state flower did not name a particular colour, by common acceptance the purple iris is considered the state flower.
Wildflower:
The passion flower, genus Passiflora, which grows wild in the southern part of the United States and in South America, is also commonly known as the maypop, the wild apricot and the ocoee. The last is the Indian name that has also been applied to the Ocoee River and valley. The Indians prized the ocoee as the most abundant and beautiful of all their flowers. The passion flower received its name from the early Christian missionaries to South America, who saw in the various parts of the curiously constructed flower symbols of the Crucifixion—the three crosses, the crown of thorns, nails and cords.
Motto:
The state of Tennesse’s motto is "Agriculture and Commerce," taken from the wording used on the state seal. The motto was officially adopted in 1987 by Public Chapter 402 by the 95th General Assembly.
Nickname:
Tennessee has had several nicknames, but the most popular is "The Volunteer State." The nickname originated during the War of 1812, in which the volunteer soldiers from Tennessee, serving under Gen. Andrew Jackson, displayed marked valour in the Battle of New Orleans.
Other nicknames include the "Big Bend State," which refers to the Indian name of the Tennessee River; “The River with the Big Bend”; and “Hog and Hominy State,” now obsolete but formerly applied because “the corn and pork products of Tennessee were in such great proportions between 1830 and 1840”; and “The Mother of Southwestern Statesmen,” because Tennessee furnished the United States three presidents and a number of other leaders who served with distinction in high government office.
Tennesseans sometimes are referred to as "Volunteers," "Big Benders" and “Butternuts.” The first two are derived from the nickname of the state, while the tag of “Butternuts” was first applied to Tennessee soldiers during the War Between the States because of the tan colour of their uniforms. Later, it sometimes was applied to people across the entire state.
Origin of state's name:
Named after Cherokee Indian villages called "Tanasi".
Seal:
Even before Tennessee achieved statehood efforts were made by local governmental organizations to procure official seals. Reliable historians have assumed that as early as 1772 the Articles of the Agreement of the Watauga Association authorized the use of a seal. The Legislature of the state of Franklin, by an official act, provided “for procuring a Great Seal for this State,” and there is also evidence that a seal was intended for the Territory South of the River Ohio. The secretary of that territory requested the assistance of Thomas Jefferson in March, 1792, in “suggesting a proper device” for a seal. There is no direct evidence, however, that a seal was ever made for any of these predecessors of Tennessee.
When Tennessee became a state, the Constitution of 1796 made provision for the preparation of a seal. Each subsequent constitution made similar provisions and always in the same words as the first. This provision is (Constitution of 1796, Article II, Section 15; Constitution of 1835, Article III, Section 15; Constitution of 1870, Article III, Section 15) as follows: There shall be a seal of this state, which shall be kept by the governor, and used by him officially, and shall be called “The Great Seal of the State of Tennnessee.”
In spite of the provision of the Constitution of 1796, apparently no action was taken until Sept. 25, 1801. On that date committees made up of members from both the Senate and the House of Representatives were appointed. One of these was to “prepare a device and motto” for a seal, while the other was to contract with a suitable person to cut a seal and press for the use of the state.
The committee appointed to prepare a design for the state seal recommended that: ...the said seal shall be a circle, two inches and a quarter in diameter, that the circumference of the circle contain the words THE GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, that in the lower part of said circumference be inserted Feb. 6th, 1796, the date of the Constitution of this state; that in the inside of the upper part of said circle, be set in numerical letters XVI, the number of the state in chronological order; that under the base of the upper semicircle, there be the word AGRICULTURE; that above said base, there be the figure of a plough, sheaf of wheat and cotton plant; that in the lower part of the lower semicircle, there be the word COMMERCE, and said lower semicircle shall also contain the figure of a boat and boatman.
The other committee reported that it had contracted with William and Matthew Atkinson to make the seal and press.
The seal and press were delivered to Gov. Archibald Roane in April 1802 and were used for the first time April 24, 1802, on a document ordering payment for them. Before this time, both John Sevier and Archibald Roane had used their personal seal in official documents. This seal continued in use under seven governors until 1829 when Gov. William Hall was the last governor to use it. Then, during the second series of administrations of Gov. William Carroll, a different seal came into use, though there is no record of its authorization. This second seal was only one and three-quarters inches wide and the date “Feb. 6th,” was omitted. The boat, differing greatly in design from the original, was pointed in the opposite direction. The seal was at variance with the original in other respects as well. It remained in use from 1829 until the administrations of William Brownlow from 1865 to 1869.
A close examination of official documents bearing the Great Seal, particularly between 1855 and 1875, indicates that the seal now being used was introduced during the administration of Gov. William Brownlow. Only one document, dated 1865, was found containing the seal attributed to the Brownlow administration. Instead, examination of Brownlow documents of 1866 and 1867 revealed the use of two seals, evidently used simultaneously. One seal appears to be the same as that affixed to documents signed by Governors Brownlow, Senter, Porter and Hawkins.
Evidently, the so-called “Brownlow Seal” was used only in 1865, when it was replaced by two other seals which were only slightly different from each other. The seal now used was the larger of the two and appears to have been the only one used since the last year of Brownlow’s administration. The current seal was officially adopted in 1987 by the 95th General Assembly, Public Chapter 402.
Tree:
The tulip poplar was designated as the official state tree of Tennessee by Public Chapter 204 of the Acts of the 1947 General Assembly. The act stated that, as no state tree had ever before been designated, the adoption of an official tree seemed appropriate. The tulip poplar was chosen “because it grows from one end of the state to the other” and “was extensively used by the pioneers of the state to construct houses, barns, and other necessary farm buildings.”
The following description of the tulip poplar, the botanical name of which is Liriodendron Tulipifera, is taken from The Complete Guide to North American Trees:
“Perhaps the most stately tree of our range, it sometimes reaches a height of 200 feet with a stem as regular as though turned on a lathe and frequently showing 50 to 100 feet of trunk without a branch. The twigs are smooth, brownish gray, becoming cracked into a regular network of shallow, firm ridges; on old trunk broken into deep, rough ridges. Its leaves are very smooth and shining with a broad notch at the tip, usually four-lobbed, 2 to 8 inches long. Its flowers are tulip-like, green orange, 1 to 3 inches deep. The fruit is cone-like hanging on through the year, and is 2 to 3 inches long.”
Although Indians probably lived in the region at least 8,000 years ago, the earliest known groups were the Mound Builders. They settled the area about 1,000 years ago. Cherokee, Chickamauga, and Chickasaw Indians were living there when the first white explorers arrived.
Spanish explorers entered the region during the 1500's. The British and French went there during the 1600's. Britain gained sole control of the region in 1763. Two months after the American Civil War began in 1861, Tennessee became the last state to secede (withdraw) from the Union. On July 24, 1866, Tennessee became the first Confederate state to be readmitted.
In 1925, a Tennessee high school teacher, John T. Scopes, was convicted of violating a state law that prohibited teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. The trial aroused national controversy.
In 1933, the federal government established the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to conserve and develop Tennessee River Valley resources.
An enormous music industry grew up in Nashville during the mid-1900's. On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed in Memphis.
In 1985, the Tennessee River was connected to the Gulf of Mexico by the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway project.
Bird:
According to the Nashville Banner of April 16, 1933, the mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, was selected on April 11, 1933, as state bird of Tennessee in an election conducted by the Tennessee Ornithological Society. The choice was confirmed by Senate Joint Resolution 51 adopted by the General Assembly in 1933.
The mockingbird is akin to the brown thrasher and the catbird. It is ashen gray above, with darker, white-edged wings and whitish underparts; its length, inclusive of the long tail, is about 10 inches. One of the finest singers among North American birds, it possesses a melodious song of its own, and is especially noted for its skill in mimicking the songs of other birds.
Economy:
Agriculture: Soybeans, cotton, tobacco, livestock and livestock products, dairy products.
Industry: Chemicals, transportation equipment, rubber, plastics.
Flower:
In 1919, the General Assembly, by Senate Joint Resolution 13, provided that a state flower be chosen by the school children of Tennessee. Accordingly, a vote was taken and the passion flower was chosen. In 1933, however, the Legislature adopted Senate Joint Resolution 53 designating the iris as the “State Flower of Tennessee,” but failed to formally rescind the designation of the passion flower as the state flower. To eliminate this confusion, in 1973 the 88th General Assembly, by Chapter 16, designated the passion flower the state wildflower and the iris the state cultivated flower.
Cultivated Flower:
The iris, genus Iridaceae, is an herbacious perennial of which there are about 170 species, including several North American varieties, the most common of which is the Blue Flag. While there are several different colours among the iris, and the act naming the iris as the state flower did not name a particular colour, by common acceptance the purple iris is considered the state flower.
Wildflower:
The passion flower, genus Passiflora, which grows wild in the southern part of the United States and in South America, is also commonly known as the maypop, the wild apricot and the ocoee. The last is the Indian name that has also been applied to the Ocoee River and valley. The Indians prized the ocoee as the most abundant and beautiful of all their flowers. The passion flower received its name from the early Christian missionaries to South America, who saw in the various parts of the curiously constructed flower symbols of the Crucifixion—the three crosses, the crown of thorns, nails and cords.
Motto:
The state of Tennesse’s motto is "Agriculture and Commerce," taken from the wording used on the state seal. The motto was officially adopted in 1987 by Public Chapter 402 by the 95th General Assembly.
Nickname:
Tennessee has had several nicknames, but the most popular is "The Volunteer State." The nickname originated during the War of 1812, in which the volunteer soldiers from Tennessee, serving under Gen. Andrew Jackson, displayed marked valour in the Battle of New Orleans.
Other nicknames include the "Big Bend State," which refers to the Indian name of the Tennessee River; “The River with the Big Bend”; and “Hog and Hominy State,” now obsolete but formerly applied because “the corn and pork products of Tennessee were in such great proportions between 1830 and 1840”; and “The Mother of Southwestern Statesmen,” because Tennessee furnished the United States three presidents and a number of other leaders who served with distinction in high government office.
Tennesseans sometimes are referred to as "Volunteers," "Big Benders" and “Butternuts.” The first two are derived from the nickname of the state, while the tag of “Butternuts” was first applied to Tennessee soldiers during the War Between the States because of the tan colour of their uniforms. Later, it sometimes was applied to people across the entire state.
Origin of state's name:
Named after Cherokee Indian villages called "Tanasi".
Seal:
Even before Tennessee achieved statehood efforts were made by local governmental organizations to procure official seals. Reliable historians have assumed that as early as 1772 the Articles of the Agreement of the Watauga Association authorized the use of a seal. The Legislature of the state of Franklin, by an official act, provided “for procuring a Great Seal for this State,” and there is also evidence that a seal was intended for the Territory South of the River Ohio. The secretary of that territory requested the assistance of Thomas Jefferson in March, 1792, in “suggesting a proper device” for a seal. There is no direct evidence, however, that a seal was ever made for any of these predecessors of Tennessee.
When Tennessee became a state, the Constitution of 1796 made provision for the preparation of a seal. Each subsequent constitution made similar provisions and always in the same words as the first. This provision is (Constitution of 1796, Article II, Section 15; Constitution of 1835, Article III, Section 15; Constitution of 1870, Article III, Section 15) as follows: There shall be a seal of this state, which shall be kept by the governor, and used by him officially, and shall be called “The Great Seal of the State of Tennnessee.”
In spite of the provision of the Constitution of 1796, apparently no action was taken until Sept. 25, 1801. On that date committees made up of members from both the Senate and the House of Representatives were appointed. One of these was to “prepare a device and motto” for a seal, while the other was to contract with a suitable person to cut a seal and press for the use of the state.
The committee appointed to prepare a design for the state seal recommended that: ...the said seal shall be a circle, two inches and a quarter in diameter, that the circumference of the circle contain the words THE GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, that in the lower part of said circumference be inserted Feb. 6th, 1796, the date of the Constitution of this state; that in the inside of the upper part of said circle, be set in numerical letters XVI, the number of the state in chronological order; that under the base of the upper semicircle, there be the word AGRICULTURE; that above said base, there be the figure of a plough, sheaf of wheat and cotton plant; that in the lower part of the lower semicircle, there be the word COMMERCE, and said lower semicircle shall also contain the figure of a boat and boatman.
The other committee reported that it had contracted with William and Matthew Atkinson to make the seal and press.
The seal and press were delivered to Gov. Archibald Roane in April 1802 and were used for the first time April 24, 1802, on a document ordering payment for them. Before this time, both John Sevier and Archibald Roane had used their personal seal in official documents. This seal continued in use under seven governors until 1829 when Gov. William Hall was the last governor to use it. Then, during the second series of administrations of Gov. William Carroll, a different seal came into use, though there is no record of its authorization. This second seal was only one and three-quarters inches wide and the date “Feb. 6th,” was omitted. The boat, differing greatly in design from the original, was pointed in the opposite direction. The seal was at variance with the original in other respects as well. It remained in use from 1829 until the administrations of William Brownlow from 1865 to 1869.
A close examination of official documents bearing the Great Seal, particularly between 1855 and 1875, indicates that the seal now being used was introduced during the administration of Gov. William Brownlow. Only one document, dated 1865, was found containing the seal attributed to the Brownlow administration. Instead, examination of Brownlow documents of 1866 and 1867 revealed the use of two seals, evidently used simultaneously. One seal appears to be the same as that affixed to documents signed by Governors Brownlow, Senter, Porter and Hawkins.
Evidently, the so-called “Brownlow Seal” was used only in 1865, when it was replaced by two other seals which were only slightly different from each other. The seal now used was the larger of the two and appears to have been the only one used since the last year of Brownlow’s administration. The current seal was officially adopted in 1987 by the 95th General Assembly, Public Chapter 402.
Tree:
The tulip poplar was designated as the official state tree of Tennessee by Public Chapter 204 of the Acts of the 1947 General Assembly. The act stated that, as no state tree had ever before been designated, the adoption of an official tree seemed appropriate. The tulip poplar was chosen “because it grows from one end of the state to the other” and “was extensively used by the pioneers of the state to construct houses, barns, and other necessary farm buildings.”
The following description of the tulip poplar, the botanical name of which is Liriodendron Tulipifera, is taken from The Complete Guide to North American Trees:
“Perhaps the most stately tree of our range, it sometimes reaches a height of 200 feet with a stem as regular as though turned on a lathe and frequently showing 50 to 100 feet of trunk without a branch. The twigs are smooth, brownish gray, becoming cracked into a regular network of shallow, firm ridges; on old trunk broken into deep, rough ridges. Its leaves are very smooth and shining with a broad notch at the tip, usually four-lobbed, 2 to 8 inches long. Its flowers are tulip-like, green orange, 1 to 3 inches deep. The fruit is cone-like hanging on through the year, and is 2 to 3 inches long.”