From Frontier To Plantation In Tennessee

FROM FRONTIER TO PLANTATION IN TENNESSEE A STUDY IN FRONTIER DEMOCRACY BY THOMAS PERKINS ABERNETHY RICHMOND ALUMNI ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CHAPEL HILL THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS 1932 TO FREDERICK JACKSON TURNER PREFACE narrative histories of the United States give but a fragmentary idea of the development of Jl democracy in this country. This is due primarily to the fact that our Federal system is a government of limited powers, and its activities touch the lives of the people at only a few points. Narrative histories of the individual states, on the other hand, have ordinarily dealt with local politics in a local way. Science is studied by the examination of specimens, and general truths are discovered through the investiga tion of typical forms. History has been studied mainly by national units, and the field is too broad to allow of minute examination. It would seem, therefore, that the study of a single state, not with an eye to its local politics but concentrating on its development as a com munity, should throw new light upon die growth of our democracy. For the purposes of such a study, Tennessee offers unique advantages. It was the first state to undergo the territorial status, and was without precedent to guide it on its way. Its boundaries include the earliest organized transmontane settlements. The frontiersmen planting these settlements were therefore shackled neither by powerful precedent, nor crystallized opinion, nor petri fied institutions in developing their community life. Not only were these settlements planted under striking con ditions, but they were established under famous leaders. Certainly the frontier history ofno western state is richer or more significant than that of Tennessee. It is also important for the purposes of this study that x PREFACE the forms of economic life to be found during the ante bellum period were varied. The state was a part of the West and a part of the South. Its eastern section had a self-sustaining, small-farmer population. Its Cumberland basin was largely a grain-growing, stock-raising area, while its western section was, in all respects, a part of the cotton kingdom. It therefore affords a rare oppor tunity to study the political effects of these several types of agricultural economy. Land was in the early days the chief form of wealth in the United States, and Tennessee is almost unique among western states in having had a land problem of her own. The laws passed in disposing of the public domain constitute the most significant economic legisla tion with which the state government had to deal, and through such legislation may be tested the living pulse of the body politic. We have been accustomed, in studying our history, to pay too much attention to what the politicians have said and too little to what they have done. It is possibly accidental, yet no less significant, that Tennessee furnished far more than her due share of the leaders of that western democracy which grew in importance so astoundingly between the outbreak of the Revolution and the War of Secession. The activities of these men in the politics of the state give its history an importance and a significance which it would otherwise lack. Taken together these factors render Tennessee an admirable spedimen for such a type study as that which is here presented. Periods of changing conditions have beengiven special attention static periods have been passed more rapidly in review. PREFACE xi An expression of appreciation is due to Professor Ulrich B. Phillips, of Yale University, for valuable suggestions, and to Professor J. B. Sanders, of the University of Alabama, for a critical reading of the manuscript. It is fitting that I should acknowledge here my indebtedness to Ida Robertson Abernethy, my wife, who edited and typed the entire work. THOMAS PERKINS ABERNETHY THE UNIVERSITY OP VIRGINIA DECEMBER, 1931 TABLfe OF CONTENTS PREFAClE IX I. WATAUGA i II...

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Concentrating primarily within the period of 1600–1839, this narrative describes the first "Old West"—the land just beyond the crest of the Appalachian Mountains—and the many firsts that occurred there.

American historian Ulrich Bonnell Phillips (1877 1934) made a career of studying slavery and the economics of the American South through the 19th century, and he was often criticized by his successors for his emphasis on painting slave masters and plantation owners in a positive light. But even Phillips detractors acknowledge the valuable work he did in bringing to light the priceless original source material from which we can better understand the period. In this two-volume work, first published in 1909, Phillips creates a portrait of the economic life of the South drawn from the details and minutiae found in legal contracts, personal letters and diaries, newspaper articles and editorials, advertisements, plantation records, court records, warrants and affidavits, public notices, city ordinances, and other hard-to-find documents. From the everyday realities of the usage of slave labor to the working conditions of poor whites to the daily routines and management of plantations, what emerges is a unique, on-the-ground perspective of the slaveholding era. Excepts from the table of contents of Volume II: Slaveholding hard to avoid The breaking in of fresh Africans Discipline and riddance of refractory slaves Negro labor slow and careless The chase and capture of a slave stealer Motives and talents of runaway slaves The barbarism of slavery in the case of light mulattoes Violence toward masters and overseers Public opinion regarding free negroes The negro problem as affected by immigrants Texan attractions advertised Association of white and negro labor Jealousy of white artisans toward negro competition

Discusses slavery in Tennessee from the last quarter of the seventeenth century to the granting of full citizenship and suffrage to all blacks with the adoption of a new state constitution in 1870.

A comprehensive history of the Volunteer State’s formation, from the prehistoric era to the closing of the frontier in 1840. This chronicle of the formation of Tennessee from indigenous settlements to the closing of the frontier in 1840 begins with an account of the prehistoric frontiers and a millennia-long habitation by Native Americans. The rest of the book deals with Tennessee’s historic period beginning with the incursion of Hernando de Soto’s Spanish army in 1540. John R. Finger follows two narratives of the creation and closing of the frontier. The first starts with the early interaction of Native Americans and Euro-Americans and ends when the latter effectively gained the upper hand. The last land cession by the Cherokees and the resulting movement of the tribal majority westward along the “Trail of Tears” was the final, decisive event of this story. The second describes the period of Euro-American development that lasts until the emergence of a market economy. Though from the very first Anglo-Americans participated in a worldwide fur and deerskin trade, and farmers and town dwellers were linked with markets in distant cities, during this period most farmers moved beyond subsistence production and became dependent on regional, national, or international markets. Two major themes emerge from Tennessee Frontiers: first, that of opportunity the belief held by frontier people that North America offered unique opportunities for advancement; and second, that of tension between local autonomy and central authority, which was marked by the resistance of frontier people to outside controls, and between and among groups of whites and Indians. Distinctions of class and gender separated frontier elites from lesser whites, and the struggle for control divided the elites themselves. Similarly, native society was riddled by factional disputes over the proper course of action regarding relations with other tribes or with whites. Though the Indians lost in fundamental ways, they proved resilient, adopting a variety of strategies that delayed those losses and enabled them to retain, in modified form, their own identity. Along the way, the author introduces the famous personalities of Tennessee’s frontier history: Attakullakulla, Nancy Ward, Daniel Boone, John Sevier, Davy Crockett, Andrew Jackson, and John Ross, among others. They remind us that this is the story of real people who dealt with real problems and possibilities in often difficult circumstances. “Finger . . . draws on his rich research into the Southern frontier to illuminate not only Tennessee’s three physiographic zones but also their spheres of interaction . . . .. The author skillfully summarizes and illustrates the complexity of Tennessee’s frontier history, addressing issues of leadership (Jackson versus all rivals), land speculation (ever dominant), and Indian affairs (where he is at his best). . . . Like the late Stanley Folmsbee, Finger knows the three Tennessees, linguistically, geographically, politically, socially, and economically; fortunately for the reader, he has constructed a well-balanced account of them all. Maps, charts, illustrations, and 48 pages of sources enhance the volume’s usefulness for collections on the American frontier. All levels and collections.” —J. H. O’Donnell III