Description
Book SynopsisChronicles the formation of Tennessee from indigenous settlers to the end of the end of the frontier in 1840, signalled by the removal of the Cherokee along the 'trail of tears'. This book discusses a series of prehistoric frontiers involving millennia-long processes of adaptation by Native Americans.
Trade ReviewFinger (Univ. of Tennessee-Knoxville) draws on his rich research into the Southern frontier to illuminate not only Tennessee's three physiographic zones but also their spheres of interaction. Inhabited by Native peoples for some ten thousand years, Tennessee was touched by the 16th-century Desoto entrada; became a cockpit of war during the imperial struggles among French, English, and Spanish for hegemony in North America; and was born in the fires of the American Revolution. 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). Although a frontier until 1840, Tennessee was part of a global economic and diplomatic network from its earliest days. 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, Marietta College, 2002jul CHOICE.
Table of ContentsPreliminary Table of Contents:
Foreword by Walter Nugent and Malcolm Rohrbough
Introduction
1. Land, People, and Early Frontiers
2. Trade, Acculturation, and Empire: 1700-1775
3. The Revolutionary Frontier: 1775-1780
4. Expansion Amid Revolution: 1779-1783
5. Speculation, Turmoil, and Intrigue: 1780-1789
6. The Southwest Territory: 1790-1796
7. The Social Fabric
8. The Frontier Economy
9. Statehood to Nationalism: 1796-1815
10. The Western District: 1795-1840
11. Hegemony and Cherokee Removal: 1791-1840
Conclusion
Essay on Sources
Index
