Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1879-09-11
ALosT STATE.
Rise and FAN Of the State Of
Franklin.


/ Everybody knows that there
lare thirty-eight States, and thai
Ioriginally there were thirteen
Icolonies, and most people can
repeat tho names of these States
land colonies as glibly as their
alphabet; but we venture to say
very few have heard of Frank
lin. And yet history recognizes
the existence of such a State,
and that in its day enjoyed no
small degree of celebrity.
Tt is we'll known that after
the Revolution most of the thir-
teen States claimed jurisdiction
among themselves over the ter
ritory stretching indefinitely to
1.-THE westward. The separate
jurisdiction of each State was
ill defined, and to avoid all
trouble, to give the General
Government what seemed its
due, and to assist it in throwing
off the debt incurred by the war
of independence, the Congress
of the Confederation requested
the various States to cede their
claims to the General Govern
ment. The matter was not def
nitely settled until after the a.
doption of the constitution; but
the State of North Carolina at
tempted to cede, in compliance
with the request of Congress,
its Western lands which now
form the State of Tennessee; !;
and it was this attempt at cess
ion which brought about the
complications that shortly after
ward resulted in the brief exis-
tence of the State State Of Franklin.
North Carolina ceded, but
Congress, vascillatingand vigor-
less, hesitated about accepting
the cession. Having made the
'cession, North Carolina gave up
all interest in her border settle
ments, and Congress refused to
accept the charge which North
Carolina had thrown off. The
consequences. were serious for
the fortunes and happiness of
the Tennessee settlers. Their
borders were oYerrun with Grim
inals and fugities from justice,
such as always infest a pioneer
community, and yet the action
of the mother State left them
without courts to assert justice
and infict punishment. They
had at all times to be on their
guard against marauding bands
of Indians, and yet they were
without a regularly-constituted
MALTA for their defense. They
were, in fact, cast offs and did
what one would naturally ex-
pect them to do under the cir
cumstances. The three north
eastern counties of the Terrific
ry-W ashington, Sullivan and
Greene-lying IN the Northen
part of what is now Eastern
Tennessee, then the only we'll
settled portion of the State, met
in convention at Jonesboro,
Washington county, in August,
1874, and after a long discussion,
in which the Declaration Of In
dependence was read and cited
as fit example for them to follow,
they declared themselves indie
pendent of North Carolina. Af-
ter a variety of fortunes the lit
tie State was organized and in
honor of Benjamin Franklin was
called the State of Franklin.
The chief interest which Tie
State of Franklin has for us to-
day comes from two or three
striking characters which its his
tory brought into prominence.
The principal of these, John Sc
vier, a Virginian by birth, but a
Huguenot by descent, is one of
the noteworthy characters in the
annals of Tennessee.
Sewer was the foremost man
in all the councils and enterpri-
ses of the men who afterward
formed the State of Franklin.
He was commander of the Ten
nessee Rifemen at Kings noun
tain, and was chosen as the first
Governor and continued to be the
only Governor of the State Of
franklin. ~ 1A@8
Sewer fought hard for the
State, but after the first year Of
its existence the fight was q los
ing one, for North Carolina after
the first abandonment of her off
spring suddenly turned about
and reassertcd her Jurisdiction.
She had all the power, and had
the communication between the
States been easy, and had she as
serted her rights with yigor and
promptness, the revolt of the
western counties would have
been crushed in its incipiency;|
but the fact that these two con-
ditions were entirely wanting
necessarily made the policy of
North Carolina "waiting" one,
and this policy, assisted by feude
and divisions IN the State of
Franklin, made peaceful and