Query: Tennessee is the smallest American state.

Relevant passages:
Tennessee <=SEP=> Tennessee ( -LSB- tɛnᵻˈsiː -RSB- ) ( -LSB- ᏔᎾᏏ , translit = Tanasi -RSB- ) is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States . Tennessee is the 36th largest and the 16th most populous of the 50 United States . Tennessee is bordered by Kentucky and Virginia to the north , North Carolina to the east , Georgia , Alabama , and Mississippi to the south , and Arkansas and Missouri to the west . The Appalachian Mountains dominate the eastern part of the state , and the Mississippi River forms the state 's western border . Nashville is the state 's largest city , with a population of 660,388 . Tennessee 's second largest city is Memphis , which has a population of 652,717 .   The state of Tennessee is rooted in the Watauga Association , a 1772 frontier pact generally regarded as the first constitutional government west of the Appalachians . What is now Tennessee was initially part of North Carolina , and later part of the Southwest Territory . Tennessee was admitted to the Union as the 16th state on June 1 , 1796 . Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and join the Confederacy at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 . Occupied by Union forces from 1862 , it was the first state to be readmitted to the Union at the end of the war .   Tennessee furnished more soldiers for the Confederate Army than any other state besides Virginia , and more soldiers for the Union Army than the rest of the Confederacy combined . Beginning during Reconstruction , it had competitive party politics , but a Democratic takeover in the late 1880s resulted in passage of disfranchisement laws that excluded most blacks and many poor whites from voting . This sharply reduced competition in politics in the state until after passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-20th century . In the 20th century , Tennessee transitioned from an agrarian economy to a more diversified economy , aided by massive federal investment in the Tennessee Valley Authority and , in the early 1940s , the city of Oak Ridge . This city was established to house the Manhattan Project 's uranium enrichment facilities , helping to build the world 's first atomic bomb , which was used during World War II .   Tennessee 's major industries include agriculture , manufacturing , and tourism . Poultry , soybeans , and cattle are the state 's primary agricultural products , and major manufacturing exports include chemicals , transportation equipment , and electrical equipment . The Great Smoky Mountains National Park , the nation 's most visited national park , is headquartered in the eastern part of the state , and a section of the Appalachian Trail roughly follows the Tennessee-North Carolina border . Other major tourist attractions include the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga ; Dollywood in Pigeon Forge ; Ripley 's Aquarium of the Smokies and Ober Gatlinburg in Gatlinburg ; the Parthenon , the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum , and Ryman Auditorium in Nashville ; the Jack Daniel 's Distillery in Lynchburg ; Elvis Presley 's Graceland residence and tomb , the Memphis Zoo , and the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis ; and Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol .