Tennessee is a state located in
the Southern United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state
to join the Union. Tennessee is known as the "Volunteer State",
a nickname it earned during the War of 1812, in which volunteer
soldiers from Tennessee played a prominent role, especially during
the Battle of New Orleans. The capital is Nashville and the largest
city is Memphis. Since its founding, Tennessee has traditionally
been divided into three sections: East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee,
and West Tennessee. East Tennessee includes part of the Appalachian
Mountains, which stretch from Alabama and Georgia northward through
East Tennessee to New England, Middle Tennessee extends from the
Cumberland Plateau westward to the Highland Rim. The people who
live on the Highland Rim areoften called "Highlanders."
West Tennessee lies in the Gulf Coastal Plain, a region that stretches
northward from the Gulf of Mexico to Illinois along the Mississippi
River. It was in this region that many local Native Americans
made their last efforts to retain their remaining lands by petitioning
the federal government for help.
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