田纳西

美国东南偏中部一州。面积109,152平方公里,首府纳什维尔。大烟山脉为其东部边缘,密西西比河则构成其西部边界。田纳西河谷穿越全州大部。气候温和,属地大约半数为森林覆盖。早期原为美洲印第安人聚居地,其中有奇克索人、切罗基人以及肖尼人。16~17世纪时西班牙、法国以及英国探险家们先後抵达。英国的卡罗来纳特许以及法国声称对路易斯安那拥有主权时都曾将此地纳入,但在法国印第安人战争後此地被正式割让给英国。大约在1770年左右首批永久移民到达。在1785年之前这里曾为北卡罗来纳州的一部分。但1785年当地居民试图脱离北卡罗来纳并成立了一个自由的富兰克林州。1789年北卡罗来纳撤回了其诉求,田纳西於1796年成为美国的第16个州。1861年田纳西脱离联邦;此後美国南北战争中的多次激战,如塞罗战役、查塔诺加战役、斯通斯河战役以及纳什维尔战役都发生在这里。1866年田纳西成为首个再次被接纳加入联邦的州。在重建时期,当地黑人失去了他们本来就很少的一点权力。第二次世界大战後,这里成为美国民权运动的一片试验场。该州的经济以制造业为主。田纳西河流域管理局拥有美国最大的电力生产系统。人口约5,368,000(1997)。

Tennessee

State (pop., 1997 est.: 5,368,000), southeastern central U.S. It occupies 42,144 sq mi (109,153 sq km); its capital is Nashville. The Great Smoky Mtns. edge the eastern part of the state, while the Mississippi River is on its western boundary. The Tennessee River valley dominates much of the state. It has a moderate climate; about half is forested. American Indians, including Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Shawnee, inhabited the region when Spanish, French, and English explorers visited it in the 16th-17th century. It was included in the British charter of Carolina and in the French Louisiana claim, and was ceded to Great Britain after the French and Indian War. The first permanent settlement was made c. 1770. It was part of North Carolina until 1785, when the area's settlers broke away and formed the free state of Franklin. North Carolina relinquished its claim in 1789, and Tennessee became the 16th U.S. state in 1796. In 1861 it seceded from the Union; the hard-fought American Civil War battles of Shiloh, Chattanooga, Stones River, and Nashville occurred there. In 1866 it was the first state readmitted to the Union. During the Reconstruction era, blacks lost what little power they had gained. After World War II, it became a testing ground for those involved in the civil rights movement. The state's economy is based on manufacturing. The Tennessee Valley Authority is the nation's largest electric-power generating system.