In response to the post by
Gritchka, I am presenting the
prelude to the
State of Franklin, and a couple of
clarifying points of interest.
In
1769 the
Watauga River Valley and the surrounding areas started to be
settled. In
1772 the group of settlers formed what was then called the
Watauga Association which consisted of property that is now located in the
North Eastern Tip of
Tennessee. This association was formed not only as a
defense from the
Cherokee but also from the
Choctaw as well.
Several years later, a
survey of lands found that the property claimed by the Watauga Association were in fact part of the
claim that North Carolina held. Shortly after the survey, the settlers of the Watauga Association
pledged to assist
North Carolina in the
Revolutionary effort if they would
reclaim the lands. North Carolina agreed to the
provisions, and the Watauga Association was absorbed back into North Carolina.
Because the settlers of the Watauga Association were used to "
Self Government," it soon became common practice to shoot and steal from the North Carolina
tax collectors. This led to North Carolina's failure to build up
infrastructure in the area such as
roads,
bridges, and
militia. This made the settlers in the old Watauga Association unhappy, and restless. Combined with the additional
Indian raids on the ever growing western North Carolina, the state decided that it could no longer afford the extra
tax penalty owed
Congress (due to the
Revolutionary War) and opted to
cede the western lands to Congress (as noted above). In
retaliation, the settlers created the "State of Franklin" to
spite and purposefully ignore the control of North Carolina.
One important thing to note is that the
Davidson County that was part of the State of Franklin is indeed the parent county of what is now known as Davidson County,
Tennessee where
Nashville, Tennessee is currently located. At the time of the State of Franklin, the
county encompassed the majority of the western area of now Tennessee. Davidson County did not however originally join the State of Franklin, but chose to remain independent from government control until Indian raids on the Davison lands increased to the point where assistance from Franklin was requested.
I hope that helps to clarify some additional points regarding the State of Franklin.