The Almost State of Franklin plus GIVEAWAY!

We've all grown up hearing about the first 13 states of America, but we hear little about who and when the 14th state was added. When one thinks about it, that had to be a pretty big deal since the United States was growing. So which state was the 14th? It was state of Vermont. But had a territory west of the Appalachians in North Carolina had their way the state of Franklin would have been the 14th state.

Under the Proclamation of 1763 the Appalachian Mountains were the farthest any subject could settle. But these hardy men and women defied the kings order and settled there anyway.

The year was 1784, America had won her independence from England, and now North Carolina was responsible for these frontier people who were a long way from the main population and right in Indian country. North Carolina didn't want to spend money and resources sending militia to defend these people from attacks anymore than King George the III did. So how do you get rid of counties? You give them to the Congress to help pay off the war debt. North Carolina voted and the vote passed to hand over this mountain territory. But then a new election was held and North Carolina changed their mind, taking back the territory. 


While all this is going on the settlers of the mountain territory began to worry for their safety as they are encroaching on Cherokee, Chickamauga, and Chickasaw tribes. Would a state who'd just given them to Congress and then reclaimed them protect them from the threat of Indians?

Anxious that all the confusion left them vulnerable to an Indian attack, fifty of the leaders, led by John Sevier in this mountain territory met on August 23, 1784 in Jonesborough to determine their fate. They drew up a document seceding from North Carolina. They quickly set up a government with a court system and militia. In December they met once again in Jonesborough this time to draw up a constitution, elect a governor (Sevier), and name their new state which eventually would be eight counties.

By Iamvered - I, Iamvered, drew this map myself., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3868073

They named the state Frankland originally but it was quickly changed to Franklin after Benjamin Franklin. Now the next was to take the document Washington and convince the Continental Congress they should be the 14th state. Even though just months earlier North Carolina had given away Franklin, they were now angry that these people wanted to secede. They wanted to go up with militia and punish the rebellious people. But some of the militia had fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain with Sevier and some of the other settlers and they remembered how well they fought. They warned them that they would need a much larger militia to fight the people of Franklin. Instead North Carolina typed up thousands of manifestos and urged the people of Franklin to come back to the security of North Carolina.

Franklin ignored the documents and in the spring of 1785 they sent William Cocke to Congress, asking for statehood. They needed a a majority of nine votes to win their statehood, but in the end they came up two votes short.

Believing that Congress would eventually give them their statehood, Franklin continued on as their own entity. The chose Greenville as their their capital. They authorized money but it never took hold and they used animal pelts instead.

By Brian Stansberry - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4160937

The new hopeful-state was destined to fail. They had two big things working against them. First the immigrants moving onto land west of them that the Cherokee Indians still claimed caused the Indians to become more volatile. And then there were some who had remained loyal to North Carolina. When John Tipton, a loyal North Carolinian, caught wind of the possibility of Franklin making an alliance with Spain, North Carolina sent troops and camped out on Tipton's land. A brief skirmish ended up with two people dead. Neither side wanted bloodshed. John Sevier turned himself in to North Carolina. He was restored to his position as General in the militia.

By Iamvered - I, Esemono, drew this map myself., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3874104

North Carolina ended up honoring all the court transactions from Franklin. It wasn't too long afterwards that North Carolina once again gave the territory to the federal government. When Congress started splitting up the southwest territory Franklin finally found it's home and became part of the 16th state called Tennessee.

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Debbie Lynne Costello has enjoyed writing stories since she was eight years old. She raised her family and then embarked on her own career of writing the stories that had been begging to be told. She and her husband have four children and live in upstate South Carolina. She has worked in many capacities in her church and is currently the Children’s director. Debbie Lynne has shown and raised Shetland sheepdogs for eighteen years and still enjoys litters now and then. In their spare time, She and her husband enjoy camping and riding their Arabian and Tennessee Walking horses. Visit Debbie Lynne at www.debbielynnecostello.com, www.theswordandspirit.blogspot.com, https://www.facebook.com/debbielynnecostello , https://plus.google.com/+DebbieLynneCostello/posts, and https://twitter.com/DebiLynCostello