Saturday, July 24, 2010

Speech I Wrote About Greeneville, Tennessee - My Hometown

19 January 2008

Greetings!

In which town does a United States President, a soldier of the Alamo, and the oldest Presbyterian College in the U.S.A. hail from?
Greeneville, Tennessee, a small town with a total regional population of 62,909 according to the 2000 census can proudly claim that declaration (Greeneville.com). Greeneville is small in size, but very rich in history.
According to the city government of the town, in 1785 to 1788, not long after our country had formed and during the same era that the United States Constitution was being penned about six-hundred miles away, an assembly of frontiersmen withdrew from North Carolina and joined to form a new state (Greenevilletn.org). This date is to be disputed; however, by the 1996 Business Journal of Tri-Cities Tennessee/Virginia, who has the date listed as 1784, but whatever the date was, their intentions were to form a new state named after the honor of Benjamin Franklin (Hayes). According to the journal, the dispute broke out in 1782. The reason is attributed to the lack of trust placed in the State of North Carolina. These colonists were so distrusting, because of the Revolutionary War, that they refused to pay taxes to the territory. The group assembled in Jonesborough, Tennessee, and formed the new state. Also, according to the Journal, the men wrote to Benjamin Franklin, asking for his permission to impart the state with his name and invited him to reside in the newly formed entity. Franklin declined the invitation of residence; however, gladly allowed the new state to carry his name. John Sevier, who also later became the first governor of Tennessee, was named governor of the State of Franklin. Settlers came by the thousands to be a part of the history of this endeavor. After that, Indians began to attack and finally the state was ceded to the federal government and became part of the Southwest Territory. Other than that, not much is known or remembered about the bygone incident, but the fact remains that Greeneville, named after the Revolutionary War hero, Nathaniel Greene, was the capital of Franklin, and a replica of the meeting house and capital building still stands in the middle of town today (Hayes).
Davy Crockett, born in 1786, just a few short miles from the town of Greeneville, but within the area of Greene County, was noted for his hunting and politics, but was more famously known for his participation in the Battle of the Alamo, where he lost his life. Davy Crockett, having been elected to the State Legislature and Congress gave up politics to win Texas’ independence. Several more Tennesseans left with him, all volunteering to go, and thus Tennessee became known as the Volunteer State. According to the Lone Star Junction, Crockett held no regrets, as he wrote to his daughter a letter in January of 1836, saying, “I would rather be in my present situation than to be elected to a seat in congress for life.” Davy Crockett died at the Alamo in that same year, but Limestone, Tennessee in the limits of Greene County, boasts a park, which holds a replica of the cabin in which he was born, a museum, a campground and a pool, all on the banks of the Nolichuckey River. To spite the famous song, which hails Crockett as being born on a mountaintop, he was rather born in the rolling valley below (Lone Star Junction).
Tusculum College is the oldest American Presbyterian college in existence. Its beautiful archway is listed on the National Register of Historical Places, which is affiliated with the National Park Service. According to information from the college itself, it is the twenty-eighth oldest college in the entire nation (Tusculum.edu). The Reverend Samuel Doak was co-founder of the college, which was first known as Tusculum Academy. Princeton University says that Tusculum Academy merged with the former Greeneville College, which was under the leadership of the Reverend Hezekiah Balch to form Tusculum College (Leitch). The college still stands today and is still operated as a private institution in the town of Greeneville.
As I mentioned earlier, Greeneville is a town rich in history, so much so that I could never go through all of it here, but perhaps the most celebrated reason that Greeneville was made famous is its former President, Andrew Johnson. President Johnson was not born in Greeneville, and he wasn’t even born in Tennessee, but in Raleigh, North Carolina, in the year of 1808; however, he moved to Greeneville as a boy and became apprenticed to a known tailor there. Later, after opening his own tailor shop and marrying Elizabeth McCardle, he became active in debating and politics, finally landing seats in the House of Representatives and Congress before going on to serve as our nation’s seventeenth president (Whitehouse.gov). He had been Lincoln’s Vice- president, and had assumed the Presidency upon Lincoln’s death (Federer). Although many charges were brought about and placed on President Johnson, finally leading to his impeachment, Greeneville is still a town proud of Johnson’s citizenship and offers tours of his two houses, tailor shop and final resting place, atop of Monument Hill.
For these reasons, and many more, as Greeneville is also abundant in Civil War history, I am so proud to show you a little about the town and give you a feel of what the citizens of Greeneville remember each day. Thank you for hearing and I hope you have enjoyed it.








Works Cited
Carey, Bill. “Johnson’s Grave.” Tennessee History for Kids. 19 Jan. 2008.
Carey, Bill. “The Johnson Homestead.” Tennessee History for Kids. 19 Jan. 2008.
“DavyCrockett.” Old West Post Cards. Legends of America. 19 Jan. 2008. < http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-explorerlist3.html>
Federer, William. America’s God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations. Coppell: FAME Publishing, Etc. 1994. 334.
Greeneville.com. “Demographics for Greene County Tennessee, Source: 2000 Census.” 18 Aug. 2003. Excalibur Data Solutions, Inc. 15 Jan. 2008.
Greeneville Tennessee City Government. 2002. Greenevilletn.org. 15 Jan. 2008.
“Greeneville, Tennessee (37745) Map From a Distance .” City-Data.com. 19 Jan. 2008.
Hayes, Hank. “The Mystery of the Lost State of Franklin.” The Business Journal of the Tricities Tennessee/Virginia.1996. Johnsons Depot. 15 Jan. 2008.
Leitch, Alexander. “College and University Founders.” 1978. Princeton University. 15 Jan. 2008. < http://etcweb.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Companion/college_founders.html>
Lone Star Junction. “David ‘Davy’ Crockett (1786–1836).” Lone Star Junction. 15 Jan. 2008.
Rediscover Greeneville Tennessee. 19 Jan. 2008.
Swarner, Scott. “Andrew Johnson - Andrew Johnson Historic Site – Greeneville, TN.” Scott Swarner Photography. 19 Jan. 2008.
Sympletymes. “Davey Crockett.” 30 Oct. 2008. Flickr. 19 Jan. 2007.
The White House. “Andrew Johnson.” 15 Jan. 2008. 


© 2010 Kimberly Padilla, A.A Religion

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