Secession would not only tear our nation apart, but also its states, communities, even families. Nowhere was the debate more heated than Tennessee. Some were willing to lay down their lives for what they saw as a threat to their way of life, while others were equally willing to die to preserve the Union they loved. The Civil War is figuratively referred to as a conflict of brother against brother. In Tennessee, it was a cold, hard fact.
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Tennessee Civil War 150
Secession | Tennessee Civil War 150 | NPT
28:56
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Rating: TV-Y
The Civil War is figuratively referred to as a conflict of brother against brother.
Bonus Videos
Explore Secession in Tennessee even further through these extended interview video clips.
The Tennessee Historical Society is a non-profit, membership organization headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Established in 1849, the Society's purpose is to "promote interest in and preservation of all matters relating to the history of Tennessee."
The Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA), collects and preserves books and records of historical, documentary and reference value, and promotes library and archival development throughout the state.
Located in Smyrna, Tennessee, The Sam Davis Home was built along the banks of Stewarts Creek in 1810. This historical home and museum rests on 160 acres of farmland just outside the Nashville area. The two-story home is characteristic of a Southern, upper middle-class family of those times. Begin your trip to the Sam Davis Home with a documentary video about the life of Sam Davis and visit through the museum. Afterward, enjoy a guided tour through the nine room main house, the original kitchen, smokehouse, overseer's office, and privy. Authentic Middle Tennessee slave dwellings can also be seen on the site.
Belmont Mansion is the largest house museum in Tennessee and one of the few nineteenth century homes whose history revolves around the life of a woman: Adelicia Hayes Franklin Acklen Cheatham. Listed as one of Nashville’s top twenty tourist attractions, Belmont Mansion attracts visitors from all over the country, as well as from countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom. Its meticulous restoration and unique role in the history of Nashville and the South draw visitors eager to hear its story.
Belle Meade Plantation is a 30 acre historic site 6 miles west of Nashville. The centerpiece of the property is the Belle Meade mansion built in 1853. The mansion is open for tours daily.
East Tennessee Historical Society For more than 175 years, the East Tennessee Historical Society has helped East Tennesseans hold on to their unique heritage by recording events and stories and collecting artifacts for its world-class museum collection. Educational outreach, scholarly publications, engaging lecture series, and heritage programs, such as First Families of Tennessee, are hallmarks of ETHS.
Tennessee's Civil War battles place the entire state as a Civil War National Heritage Area. You will find historic homes and museums, battlefields and attractions that bring the past to life. Enjoy driving tours and historic trails that carry you along on an historic Tennessee adventure.
The Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area tells the whole story of America's greatest challenge, 1860-1875: the powerful stories of vicious warfare, the demands of the homefront and occupation, the freedom of emancipation, and the enduring legacies of Reconstruction.
Africans in America – The Westward Expansion of Slavery The Kansas-Nebraska act in 1854 brought antislavery and proslavery proponents head-to-head in a battle over the status of Kansas. Slavery had been prohibited in the Great Plains territories under the Missouri Compromise of 1820. With the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Nebraska territory was divided into north and south, and the question of whether slavery would be legal in either part was left to popular referendum.
Production Credits
Produced, Written and Edited by ED JONES
Narrator JOHN SEIGENTHALER, JR.
Production Manager JIM DeMARCO
Videographers JIM DeMARCO MATT EMIGH JOHN PRATT
Production Assistant SUZY HENCE
Actors MARK CABUS - William Brownlow MATT CARLTON - Andrew Johnson HENRY HAGGARD- Isham Harris JOHN MANSFIELD - Abraham Lincoln ROB WILDS Daniel Sullins JOHN HILL John Bell ED JONES William McAdoo
Senior Engineer / Still Photographer DALE BAKER
Artist SUSIE THIEMONGE
Graphics BIZ WOODIE
Web Producer LINDA WEI
Promotions BRIAN O'NEILL JOE PAGETTA
Tennessee still images Courtesy of TENNESSEE STATE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES
Thanks to The TSLA Staff: DR. WAYNE MOORE DR. GWYNN THAYER SUSAN GORDON JAMI AWALT JAMES CASTRO
Additional images Courtesy of LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Battlefield re-enactment footage Courtesy of NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Special Thanks to:
DR. CAROLE BUCY SAM DAVIS ELLIOTT ROBERT HICKS NORM HILL DR. BOBBY LOVETT ANN TOPLOVICH DR. CARROLL VAN WEST BELLE MEADE PLANTATION [link] BELMONT MANSION [link] SAM DAVIS HOME [link]
Executive Producer KEVIN CRANE
Tennessee Civil War 150 is made possible in part by:
TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA,
TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR SESQUICENTENNIAL COMMISSION, and FIRST TENNESSEE FOUNDATION
