Chapter 11: The Agricultural Core

Tennessee is full of agriculture. Plenty of farmland and room to grow. The agricultural core is arranged in the center of the state, Nashville included. Sunburst Tomatoes make their home in Nashville, Tennessee. They grow undercover in outside the center of the city. Tennessee is an excellent state for growing soybeans, cotton, tomatoes, and tobacco. Wheat, hay, and sorghum also contribute to the state's agriculture. The state receives roughly 50' of rain annually. Tennessee averages 40 F in winter and 78 F in summer. West Tennessee averages 5” of snow while northeastern Tennessee gets 16”. These conditions make it easy for crops to flourish. 


The state is divided into three subdivisions: 

West: row crop land

Middle: fertile rolling land 

East: hilly to mountainous.

Tennessee has more to offer than just crops. The state is also known for dairy farming and its cattle. Tennessee’s top agricultural commodities are cattle and calves, chickens,  and greenhouse products.There are 2,040,000 cattle, 131,400 goats, 2,808,000 chickens and 210,000 horses within Tennessee. The dairy cattle produce over 909 million pounds of milk each year! Tennessee farmers produce 323 million eggs per year.

http://www.netstate.com/economy/tn_economy.htm
http://www.agclassroom.org/kids/stats/tennessee.pdf

Chapter 10: The Southern Coastlands

Tennessee rest rights above the Southern Coastlands that include the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and finally part of South Carolina. Florida being the sole state completely engulfed in the Southern Coastlands. The agricultural structure of Tennessee is mainly comprised of Soybean production. Soybeans account for 11% of the states total agriculture. The soils of the  state make Soybean production excellent.

Tennessee is prone to natural disasters just as the Southern Coastland state of Florida. However, Tennessee does not get hit nearly as hard by hurricanes. Tennessee is prone to Tornados, and flash flooding.  The hurricanes from the Southern Coastlands can create the floods that hit Tennessee. The hurricane season is roughly August through November, and along with the tornados and flash floods, hurricanes can also hit the state of Tennessee. Thankfully for the residents of the state, there are warning that allow those in direct impact of the natural disaster to evacuate.


Although Tennessee is a landlocked state, it still has major ports like the Southern Coastlands. Memphis is the 2nd largest port on the shallow draft portion of the Mississippi River and the 4th largest inland port in the United States. The Memphis port helps to move products such as steel, petroleum, tar, rock and gravel, course grains, salt, asphalt, and fertilizers.

    http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=52579

http://www.tennessee.gov/homelandsecurity/getready.html

http://www.portofmemphis.com/

Chapter 9: The Changing South

Racism and slavery existed in the beginning of America's history. Although we as a nation has grown from slavery, racism still exists in states all over the nation. Tennessee is included in those states. 

According the a website hosted by Janice Price, slaves could have arrived in Tennessee as early as 1541. The state began to build in population as the years went on. When the white pioneers camp into Tennessee, so did their slaves. The first slave census that was taken stated that there were 3,417 slaves in settled area. This was around 1760. As the year passed and Tennessee became a state, the slave population increased to 10,613. Most of the pioneers brought their slaves with them from Virginia and North Carolina. 

Eventually slaves were granted their freedom. However, this did not happen until February 25, 1865. On a lighter note; Tennessee was the only state to free the slaves by popular vote. 

Racism exists all around the nation. I discovered a blog when searching for racism in Tennessee stating that there are a group of people in Tennessee that want slave history taken out of the history books. The Klu Klux Klan is still around in the south, and in Tennessee. The KKK still have open protests and marches throughout some cities. However they are not as strong as they use to to be. Unfortunately as much as we have grown as a nation, some still get left behind. 

Sources: 

http://www.afrigeneas.com/states/tn/

http://teabaggersrcoming.blogspot.com/2011/01/tennessee-teabaggers-want-all-this-talk.html

http://jerrybrice.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/the-kkk-and-wal-mart-in-memphis-join-forces-and-support-a-15-year-sentence-for-cutting-in-line-down-in-dixieland/

Chapter 8: Bypassed East

The Great Smoky Mountains help characterize Tennessee. These mountains are also referred to as the Blue Ridge mountains. The mountain ridge on the east side of the state have a blue hue to them during the evening, giving the mountain range their name. The Blue Ridge mountain range averages at 5,000 feet above sea level, although Tennessee is not predominantly known for its mountains. 

Blue Mountain range in Tennessee

Tennessee is a rather flat state although there the Great Smoky mountains on the east side of the state, the majority of the state is made up of what is called the Gulf Coastal Plain. The state is divided into six different regions however, when speaking area, the Gulf Plain is the obtains the largest amount. This makes the state very flat and perfect for tornados! 

Gulf Coastal Plain, Tennessee

The residents of Tennessee, although somewhat dependent on coal, are against the destruction of their land in order to mine it. To get to the coal mountain would be destroyed and landscapes ruined. Unfortunately the state leans heavily on its coal. In 2010 Tennessee was reported the eighth most coal dependent states in the U.S. In fact the state spent $1.2 billion on coal imports in 2008, that alone allows anyone to see how much the state relies on its coal. Coal mining began in the 1850's when the Nashville and Chattanooga railroads were built allowing the coal to be transferred. The state used to be the top producer of coal, however its rank has since diminished. 

In order to make pottery, you need clay. That clay can also be used to make silverware, floor tiles, bathroom tiles, and wall tiles. The nations main producer of this clay is Tennessee. Ball clay is a mineral that Tennessee produces, it makes up roughly 4% of the annual mineral production value in the state. 

Sources:

http://www.netstate.com/states/geography/tn_geography.htm
http://www.tnhistoryforkids.org/geography/m_1
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tennessee_and_coal
http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/king/ill359.html
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/epa-objects-to-permits-for-three-more-mountaintop-removal-coal-mining-operations.php
http://www.tn.gov/environment/tdg/mineralind.shtml
http://www.unimin.com/essential-minerals.cfm

Chapter 7: Wealth in the Volunteer State and its Regions

Unlike California, Tennessee is a very wide state. The distance between its west and east borders is 440 miles. These miles that make up Tennessee can be divided into sections; the Blue Ridge, Appalachian Ridge and the Valley Region, Appalachian Plateau, Highland Rim, Nashville Basin, and lastly the Gulf Coastal Plain. 

The Blue ridge borders North Carolina on the east side and includes the Smokey Mountains. In fact the whole area is characterised by high mountains. The highest point in the state is located within this region, it is called Clingman's Dome and it rests at 6,643 feet above sea level. 

As a state, Tennessee is not extremely wealthy. The average income per household is roughly $44,000 whilst the average for the whole United States is $52,000. The southern states seem to have a lower income than those on the coasts. The city in Tennessee that has the highest income per household is Williamson with an average of $64,315. Williamson county is located nearly in the middle of the state. It has been noted by the census bureau to be the 11th most wealthiest county in the country. 

Williamson County

http://localistica.com/usa/tn/counties/highest-household-income-counties/

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/47000.html

Chapter 5: What's Cooking in Tennessee

Many things take place inside the state of Tennessee such as agriculture producation, manufacturing, and mining. Tennessee has a large agriculture production, roughly 44% of the states land is devoted to farmland and agriculture use. The most popular crop that takes the lead in the state is the Soy bean crop! Soy beans account for 11% of the states total agriculture production. Overall the most important crops in Tennessee are Soy beans, cotton, corn and tobacco. The peach crop is the leading fruit crop in Tennessee but it does not play as strong of a role as the Soy bean crop does. 

When it comes to manufacturing, Tennesee increases the value to the raw materials aspect. The state is located outside of America's manufacturing core, however it still produces important items that our country depends on. For example, Tennessee's most important manufacturing sector is the production of processed foods. Processed food is a majority of what our grocery stores in America are comprised of; candy, meats, dairy, flour, breads, along with beers and whiskey such as Jack Daniels!  

The second most important manufacturing sector in Tennessee would be the production of transportation. The are two major auto manufacturing plants located in Smyma, which houses the North American Nissan hub and Chattanooga. These locations also have boat and aircraft manufacturing surrounding them. 


The last manufacturing sector in Tennesee is the production of chemicals such as paints, pharmaceuticals, plastics, resins, and soaps. 

http://www.netstate.com/economy/tn_economy.htm
http://www.tnedg.com/

Chapter 4: Memphis, Nashville, and the Knox

The definition of a Megalopolis is a large or densely populated city. Although Tennessee does not carry as many inhabitants as a state like California, there still resides a heirachy of major cities. The major cities in Tennesee are Memphis, with a population of 674,028, Nashville preceeding with a total of 590,807 and Knoxville creating a large gap between itself and Nashville with a total of 183,546 people. 

Population Density of Tennesee
Bottom left corner-Memphis
Center-Nashville

Only in the past several years has Nashville surpassed Memphis as the largest metropolitan area in Tennessee. Nashville's population has grown in the past years. Since the 1990's the population of Nashville has increased roughtly 12% and since 2005 it has recieved as increase of 3%. Immigration has become and issue to the residents of Nashville, the more immigration the more diversity in languages. Residents are proposing a law to restrict such languages. The article in the Los Angeles Times discusses the views of the residents in Nashville, and according to the article, the  recent immigrants in Nashville have been Somalis, Bosnians, Ethiopians, and Iraqis, along with what is now to be viewed as the largest Kurdish population in the United States. 












Los Angeles Times- article http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/04/nation/na-nashville4
http://www.idcide.com/citydata/tn/nashville.htm