All language subtitles for S01Ennessee

LONG BEFORE ELVIS GOT HERE,

TENNESSEE WAS HOME
TO THE CHEROKEE INDIANS.

IN 1540, SPANISH EXPLORER
HERNANDO DE SOTO

WAS THE FIRST EUROPEAN TO TRAVEL

TO WHAT WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME
TENNESSEE,

ON A QUEST TO FIND
SILVER AND GOLD.

HE CROSSED THE MISSISSIPPI
NEAR THIS POINT.

DE SOTO NEVER DID FIND
SILVER OR GOLD,

AND IN 1542,

HE DIED ON THE BANKS
OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

MORE THAN 100 YEARS LATER,

THE FRENCH AND BRITISH
ALSO ARRIVED

TO STAKE THEIR CLAIMS HERE.

FORT LOUDON,

THE FIRST PLANNED FORT
ON THE WESTERN FRONTIER,

WAS BUILT BY THE BRITISH IN 1756

TO KEEP THE FRENCH ARMY
OUT OF THE APPALACHIAN REGION

AND TO MAINTAIN THE ALLIANCE

THE BRITS HAD FORMED
WITH THE CHEROKEE TRIBE.

BUT THAT ALLIANCE
TURNED TO DISASTER.

OVER TIME, BETRAYAL AND MISTRUST
LEFT THE CHEROKEE WEARY,

AND THEY SURROUNDED THE FORT

UNTIL THE BRITISH FAMILIES
LIVING THERE

RAN OUT OF FOOD AND WATER.

THE PRESENT-DAY FORT
IS A REPLICA OF THE ORIGINAL

AND SURROUNDED
BY A MAN-MADE LAKE.

IT IS RECOGNIZED AS
A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK.

JUST SOUTH OF FORT LOUDON

SITS THE BIRTHPLACE OF
A MIXED-BLOOD CHEROKEE INDIAN

NAMED SEQUOYAH,

NOW MARKED BY A STYLISH
MUSEUM COMPLEX.

FASCINATED BY THE EUROPEAN
IMMIGRANTS' ABILITY

TO COMMUNICATE
WITH MARKS ON PAPER,

OR WHAT HE CALLED
"TALKING LEAVES,"

SEQUOYAH WAS CONVINCED

THAT A WRITTEN FORM OF LANGUAGE
WOULD HELP HIS PEOPLE.

HE SPENT 12 YEARS WORKING
ON A SYSTEM OF WRITING

FOR THE CHEROKEE LANGUAGE.

IT QUICKLY BECAME

THE OFFICIAL WRITTEN LANGUAGE
OF THE CHEROKEE.

NEWSPAPERS AND BOOKS
WERE PRINTED,

AND IN JUST A FEW YEARS

THE LITERACY RATE
OF THE CHEROKEE

WAS SAID TO BE 95%.

TODAY, THIS LAND IS OWNED

BY THE EASTERN BAND
OF THE CHEROKEE INDIANS,

AND A MUSEUM
TO PROMOTE UNDERSTANDING

OF THE CHEROKEE CULTURE
WAS BUILT.

MODERN TENNESSEE
HAS THREE DISTINCT REGIONS,

OFFICIALLY KNOWN
AS THREE GRAND DIVISIONS.

WEST TENNESSEE IS MADE UP

OF LUSH FARMLANDS, CITIES,
AND SMALL TOWNS

BUILT ON THE BANKS
OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

AND REACHING
TO THE TENNESSEE RIVER.

ITS HISTORY AND CULTURE

ARE DISTINCT
FROM THE REST OF THE STATE.

THIS REGION HAS HAD
A SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE

ON AMERICAN MUSIC.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE IS HOME TO
THE STATE'S CAPITAL, NASHVILLE.

WHILE MEMPHIS
MAY HAVE BROUGHT AMERICA

THE BLUES AND ROCK-N-ROLL,

NASHVILLE IS THE WORLD CAPITAL
FOR COUNTRY MUSIC.

BUT OUR JOURNEY BEGINS
IN EASTERN TENNESSEE,

A REGION FILLED
WITH DENSE FORESTS

AND BREATHTAKING MOUNTAINS.

THESE ROADS WERE ORIGINALLY
JUST A MOUNTAIN TRAIL,

BUT EVEN TWO CENTURIES AGO

IT WAS THE EARLY AMERICAN
VERSION OF A SUPERHIGHWAY.

CALLED THE CUMBERLAND GAP,

IT WAS ONE OF
THE MOST IMPORTANT ROUTES

FOR EARLY SETTLERS,
NATIVE AMERICANS,

AND POSSIBLY EVEN BISON.

THE GAP IS A LOW POINT

IN THE CUMBERLAND REGION
OF THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS,

WHERE THE STATES OF VIRGINIA,
KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE ALL MEET.

STEEP CLIFFS THAT RISE HUNDREDS
OF FEET OFF THE VALLEY FLOOR

LINE ITS SIDES.

SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THE PATH
WAS CREATED BY STREAM EROSION

THAT TOOK PLACE
OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS.

AMERICAN COLONISTS,
BARRICADED BY THE MOUNTAINS,

WERE ANXIOUS FOR A WAY
TO EXPAND WEST.

SO PIONEER DANIEL BOONE
LED A TEAM OF 30 MEN

TO MARK AND CUT A TRAIL GIVING
ACCESS TO SETTLERS

WHO USED IT TO JOURNEY
TO THE WESTERN FRONTIERS

OF KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE.

THIS PART OF THE GAP WAS CALLED
THE WILDERNESS TRAIL.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
EITHER WALKED, RODE

OR WERE CARRIED
ACROSS THE CUMBERLAND GAP,

PART OF WHICH IS NOW
A NATIONAL PARK.

FURTHER SOUTH
IN THE APPALACHIANS

SITS THE MOST VISITED
NATIONAL PARK

IN THE UNITED STATES:

THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS.

THIS NATIONAL PARK COVERS
MORE THAN 500,000 ACRES.

GEOLOGISTS BELIEVE
THESE MOUNTAINS

ARE MILLIONS OF YEARS OLD--

MUCH OLDER
THAN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.

THE CHEROKEE INDIANS LIVING HERE

CALLED THE LAND
THE PLACE OF BLUE SMOKE

BECAUSE OF THE SMOKY BLUE HAZE
THAT SITS OVER THE MOUNTAINS.

IN THE EARLY 1900s,

LUMBER COMPANIES MOVED IN
AND BEGAN LOGGING HERE.

WITHIN 20 YEARS,

DESPITE THE PROTESTS
OF CONSERVATIONISTS,

TWO THIRDS OF THE TREES
HAD BEEN CUT DOWN.

IN 1934 CONGRESS ESTABLISHED
THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS

AS A NATIONAL PARK.

IT'S HOME TO COUNTLESS
ANIMAL SPECIES

INCLUDING AT LEAST 700
BLACK BEARS.

THE PARK HAS
MORE SPECIES OF PLANTS

THAN ANY OTHER AREA
ON THE CONTINENT.

IT'S AN INTERNATIONAL
BIOSPHERE RESERVE

AND A WORLD HERITAGE SITE.

BORDERING THE GREAT SMOKY
MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

IS A BEAUTIFUL BUT OFTEN
OVERLOOKED TREASURE.

THE 640,000-ACRE
CHEROKEE NATIONAL FOREST

FOLLOWS THE ANCIENT RIDGES

OF THE SOUTHERN
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS,

THEIR VALLEYS FILLED
WITH A CHAIN OF LAKES.

IT'S THE LARGEST PUBLIC TRACT
OF LAND IN TENNESSEE.

RESTING AT THE FOOTHILLS

AND SURROUNDED ON THREE SIDES
BY THE SMOKIES IS GATLINBURG,

A DESTINATION
FOR VACATIONING TOURISTS.

THE SKY LIFT TAKES RIDERS
ON A 500-FOOT ASCENT

OVER GATLINBURG TO THE TOP
OF CROCKETT MOUNTAIN.

AND THE AERIAL TRAMWAY IS ONE
OF THE LARGEST IN THE COUNTRY.

THE TWO 120-PASSENGER
COUNTERBALANCED CARS

LIFT OFF TO TAKE PASSENGERS

TO GATLINBURG'S
WINTERTIME SKI RUNS.

IN THE 1900s PIGEON FORGE
WAS A SMALL MOUNTAIN VILLAGE

WITH NO PAVED ROADS.

TODAY, IT'S KNOWN MOSTLY

FOR A GIANT THEME PARK
CALLED DOLLYWOOD,

CO-OWNED BY TENNESSEE NATIVE

AND COUNTRY MUSIC SUPERSTAR
DOLLY PARTON.

A VINTAGE STEAM TRAIN RUNS
THROUGH THIS 125-ACRE PARK,

WHICH COMBINES CRAFTS
NATIVE TO THIS REGION

WITH THRILL RIDES
AND WATER PARKS.

IT WAS NAMED DOLLYWOOD
TO DRAW DOLLY PARTON FANS

WHO MIGHT BE COMING TO TENNESSEE
FOR ANOTHER ATTRACTION.

KNOXVILLE WAS THE SITE
OF THE 1982 WORLD'S FAIR.

SOME WERE CYNICAL
ABOUT THE CHOICE OF KNOXVILLE

AS THE SITE FOR THE FAIR.

A WALL STREET JOURNAL
WRITER CALLED KNOXVILLE

A "SCRUFFY LITTLE CITY."

MAYBE THAT WAS JUST THE IMPETUS
THE CITY NEEDED.

THE FAIR WAS THE LAST SUCCESSFUL
WORLD'S FAIR HELD IN AMERICA,

WITH 22 COUNTRIES AND MORE THAN
50 CORPORATIONS PARTICIPATING.

11 MILLION VISITORS CAME
FOR THE EXPERIENCE

AND THE FAIR MADE A PROFIT
OF EXACTLY $57.

TODAY, THE MOST STRIKING
REMINDER OF THE FAIR

IS THE SUNSPHERE,
A 266-FOOT TOWER

WITH A 75-FOOT HIGH
GIANT GLOBE ON TOP.

THE WINDOW PANELS ARE LAYERED
IN 24-CARAT GOLD DUST

AND AN OBSERVATION DECK OFFERS
VISITORS VIEWS OF THE CITY.

KNOXVILLE IS TENNESSEE'S
THIRD LARGEST CITY

AND WAS THE STATE'S FIRST
CAPITAL FROM 1796 THROUGH 1819.

THE CITY SITS
ON THE TENNESSEE RIVER

AND IS HOME TO THE UNIVERSITY
OF TENNESSEE, THE VOLUNTEERS.

CHARTERED IN 1794, TODAY U.T.
HAS NEARLY 30,000 STUDENTS.

BUT BASKETBALL IS WHAT
THE VOLS ARE MOST FAMOUS FOR--

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL.

GIVEN THE SUCCESS
AND LARGE FOLLOWING

OF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HERE,

IT SEEMED THE ONLY LOGICAL PLACE

TO HAVE THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S
BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME.

BUILT IN 1999, THE HALL OF FAME
HONORS BOTH MEN AND WOMEN

WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO
THE SPORT OF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL.

THE BALL THAT SITS ON THE ROOF
IS 30 FEET HIGH, WEIGHS 10 TONS

AND SITS ON TOP
OF A GLASS STAIRCASE

THAT WAS CREATED TO RESEMBLE
A BASKETBALL NET.

A FEW MILES NORTHWEST
OF KNOXVILLE

IS A TOWN THAT WAS BORN
IN SECRECY.

OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE,

IS TEN MILES LONG
AND TWO MILES WIDE--

THE WHOLE THING SURROUNDED
BY A HIGH CHAIN-LINKED FENCE,

TOPPED WITH BARBED WIRE

AND PATROLLED BY GUARDS
ON HORSEBACK.

THIS AREA USED TO BE FILLED
WITH SMALL FARMING TOWNS--

UNTIL 1942.

AMERICA WAS AT WAR,
AND SUDDENLY THE FARMERS HERE

BEGAN GETTING VISITS
FROM FEDERAL OFFICIALS.

THEY ONLY WANTED ONE THING,
ALL OF THE LAND.

RELUCTANTLY,
AND WITH LITTLE CHOICE,

ONE THOUSAND FAMILIES LEFT
THEIR SMALL FARMING COMMUNITIES

AND SOON THOUSANDS OF ENGINEERS,

SCIENTISTS AND
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

SWARMED INTO THE NEW LAND.

CONSTRUCTION BEGAN AND
THREE HUGE WINDOWLESS BUILDINGS

WERE ERECTED WITHIN MONTHS.

OAK RIDGE HAD A SECRET.

OF THE 75,000 PEOPLE
WHO LIVED AND WORKED HERE,

ONLY ONE PERCENT KNEW
WHAT WAS REALLY GOING ON.

WORKERS WERE TOLD,
"LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS."

MEANWHILE, SOME OF THE MOST
BRILLIANT SCIENTIFIC MINDS

IN THE UNITED STATES

WERE WORKING TO PRODUCE

THE MOST POWERFUL BOMB
THE WORLD HAD EVER KNOWN.

OAK RIDGE WAS PART
OF THE MANHATTAN PROJECT,

THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT'S
HIGHLY SECRET INITIATIVE

TO DEVELOP AN ATOMIC BOMB.

AND ON AUGUST 6, 1945,

WHEN AMERICA DROPPED
AN ATOMIC BOMB ON HIROSHIMA,

IT ULTIMATELY BROUGHT
WORLD WAR TWO TO AN END.

EVEN TODAY, AIRCRAFT MUST KEEP
THEIR DISTANCE FROM THE SITE

AND THE BUILDINGS ARE STILL USED

BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT
OF ENERGY FOR FEDERAL PROJECTS.

OAK RIDGE ISN'T THE ONLY SECRET
IN THE TENNESSEE HILLS.

THIS IS THE HOME OF THE OLDEST
REGISTERED DISTILLERY

IN THE UNITED STATES

AND ITS RENOWNED WHISKEY, NAMED
AFTER JASPER NEWTON DANIEL,

BETTER KNOWN AS JACK DANIEL.

WHEN HE WAS JUST A TEENAGER,

JACK DANIEL BOUGHT
HIS WHISKEY DISTILLERY

FROM A LOCAL LUTHERAN MINISTER.

HE HANDCRAFTED
THE SOUR MASH WHISKEY

FROM HIS SECRET INGREDIENT--

THE SPRING WATER PIPED
INTO THE DISTILLERY

FROM A NEARBY LIMESTONE CAVE.

IRONICALLY, LYNCHBURG,
TENNESSEE, IS A DRY TOWN,

SO WHILE THE WHISKEY
CAN BE DISTILLED HERE,

IT CAN'T BE PURCHASED.

FOLLOWING AN INFECTION
FROM A BROKEN TOE,

DANIEL DIED FROM BLOOD POISONING
IN 1911

AND IS BURIED
NEAR THE DISTILLERY,

NOW A NATIONAL
HISTORIC LANDMARK.

TENNESSEE IS HOME TO 28 SITES

RECOGNIZED BY
THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

AS HISTORIC LANDMARKS.

ONE OF THEM, LOCATED 131 MILES
FROM LYNCHBURG

IN THE SMALL TOWN OF DAYTON,

WAS HOME TO A PUBLICITY STUNT

THAT TURNED INTO ONE
OF THE MOST FAMOUS TRIALS

IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

IN THIS COURTHOUSE, IN 1925,
TENNESSEE PASSED THE BUTLER ACT,

A LAW THAT MADE IT ILLEGAL
TO TEACH ANY THEORY

THAT DENIED THE BIBLICAL STORY
OF CREATION--

SPECIFICALLY,
DARWIN'S THEORY OF EVOLUTION.

IN JULY OF 1925, JOHN SCOPES WAS
ARRESTED FOR TEACHING DARWINISM.

NEWS OF THE IMPENDING TRIAL
TRAVELED QUICKLY.

AND THIS MAN,
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN,

KNOWN FOR HIS CRUSADE
AGAINST DARWINISM,

OFFERED HIS SERVICES
AS A PROSECUTOR FOR FREE.

THAT'S WHEN CLARENCE DARROW,
AN AGNOSTIC,

OFFERED TO DEFEND MR. SCOPES--
ALSO FOR FREE.

IT WAS CALLED THE MONKEY TRIAL

BECAUSE OF ITS ASSOCIATION
WITH EVOLUTION.

SCOPES WAS FOUND GUILTY
AND FINED $100.

HOWEVER, A YEAR LATER

THE VERDICT WAS OVERTURNED
ON APPEAL.

THE RHEA COUNTY COURTHOUSE
IS STILL IN USE,

AND ITS MOST FAMOUS TRIAL
RAISED ISSUES

DEBATED IN AMERICA
TO THIS VERY DAY.

CHATTANOOGA, THE FOURTH LARGEST
CITY IN TENNESSEE,

IS LOCATED ON A SEVEN-MILE BEND
IN THE TENNESSEE RIVER

NEAR THE BORDER OF GEORGIA.

THE TOWN'S FAME RESTS
ON A SONG ABOUT A TRAIN,

THE INVENTION OF MOON PIES

AND A POETICALLY NAMED
CIVIL WAR BATTLE.

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN RISES UP
OVER THE CITY OF CHATTANOOGA.

SITTING ATOP THE MOUNTAIN

IS A ONE OF A KIND
PIECE OF AMERICANA.

PART NATURE, PART FANTASY,

ROCK CITY FEATURES CAVES
AND ANCIENT ROCK FORMATIONS

CARVED BY NATURE
OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS.

ROCK CITY'S HISTORY
AS A TOURIST ATTRACTION

DATES BACK TO BEFORE
THE GREAT DEPRESSION,

WHEN A LOCAL BUSINESSMAN
WANTED TO TURN THE AREA

INTO A RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY
CALLED "FAIRYLAND."

HERE IT IS SAID
THAT ON A CLEAR DAY

ONE CAN SEE SEVEN STATES.

ABOUT A HUNDRED YEARS EARLIER,

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN HAD
GRABBED THE ATTENTION

OF ANOTHER MAN WITH DREAMS.

IN 1852, COLONEL JAMES WHITESIDE
BUILT A ROAD TO HIS PROPERTY

ON THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN.

HE CALLED IT POINT LOOKOUT.

DURING THE CIVIL WAR,

POINT LOOKOUT BECAME
AN OBSERVATION POST.

THE CONFEDERATE ARMY
HELD THE MOUNTAIN

BUT IN 1863 UNION FORCES
LED BY GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT

WON A DECISIVE VICTORY
AND TOOK OVER THE MOUNTAIN

IN WHAT WAS CALLED
THE "BATTLE ABOVE THE CLOUDS."

TODAY VISITORS CAN RIDE UP

ONE OF THE STEEPEST
PASSENGER RAILWAYS IN THE WORLD.

AT THE TOP OF THE INCLINE
SITS POINT PARK,

PART OF THE CHICKAMAUGA-
CHATTANOOGA

NATIONAL MILITARY PARK.

THE NEW YORK PEACE MEMORIAL,

FEATURING A UNION
AND CONFEDERATE SOLDIER

SHAKING HANDS,

IS JUST ONE OF THE MONUMENTS

TO THE MEN WHO FOUGHT
AND DIED HERE.

WHEN THE CIVIL WAR ENDED
CHATTANOOGA CONTINUED TO BE

A MAJOR RAILROAD HUB
AND INDUSTRIAL CENTER.

IT WAS KNOWN
AS THE DYNAMO OF DIXIE

AND INSPIRED GLENN MILLER'S
BIG BAND SWING SONG

"CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO."

BUT THE MOUNTAINS THAT MADE
CHATTANOOGA SUCH A SCENIC TOWN

ALSO TRAPPED IN THE POLLUTION
BEING CREATED HERE.

IN 1969,

WALTER CRONKITE ANNOUNCED
ON THE CBS EVENING NEWS

THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY

DEEMED CHATTANOOGA
THE DIRTIEST CITY IN AMERICA.

EMBARRASSED AND HUMILIATED,

CITY LEADERS MOUNTED
AN $850 MILLION CLEANUP.

TODAY THE CITY IS VIBRANT
AND THE AIR IS CLEAN.

TODAY'S HIGHWAYS HEADING WEST

BEAR NO SIGN OF AN EARLIER,
MORE PAINFUL JOURNEY.

IT BECAME KNOWN
AS THE TRAIL OF TEARS.

FROM MAY 1838
THROUGH MARCH 1839,

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REMOVED
16,000 CHEROKEE INDIANS

FROM TENNESSEE, ALABAMA, GEORGIA
AND NORTH CAROLINA.

MANY WALKED BAREFOOT
THE ENTIRE WAY

FROM EAST TENNESSEE TO OKLAHOMA.

IT'S BELIEVED THAT MORE THAN
4,000 NATIVE AMERICANS

DIED ON THE JOURNEY.

THE DEVELOPMENT
OF RACCOON MOUNTAIN

IS THE RESULT
OF ANOTHER FEDERAL PLAN.

THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
WAS CREATED IN 1933

AND SIGNED INTO LAW
BY PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT.

ITS MISSION WAS
TO PROVIDE FLOOD CONTROL

AND CHEAP ELECTRIC POWER,

AND TO IMPROVE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

IN THE TENNESSEE VALLEY,

AN AREA HIT HARD
BY THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

TODAY THE TVA IS THE LARGEST
PUBLIC POWER COMPANY

IN THE UNITED STATES

AND PROVIDES ELECTRICITY
FOR MOST OF TENNESSEE

AND PARTS OF ALABAMA, GEORGIA,
KENTUCKY, MISSISSIPPI,

NORTH CAROLINA AND VIRGINIA...

AN AREA WITH A POPULATION
OF MORE THAN 8 MILLION PEOPLE.

IN THE 1960s THE TVA
WAS LOOKING FOR WAYS

TO MEET THE GROWING DEMAND
FOR MORE POWER

TO RUN NEW APPLIANCES
IN PEOPLE'S HOMES.

THE IDEA WAS
TO CREATE A RESERVOIR

ON TOP OF RACCOON MOUNTAIN

AND THEN FUNNEL THE WATER
TO A TURBINE

A THOUSAND FEET
UNDER THE MOUNTAIN.

IT WAS CALLED
A WASTE OF TAXPAYERS' MONEY,

WILD-EYED, AND IMPRACTICAL.

DESPITE THE SCANDAL,
THE TVA BEGAN WORK.

OVER EIGHT YEARS,
A MANMADE LAKE

HOLDING 60 MILLION
CUBIC YARDS OF WATER

WAS CREATED ON TOP
OF THE MOUNTAIN...

AND SEALED BY
AN 8,500-FOOT-LONG DAM.

DEEP BELOW THE LAKE
SITS A TURBINE PUMP HOUSE

THAT RELEASES WATER
FROM THE DAM WHEN NEEDED

AND THEN PUMPS IT
BACK UP TO THE TOP

AT A RATE OF SEVEN MILLION
GALLONS PER MINUTE.

TODAY IT'S CONSIDERED
A MODERN MARVEL OF ENGINEERING.

THE GIANT FACTORY FEEL
OF THIS AREA

IS IN STARK CONTRAST
TO THE ROLLING HILLS

OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE'S
PLANTATION COUNTRY.

THIS NEARLY 6,000-ACRE
PLANTATION

WAS WON IN A GAME OF CHANCE.

RATTLE AND SNAP PLANTATION
IS AN EXAMPLE

OF THE LAVISH SCALE
OF MANY SOUTHERN HOMES

BUILT BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.

WILLIAM POLK BUILT
THE RATTLE AND SNAP PLANTATION

FOR HIS SON GEORGE.

POLK, ONE OF THE LARGEST
LANDHOLDERS

IN TENNESSEE AT THE TIME,

WON THE NEARLY 6,000-ACRE TRACT

IN A GAME OF CHANCE
THAT'S PLAYED WITH BEADS.

THE GAME WAS CALLED
RATTLE AND SNAP.

BUILT IN 1853, BELLE MEADE
IS OFTEN CALLED

THE "QUEEN OF TENNESSEE
PLANTATIONS."

ORIGINALLY SPANNING
MORE THAN 5,000 ACRES,

NEARLY 150 PEOPLE LIVED HERE--
MOSTLY SLAVES.

TODAY THE PROPERTY
COVERS 30 ACRES

AND INCLUDES
THE ORIGINAL MANSION

AND SEVERAL OF
THE ORIGINAL OUTBUILDINGS.

IT'S OWNED BY THE ASSOCIATION

FOR THE PRESERVATION
OF TENNESSEE ANTIQUITIES.

OUTSIDE OF NASHVILLE
SITS THE CARNTON PLANTATION.

BUILT IN 1826,

THE HOME WAS THE LOCATION
OF LARGE SOCIAL GATHERINGS

AND VISITS FROM PRESIDENTS
AND BUSINESS LEADERS.

BUT THAT ALL CHANGED
AT FOUR O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON

OF NOVEMBER 30, 1864,

WHEN CARNTON CAME UNDER ATTACK
BY UNION TROOPS.

IN ONLY FIVE HOURS OF FIGHTING,
MORE THAN 9,000 SOLDIERS

WERE KILLED, WOUNDED
OR UNACCOUNTED FOR--

MOST OF THEM
CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS.

THE CONFEDERACY
ALSO LOST 12 GENERALS

AS CASUALTIES THAT DAY.

SOON THE ELEGANTLY MANICURED
LAWNS AT CARNTON

WERE FILLED WITH THE INJURED
AND DYING.

IT IS SAID THAT
THE FLOORS OF THE HOME

ARE STILL STAINED
WITH THE BLOOD OF SOLDIERS--

AND MANY OF THEIR GHOSTS
ARE RUMORED TO BE HERE AS WELL.

CARNTON WAS NOT THE ONLY PLACE
IN TENNESSEE

BLOODIED BY CIVIL WAR BATTLES.

TENNESSEE WAS THE LAST STATE
IN THE SOUTH

TO JOIN THE CONFEDERACY.

BUT WHEN PRESIDENT LINCOLN

CALLED FOR REBEL STATES
TO BE SUBDUED,

SOME TENNESSEANS TOOK UP ARMS

WITH THEIR FELLOW SOUTHERNERS
IN THE CONFEDERACY.

THE EASTERN PART OF THE STATE

REMAINED LOYAL TO THE UNION
THROUGHOUT THE WAR.

MORE CIVIL WAR BATTLES
WERE FOUGHT HERE

THAN IN ANY OTHER STATE
EXCEPT VIRGINIA.

ONE WAS THE BATTLE
OF STONES RIVER.

80,000 CONFEDERATE
AND UNION SOLDIERS

FOUGHT FOR THREE DAYS.

THERE WERE OVER
23,000 CASUALTIES,

AND ALTHOUGH THE UNION
CLAIMED A VICTORY

AND TOOK CONTROL
OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE,

IT CAME WITH A HEAVY PRICE.

THEY LOST MORE THAN 13,000
OF THEIR SOLDIERS

IN WHAT WAS ONE
OF THE BLOODIEST BATTLES

FOUGHT ON THE WESTERN FRONT.

TODAY THE BATTLEFIELD
IS A NATIONAL PARK.

AMONG ITS 700 ACRES IS THE
STONES RIVER NATIONAL CEMETERY,

ESTABLISHED IN 1865

AND FILLED WITH MORE THAN
6,000 UNION GRAVES

AND MORE THAN 2,000 UNKNOWNS.

MORE THAN 4,000 ACRES
REST IN PRIVATE HANDS

AND HAVE BEEN CONSUMED BY NEW
DEVELOPMENT AND URBAN SPRAWL.

LOCAL CONSERVATION GROUPS
ARE WORKING

TO TRY AND PRESERVE THIS LAND

THAT IS IN DANGER
OF BEING PAVED OVER.

WHEN THE LAST CANNONS FIRED
AT THE BATTLE OF SHILOH,

LOCATED A LITTLE MORE THAN
30 MILES AWAY FROM STONES RIVER,

NEARLY ANOTHER 24,000 SOLDIERS

WERE KILLED, WOUNDED
OR CAPTURED--

MORE THAN ALL THE CASUALTIES
OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR,

THE WAR OF 1812 AND THE
MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR COMBINED.

IRONICALLY, SHILOH
IS A HEBREW WORD

MEANING "PLACE OF PEACE."

GENERAL GRANT'S MEN

BORE THE BRUNT OF THE FIGHTING
OVER TWO DAYS

WHEN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY
LAUNCHED A SURPRISE ATTACK

WHILE THE UNION SOLDIERS
ATE BREAKFAST.

CRITICS CONDEMNED
GRANT'S POOR PERFORMANCE

AND SUGGESTED THAT HE WAS DRUNK
LEADING UP TO THE ATTACK.

THE NEXT DAY
HE COMMANDED HIS TROOPS

TO REGAIN THEIR LOST TERRITORY,

AND THAT'S WHAT THEY DID.

ULTIMATELY THE SOUTH
WAS DEFEATED AGAIN.

AFTER THE BATTLE
THE UNION TROOPS GATHERED

AS MANY OF THE DEAD BODIES
AS THEY COULD

AND BURIED THEM
WITH SIMPLE WOODEN CROSSES.

IN 1889 THE SHILOH NATIONAL
CEMETERY WAS CREATED HERE.

THERE ARE 3,584 CIVIL WAR DEAD--
2,359 OF THEM UNKNOWN.

ANDREW JACKSON, THE 7th
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

ARRIVED IN NASHVILLE

WHEN TENNESSEE WAS STILL
THE FRONTIER.

HE BOUGHT 425 ACRES OF LAND
WHERE HE WOULD EVENTUALLY CREATE

HIS STATELY SOUTHERN
PLANTATION HOME, THE HERMITAGE.

JACKSON WAS NOT AN ARISTOCRAT

LIKE THE PRESIDENTS
WHO PRECEDED HIM.

HE WAS A SCRAPPY,
SHORT-TEMPERED MAN.

AT THE HERMITAGE
HE GREW COTTON

AND ADVANCED
HIS POLITICAL CAREER.

JACKSON LED THE AMERICAN FORCES
TO DEFEAT THE BRITISH

AT THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS
IN 1812.

HIS ROLE IN THAT BATTLE

HELPED JACKSON WIN
THE PRESIDENCY IN 1828.

HE SERVED TWO TERMS.

PROBABLY THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL
ASPECT OF HIS PRESIDENCY,

BY MODERN STANDARDS,
WAS HIS PLAN

TO REMOVE NATIVE AMERICANS
FROM THEIR LAND,

ULTIMATELY CAUSING
THE TRAIL OF TEARS.

TODAY THE HERMITAGE IS
A POPULAR TOURIST DESTINATION

AND ONE OF THE OLDEST HISTORIC
SITE MUSEUMS IN THE COUNTRY.

SITUATED AS IT IS
JUST OUTSIDE NASHVILLE,

TENNESSEE'S STATE CAPITAL.

SOME PEOPLE CALL IT TWANG TOWN.

LOCALS CALL IT NASHVEGAS.

AND WHILE IT IS
THE STATE CAPITAL OF TENNESSEE,

IT'S BEST KNOWN AS MUSIC CITY

AND MOST OF THE WORLDS TOP
COUNTRY SINGERS CALL IT HOME.

NASHVILLE HAS SEEN
A TRANSFORMATION

FROM A FRONTIER SETTLEMENT
TO A THRIVING CITY

WITH A FOOTBALL FRANCHISE,
A HOCKEY TEAM

AND THE SLICKER, GLOSSIER WORLD
OF TODAY'S COUNTRY MUSICIANS.

THE COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME
IN NASHVILLE

IS FILLED WITH MEMENTOS

FROM SOME OF COUNTRY MUSIC'S
MOST STORIED VETERANS.

PATSY CLINE, ELVIS PRESLEY
AND JOHNNY CASH,

AND ONE OF ITS FIRST INDUCTEES,
HANK WILLIAMS, SR.

THE BUILDING IS
130,000 SQUARE FEET.

DEPENDING ON WHAT ANGLE
IT'S VIEWED FROM

IT RESEMBLES A PIANO,
THE FIN TAIL OF A CADILLAC,

A BASS CLEF
OR A RADIO TOWER.

THE MUSEUM IS FILLED
WITH ARTIFACTS

THAT TRACE THE HISTORY
OF COUNTRY MUSIC.

NASHVILLE'S RISE AS THE CAPITAL
OF COUNTRY MUSIC

CAME BECAUSE OF THE POPULARITY
OF A RADIO STATION.

WSM BEGAN BROADCASTING IN 1925.

A LIVE RADIO SHOW PRODUCED HERE

WOULD CHANGE THE COUNTRY MUSIC
INDUSTRY FOREVER--

IT'S THE GRAND OLE OPRY.

THE FIRST BROADCAST TOOK PLACE
IN OCTOBER OF 1925

AND PLAYED AT THIS BUILDING--
THE RYMAN AUDITORIUM--

FROM 1943 TO 1974.

THE GRAND OLE OPRY

IS THE LONGEST CONTINUOUS
RUNNING LIVE RADIO SHOW

IN U.S. HISTORY.

IN 1954, A TEENAGER
NAMED ELVIS PRESLEY

WALKED THROUGH THESE DOORS
AND PERFORMED HERE.

WHEN HE WAS DONE,
ONE OF THE SHOW'S ORGANIZERS

TOLD HIM HE SHOULD STICK
TO HIS DAY JOB

AS A TRUCKER IN MEMPHIS.

ELVIS NEVER PERFORMED
AT THE OPRY AGAIN.

NEVERTHELESS, TODAY THE OPRY
IS AN INSTITUTION.

IT'S NOT JUST A TENNESSEE ICON

BUT ALSO A POTENT SYMBOL
OF AMERICAN CULTURE.

OF COURSE, NASHVILLE'S
HISTORY BEGAN

LONG BEFORE HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS

OR WHEN THE FIRST COUNTRY SINGER
CAME TO TOWN.

NASHVILLE BECAME THE PERMANENT
CAPITAL OF TENNESSEE IN 1843.

TWO YEARS LATER WORK BEGAN
ON A STATE CAPITOL BUILDING.

THE ARCHITECT,
WILLIAM STRICKLAND,

DIED WHILE THE CAPITAL
WAS BEING BUILT

AND ACCORDING TO HIS WISHES

WAS BURIED IN THE WALLS
OF THE BUILDING.

COMPLETED IN 1859,

THE CAPITAL SITS ON A HILL
OVERLOOKING THE CITY.

MANY OF TENNESSEE'S
MOST PROMINENT CITIZENS

ARE HONORED HERE.

PRESIDENT JAMES POLK AND
HIS WIFE ARE BOTH BURIED HERE.

THE GREEK REVIVAL BUILDING

IS ONE OF THE OLDEST WORKING
STATE CAPITOLS IN THE COUNTRY.

AT THE TIME NASHVILLE WAS DUBBED
THE ATHENS OF THE SOUTH.

SO THE CITIZENS BUILT THEMSELVES

AN EXACT REPLICA
OF THE GREEK PARTHENON

FOR THE STATE'S CENTENNIAL
CELEBRATION IN 1897.

SO MANY OF AMERICA'S CHARACTERS

HAVE COME FROM THESE
ROLLING HILLS:

THE FAMOUS FRONTIERSMAN
DAVY CROCKETT AND SAM HOUSTON.

BUT MANY WOULD ARGUE
THAT YOU'D HAVE TO HEAD WEST

TO FIND TENNESSEE'S
MOST VIVID CHARACTERS.

SEPARATED FROM
THE REST OF THE STATE

BY THE TENNESSEE RIVER,

WEST TENNESSEE HAS ITS OWN
CULTURE AND FOLKLORE.

HIGHWAY 61, ALSO KNOWN
AS THE BLUES TRAIL,

CUTS NORTH THROUGH
THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA,

THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE BLUES--

AND LEADS TO MEMPHIS,
THE BREEDING GROUND

OF SOME OF AMERICA'S GREATEST
MUSICAL GIFTS TO THE WORLD.

SITTING RIGHT
ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER,

IN ITS EARLY DAYS MEMPHIS
WAS A BUSY PORT CITY

AND A CENTER FOR
THE SOUTHERN SLAVE TRADE.

THE SOIL AND CLIMATE OF MUCH
OF WEST TENNESSEE

WERE PERFECT FOR GROWING COTTON

AND AS A RESULT,
MUCH OF THE LAND HERE

WAS DOMINATED
BY LARGE PLANTATIONS.

COTTON WAS KING.

BUT HAVING SO MUCH COTTON WAS
ONLY GOOD IF IT COULD BE SOLD.

IN 1873, THE MEMPHIS
COTTON EXCHANGE WAS CREATED.

COTTON FARMERS WOULD COME
TO THIS BUILDING DOWNTOWN

AND SELL THEIR HARVEST
TO TRADERS

WHO WOULD THEN SELL IT
TO TEXTILE MANUFACTURERS.

THE COTTON WAS SHIPPED
OUT OF MEMPHIS ON STEAMBOATS

AND IN LATER YEARS ON TRAINS.

THE COTTON FIELDS
WERE WORKED BY SLAVES.

DURING THEIR ARDUOUS DAYS
IN THE FIELD

THEY WOULD SING AND CLAP,
DO FIELD HOLLERS AND WORK SONGS.

THEIR METHODS FOR CREATING MUSIC

WOULD HAVE A LASTING IMPACT
ON EVERY FORM OF AMERICAN MUSIC,

BEGINNING WITH THE BLUES.

AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSICIAN
AND BANDLEADER W.C. HANDY

BEGAN TO EXPERIMENT WITH
THE UNUSUAL RHYTHMS AND CADENCE

OF THE FORMER SLAVES' MUSIC.

AT HIS HEADQUARTERS
ON BEALE STREET,

HANDY WROTE A WILDLY POPULAR
SONG CALLED "THE MEMPHIS BLUES."

HANDY BROUGHT THE MUSIC
TO A MUCH WIDER AUDIENCE

AND TODAY IS KNOWN
AS THE FATHER OF THE BLUES.

AND HERE ON BEALE STREET
IT WAS BLUES CENTRAL.

BY THE 1920s,
THE SOUNDS OF THE BLUES

RANG OUT ON THE STREETS
OF MEMPHIS.

ESPECIALLY HERE ON BEALE STREET.

IN THESE CLUBS AND RESTAURANTS

WAS PLAYED SOME OF THE HOTTEST
MUSIC IN THE COUNTRY.

OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS,
LOUIS ARMSTRONG, MUDDY WATERS

AND MANY OTHER BLUES LEGENDS
PERFORMED ON BEALE STREET.

IN THE '70s, BEALE STREET

WAS OFFICIALLY DECLARED
"THE HOME OF THE BLUES"

BY AN ACT OF
THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS.

IT'S ONE OF THE MOST STORIED
ADDRESSES IN POPULAR MUSIC.

AND NOT TOO FAR AWAY
THERE'S ANOTHER ONE.

ON JULY 5th IN 1954,

SAM PHILLIPS WAS SITTING IN
HIS OFFICE HERE AT SUN RECORDS

WHEN A 19-YEAR-OLD
WALKED IN THE DOOR

AND SANG "THAT'S ALL RIGHT."

THAT YOUNG MAN
WAS ELVIS PRESLEY,

AND THE SONG BECAME
AN OVERNIGHT SENSATION.

DURING THE HOURLY TOURS
GIVEN HERE,

VISITORS CAN TOUCH
THE MICROPHONE

AND STAND ON THE EXACT SPOT
WHERE ELVIS STOOD

TO RECORD HIS FIRST SONG.

FOR THOSE WHO NEED
A BIGGER FIX OF ELVIS,

THERE'S PLENTY TO BE SEEN
JUST A SHORT WAY SOUTH

ON OLD U.S. HIGHWAY 51.

WHEN HE WAS JUST 22 YEARS OLD,

ELVIS BOUGHT GRACELAND,
A 14-ACRE ESTATE.

HE DIED HERE 20 YEARS LATER.

IN 1982, GRACELAND OPENED
TO THE PUBLIC AS A MUSEUM.

TOURISTS CAN EVEN VISIT
ONE OF HIS PRIVATE JETS.

NEARLY 650,000 VISITORS

MAKE THE PILGRIMAGE
TO GRACELAND EACH YEAR.

ELVIS'S NAME IS SYNONYMOUS
WITH MEMPHIS

AND THE CITY OFTEN GETS CREDITED
AS THE HOME OF THE BLUES

AND THE PLACE WHERE
ROCK-N-ROLL WAS BORN,

BUT ITS CONTRIBUTIONS
TO SOUL MUSIC

ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED.

MEMPHIS SOUL GOT
SOME ATTENTION IN 2000

WHEN THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

OPENED ITS 8,000-SQUARE-FOOT
MEMPHIS ROCK AND SOUL MUSEUM

JUST OFF BEALE STREET--

THE SMITHSONIAN'S
FIRST PERMANENT EXHIBITION

OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON, D.C.,
AND NEW YORK.

MEMPHIS SOUL WAS
FURTHER HONORED IN 2003

WHEN THE STAX MUSEUM
OF AMERICAN SOUL

WAS OPENED HERE.

IN THE 1960s, STAX RECORDS

WAS THE SECOND BEST SOUL
RECORD LABEL IN THE COUNTRY,

AFTER MOTOWN.

MEMPHIS SOUL WAS GRITTIER
AND BORN OUT OF THE BLUES.

AL GREEN, ISAAC HAYES
AND OTIS REDDING

ARE ONLY A FEW OF THE ARTISTS
WHO RECORDED AT STAX.

BLACK AND WHITE MUSICIANS WORKED
ALONGSIDE EACH OTHER AT STAX,

A RARITY IN A LARGELY
SEGREGATED CITY.

BUT THAT RACIAL HARMONY
CAME TO AN END IN 1968

LARGELY BECAUSE OF EVENT
THAT TOOK PLACE

NOT TOO FAR FROM
STAX RECORDING STUDIOS.

THIS BUILDING IS PART OF
THE NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM

FOUNDED TO COMMEMORATE
THE EVENTS

OF THE 4th OF APRIL, 1968.

ON THAT DATE, AT 6:01 P.M.,
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

WAS SHOT AND KILLED
HERE IN MEMPHIS

AT THE NEARBY LORRAINE MOTEL.

THIS BUILDING WAS ORIGINALLY
THE ROOMING HOUSE

ACROSS FROM THE MOTEL

WHERE JAMES EARL RAY
ALLEGEDLY FIRED THE FATAL SHOT.

THE MUSEUM CHRONICLES
THE STRUGGLE FOR RACIAL EQUALITY

FROM THE DAYS OF SLAVERY
UP THROUGH DR. KING'S DEATH.

TODAY, MEMPHIS IS STILL
KNOWN AND VISITED

FOR THE MUSICAL REVOLUTIONS
THAT BEGAN HERE.

IT'S ALSO A FIVE-TIME WINNER

OF THE "NATION'S CLEANEST CITY"
AWARD.

IN 1991, PLANNERS WANTED TO
CREATE A VISUAL LANDMARK HERE.

THEY DECIDED TO BUILD
THE GREAT AMERICAN PYRAMID.

AT 321 FEET TALL,

IT'S THE SIXTH LARGEST PYRAMID
IN THE WORLD.

ONCE USED AS A SPORTS ARENA
AND CONCERT VENUE,

TODAY IT STANDS EMPTY.

THE NEARBY FEDEX FORUM TOOK OVER
AS THE MAIN VENUE IN TOWN.

FEDEX FORUM IS
ONLY ONE SMALL PART

OF THE FEDERAL EXPRESS PRESENCE
HERE IN MEMPHIS.

THE COMPANY'S HEADQUARTERS
ARE HERE, TOO.

FEDEX IS THE LARGEST EMPLOYER
IN MEMPHIS

WITH MORE THAN 30,000 EMPLOYEES
AND A SUPER HUB AT THE AIRPORT.

SOMETIMES EVEN VINTAGE
WORLD WAR TWO PLANES

LIKE THIS HAWKER SEA FURY

FLY OVER MEMPHIS,

A CITY THAT WILL ALWAYS BE KNOWN

FOR THE RICH MUSICAL TRADITIONS
BORN HERE.

FROM ITS ANCIENT
EASTERN MOUNTAINS

TO ITS ROLLING CENTRAL HILLS...

AND VERY MUSICAL WEST END...

TENNESSEE TELLS THE STORY
OF AMERICA'S EXPANSION WEST,

AND ALL OF THE CELEBRATION
AND SADNESS THAT CAME WITH IT.

FROM THE AIR, TENNESSEE
IS A NATURAL BEAUTY--

RUGGED, INVITING AND INFUSED
WITH THE SPIRIT OF A NATION.