[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 4, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S5776]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SALUTE TO TENNESSEE'S BICENTENNIAL

 Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I rise today in recognition and 
celebration of Tennessee's 200th birthday. Two hundred years ago, when 
Tennessee's statehood was in its infancy, pioneers and frontiersmen 
banded together to forge a new future for the Southwest Territory. 
Though the road to statehood was filled with many obstacles, including 
land disputes with North Carolina and Presidential politics that held 
the territory's petition hostage, the spirit of Tennessee's founding 
fathers prevailed, On July 1, 1796--months after our forefathers called 
a convention and drafted a State constitution--President George 
Washington signed a bill into law and Tennessee became the 16th State 
in the Union.
  With a chain of mountains separating them from their eastern 
neighbors and a vast wilderness to their west, Tennessee's new citizens 
continued to rely on their frontier skills. It was that pioneer 
determination that laid the rock-solid foundation for growth and 
prosperity in the State of Tennessee. It wasn't long before the 
population grew. Settlers from Virginia, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, and Pennsylvania quickly moved in--first to mountainous east 
Tennessee and then went to the hills of middle Tennessee and on to the 
banks of the Mississippi. Today, Tennessee's population is as rich and 
diverse as our native soil and our three grand regional divisions.
  In the last 200 years, Tennesseans have become President and Vice 
President of the United States; they have fought--sometimes brother 
against brother--in bloody battles in the War Between the States and 
have given their lives on foreign soil in World Wars; they have toiled 
in hot fields and on hot city streets; they have founded some of the 
finest colleges and universities around; they have built music and 
entertainment industries; and they have helped develop the technology 
that will advance Tennessee into its third successful century. And Mr. 
President, they have all--in one way or another--contributed to the 
fortune of our State and Nation.
  Mr. President, as Tennessee looks back proudly on the accomplishments 
of its first 200 years, let us also recognize the bright future that 
lies ahead for my home state. The volunteers of Tennessee are no longer 
living on the frontier, but their pioneering minds and spirits continue 
to drive them toward success. So Mr. President, I rise today to 
celebrate with my fellow Tennesseans as we all look forward to the 
prosperous growth and bountiful success that the next 200 years of 
Tennessee history will behold.

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