The Tennessee Handbook

This quick reference brings together (and often corrects) large amounts of information from many diverse and hard-to-find resources. The work begins with a year-by-year summary of Tennessee history, from the Revolutionary era to the present. For example, the entry for 1960 reports that after sit-ins in the state's four largest cities Nashville became the first Southern city to desegregate lunch counters. A guide to all official state symbols and their origins follows. For instance, in 1919 the school children of Tennessee voted for the state flower of Tennessee and selected the passionflower. In 1933, the iris was adopted as the ""State Flower of Tennessee"" but the passionflower designation had not been rescinded. In 1973, the General Assembly designated the iris as the state cultivated flower and the passionflower as the state wildflower. The politics and geography of Tennessee are also covered. Biographies of all governors are provided, along with lists of Tennesseeans in national politics (including representatives to the Confederate congress). Available through this book is a listing of how the counties have been divided into various congressional districts from 1813 to the present, information on the state capitals, and the counties of Tennessee. Descriptions of all the state's significant rivers and lakes; national and state parks, forests, and recreation areas; and colleges and universities are given. Population data are also included.