Virginia charter. The settlers quickly tired of the rule of Henderson and revolted against his authority, appealing to Virginia to be taken under that government, or if that colony thought best, they desired that their petition might be referred to the Continental Congress. The proprietors, claiming that they had rightly secured the land from the Indians, asked that Transylvania be admitted as one of the colonies, but Congress refused to admit their delegate. In addition to these adversities both the Virginia and North Carolina governments were opposed to the Transylvania scheme, and the purchase made by Henderson was declared null and void by the two States. Compensation was made to Henderson and the other members of the company by giving them two hundred thousand acres of land on the Ohio south of the mouth of Green River. Thus the proprietary government fell, but the title to the land was confirmed to the actual occupants, and the communities begun under the leadership of Henderson became permanent. These fortified settlements were, too, the beginnings of a future State. A heavy immigration began very soon, which by 1780 amounted annually to five thousand persons, and by 1784 the population of the Kentucky country probably amounted to thirty thousand souls.

Perhaps there is no more curious and instructive experiment in our early history than that of the short-lived State of Franklin, growing out of the irritation felt by the Watauga settlers at the terms of the act by which North Carolina, in 1784, had ceded to the United States her western lands. The men of Watauga County, or what is to-day the eastern part of the State of Tennessee, wished for separation from North Carolina, but they desired it in such a way that they would be at liberty to govern themselves; but under the cession of 1784 they felt that a period of two years of anarchy might be before them, and they were sure that in this period North Carolina would not exert itself to defend this section of its territory, a section which it was so soon to lose, against the unruly whites and hostile Indians. The only

way out of the difficulty seemed to be the formation of an independent government. This was resolved upon by three counties, Washington, Green, and Sullivan, and they proceeded to carry out their plan. It is interesting to see all through these movements toward self-government in the West, successful and abortive alike, how these Scotch-Irish Presbyterians and others of non-English blood had imbibed the spirit of Teutonic institutions. In this attempt at selfgovernment they took the smaller unit, the village, or what nearly corresponded to it in their scattered communities, as the basis of administration rather than the larger division, the county. The first and strongest organization was military, with the able-bodied men of each village forming one company under a captain. In order to have a representative assembly, delegates were elected from each company in the villages in the three counties. Each community sent two representatives, making in all forty delegates, to a convention at Jonesborough, which met August 23, 1784, and here they prepared to form a new and independent State. When they organized they chose as president John Sevier, the man who, more than any other, was the maker of Tennessee. Prominent in the Watauga Association, in the State of Franklin, and in the early history of Tennessee, of which he was governor, he inspired in his following of mountaineers a love and admiration which has seldom been equalled. It is probable that this Jonesborough Convention adopted a resolution to separate from the State of North Carolina, though this was possibly done at a later date. Provision was made for calling a future convention which was to form a constitution.

But there was opposition to the separation until every peaceable method of adjustment had been tried, many fearing that a sudden revolutionary movement might bring on greater evils than they now experienced. North Carolina wishing to avoid difficulty repealed the act of cession, and constituted these counties a judicial district called Washington District. The militia of the district was made into

a brigade and Sevier was appointed brigadier-general. Sevier supposed this would satisfy the discontented ones, as the main cause of dissatisfaction was apparently removed; but the desire for independence was too strong and the neglect by the State of North Carolina had aroused such bitter feelings that the movement could not be stopped.

In November another convention met, but did little business beyond the drawing up of a constitution to be submitted to a convention chosen by the people, and deciding that in the meantime a government should be established as a temporary expedient, in which there should be a House of Commons and a Senate by which the governor should be elected. Elections were held and the legislature met in March, 1785, and, as was expected, chose Sevier for governor. They proceeded at once to set the machinery of State in motion. State officers, consisting of secretary of state, treasurer, surveyor-general, attorney-general, and brigadier-general of militia were appointed, and what gives us an unexpected view of the backwoodsmen, an act was passed for the promotion of learning in Washington County, under which an academy was started. There was a new arrangement of counties by which the number was increased. Taxes were laid for the support of the government, and the method of paying these taxes shows in an interesting way the financial condition of the new State. There was but little coin in circulation and the salaries had to be paid in the produce of the country. The prices of various articles were fixed by law so that they could pass as money; for example, beaver skins were worth six shillings apiece, country-made butter one shilling a pound, and good distilled rye whiskey two shillings and six pence per gallon. The governor's salary was £200. Correspondence began between Sevier and Governor Martin, of North Carolina, in which Sevier gave information of the step which had been taken, and announced the reasons why this had been necessary. He called attention especially to a breach of faith with the Indians on the part of North Carolina which had brought on

Indian massacres. The government had promised goods in payment for lands purchased of the Indians. These goods had not been delivered and as a result the Indians had committed many depredations. The governor admitted this, but gave as a reason that the cession of the western lands to the nation had delayed matters, but that the bargain would be completed in due time; that it was delayed now because of the lawlessness west of the mountains. Governor Martin stated that the murders committed by the Indians were due to the injuries which the settlers had inAlicted upon them. He also announced that the western counties would have been given their independence in time and in a peaceable manner, but he showed that he regarded the secession as an insult and injury to North Carolina and one which the State would never pass over in silence. The entire correspondence is bitter and shows the excited state of feeling between the two parties.

An attempt was made to interest the Continental Congress in the new State. William Coke was sent as its representative, to lay matters before that body. He recited the grievances under which the settlers labored, and showed that the territory was now under Federal control. As it had been ceded by North Carolina, the cession should be treated as an accomplished fact. This presentation had apparently no effect on the national government. The constitutional convention met at Greeneville in November, 1785, and various plans for the future were discussed. One presented by Samuel Houston is of little importance, save as a curiosity. Frankland was suggested as the name of the new State. Every office holder must be a taxpayer and a Christian, but he could not be a lawyer, minister, or doctor. The proposed plan of legislation was an elaborate system of checks and balances, which showed that the people could not trust those who were to make their laws. It was so complicated that any legislation would have been slow and difficult. This constitution was voted down, and the convention adopted the proposition of Sevier, by which the

form of the Constitution of North Carolina, with some few changes, was to be adopted for the new State. The name was changed from Frankland to Franklin, as a testimony of the very high regard which these people had for the many important and faithful services which Franklin had rendered his country. The State was now fully organized, but the organization did not work smoothly. There were two factions-one, led by Sevier, in favor of independence, and the other by Tipton, who became leader of the party desiring to return to allegiance to North Carolina. There came a conflict of authority between the two parties and a strong reaction against independence, especially after the government of North Carolina passed an act of oblivion and invited the rebels to return to their allegiance. All those who for any reason were dissatisfied with the new government joined the Tipton party against Sevier.

Elections were held and representatives appointed to the North Carolina legislature. In this movement John Tipton Iwas the leader. From this time on through the lives of these two men, Tipton and Sevier, they were the leaders of rival factions. The authority of North Carolina was nominally reestablished in Tennessee; but the Franklin government did not recognize this control, and Tipton, who had been elected senator in Washington County from North Carolina, exercised his authority in defiance of Sevier and his followers, who strove to uphold the authority of the new State. Brawls were frequent, and there was much bloodshed. The courts of the rival governments were held within ten miles of each other, and the court records of one party were often stolen by the other. In this way many valuable deeds and papers were lost. When a company of Tipton men met some of the Sevier party, there was sure to be a fight. On one occasion, the two leaders met in the streets of Jonesborough, and relieved their pent-up feelings by a hand-to-hand conflict.

No one knew which laws would be held legal, whether a marriage or a transfer of land under the laws of North