BEAUTIFUL HAND-DRAWN MAP SHOWING "WASHINGTON DISTRICT" (THE STATE OF FRANKLIN) AND THE "TENNESSEE COMPANY" FORMED BY THE SECRET "COMBINED SOCIETY" RESPONSIBLE FOR THE YAZOO LAND SCANDAL

Tennessee. Hand-drawn map with hand coloring. N.p., circa 1789?. 1 page, 10 x 7 7/8 in.

A beautiful and highly presentable map of the area that would become Tennessee in the late 1780s. Titled Tennessee in a charming cartouche of flowers, the map is an important depiction of the disputed and oft-changing territories at the close of the 18th century. 

Western North Carolina's western tip is rendered bordering what was to become the State of Tennessee. Here, the territories and counties formed as western counties of North Carolina are intermingled with the Native American territories, each expertly outlined in delicate washes of color.

Importantly, the area directly to the west of North Carolina is labeled "Washington." In April 1784,  the "Washington District" was provisionally created in the Appalachian Mountains from land offered by North Carolina as a cession to Congress to help pay off debts related to the American Revolution. The cession, however, was never agreed to by the Federal Government, and North Carolina rescinded the offer. Led by Arthur Campbell and John Sevier, they proposed the State of Franklin (and several other variations). A "parallel government" operated alongside, but decidedly not in conjunction with, the government of North Carolina. It operated as an Independent Republic when statehood was denied in 1785, making its own peace treaties with the Chickamauga and Cherokee. The project began to fail, and the state was dissolved by 1789. 

To the west, "Cherokee Country is outlined in red, extending into Kentucky. Further west still, "Chickasaw Country" is delineated in yellow. Nestled at the center as an enclave of Cherkoee territory are three of the counties originally designated as counties of western North Carolina as part of the overland territory: Davidson, Sumner, and Tennessee County (labeled here as "District Conty [sic]." Notably, Nashville, which was incorporated as a town in 1784 from Fort Nashborough, is clearly labeled. 

Notably, below the "Cherokee County" territory is a land encompassing the Mussel Shoals labeled "Tennessee Company." 

In 1789, a secret society called the Combined Society was formed to enrich themselves via land speculation. They formed three land companies to purchase land from the Georgia legislature: the South Carolina Yazoo Company, the Virginia Yazoo Company, and the Tennessee Company. With the approval of Governor Edward Telfair, they signed a deal for 20,000,000 acres for $207,000, or about 1 cent per acre. 

The Combined Society was exposed in 1792, which collapsed the deal, but the Society continued its pursuit. In 1794, four new companies were formed: The Georgia Company, the Georgia-Mississippi Company, the Upper Mississippi Company, and the new Tennessee Company. After extensive bribes in the form of both cash and land opportunities, a new land deal was struck with the Georgia General Assembly, amounting to 40,000,000 acres for $500,000. It was authorized by the Yazoo Act, signed by Governor Mathews. 

Outrage followed, and reformers attempted to overturn the deal. Jared Irwin, newly elected as Governor of Georgia, attempted to repeal the Yazoo Act, burning all the copies except for the copy that had been sent to President George Washington. What followed was a period of chaotic period of challenges in the courts. The issue eventually reached the United States Supreme Court in the landmark decision of Fletcher v. Peck in 1810. The Court ruled that the contracts were binding and could not be overturned. In part because of the controversy, Georgia ceded its claims to the territories west of its borders in 1802. The US Government took control, while also assuming the legal liabilities, and the area was designated as the Mississippi Territory.

An important and beautiful map. 

[Maps, Cartography, Cartographic History] [Western Expansion.