End of Territorial Status and Statehood
A 1795 census revealed there were enough people to petition for statehood. A popular referendum indicated a three-to-one majority was in favor of becoming a state. Governor Blount convened a constitutional convention, and delegates drafted a state constitution. Voters elected Sevier as governor. The new legislature selected Blount and William Cocke as U.S. Senators, and Andrew Jackson as the U.S. Representative.
The Southwest Territory had been the first federal territory to petition to join the Union and there had been some confusion in Congress about how to proceed. Nonetheless, Tennessee was admitted to the Union on June 1, 1796 as the 16th US state, and the Southwest Territory ceased to exist.
Read more about this topic: Southwest Territory
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