Teaching with Primary Sources — MTSU
Primary Source Set:
Tennessee’s Grand Divisions—Middle
Tennessee
A preliminary agricultural map of Tennessee based on the distribution of geological formations. [1896]
Historical Background
Tennessee has three very distinct regions that make up the state: east, middle, and west. These are commonly referred to as the
“grand divisions” and are represented by three stars on the state flag. The grand divisions of Tennessee are most visible by the
different types of geological features across the state. Because of differences in geology and resources, the distribution of industrial and agricultural products varies widely. Furthermore, cultural differences have inspired different forms of folklife, including popular music, from blues in the west, to country in the middle, to bluegrass in the east.
Middle Tennessee is distinct for several reasons: it is
 Composed of 40-43 counties (differs according to source– Tennessee State Code states that there are 41)
 Situated between the Tennessee River on the west and the Sequatchie Valley on the east (or the time zone line)
 Formed into a Central Basin, surrounded by the Highland Rim
 Home of the state capital, Nashville
 Home to 2 U.S. Presidents: Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk
 Birthplace of “country music” and center of music recording industry in the state
Suggestions for Teachers & additional online resources
The Library of Congress Web site contains numerous primary sources for Middle Tennessee, especially in the following collections: Built in America: Historic American Buildings Survey/ Historic American Engineering Record/ Historic American Landscapes Survey,
1933-Present, America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1935-1945, and the collections of
Civil War maps and photographs.
Topics for lesson plans and ideas include
 War-time innovations (military technology and homefront industrial
efforts for World War II; and photography and mapmaking for the Civil
War)
 Architecture and landscapes (historic buildings, roads, bridges, and other
structures; engineering techniques and measurements; vernacular building styles over the decades)
 State government (the capitol building; the lives and careers of Andrew
Jackson and James K. Polk; the formation of the state)
Library of Congress resources to examine:
 Primary Sources for Tennessee
 Explore the States: Tennessee
 Local Legacies: Tennessee
More interesting links:
 “Geologic Zones” entry in the Tennessee
Encyclopedia of History and Culture
The Parthenon, Nashville, Tenn. [1909]
Premium List of the Sumner County Fair [1869]
Cumberland steamboat [1810;
cropped]
Nashville, Tenn. Steps of the Capitol with covered guns; vista of the
city beyond [1864]
Retained copy of letter, James
K. Polk to the Committee of the
Democratic National Convention accepting the Democratic
presidential nomination, [12
June 1844]. [no transcription]
Middle Tennessee / G.H.
Blakeslee--1863.
Bird's eye view
of the city of
Clarksville,
Montgomery
County, Tennessee 1870.
Merchant Lith.
Co.
Working on a "Vengeance" dive bomber, Vultee [Aircraft Inc.], Nashville, Tennessee
The Fisk Jubilee Singers [1938] Courtesy of the University of Iowa.
Manchester (vicinity), Tennessee. Soldiers
of headquarters company of the Armored
Corps lifting a jeep to repair it at their
bivouac area during Second Army maneuvers. Left to right: Private William Lowe,
Captain Frank Yung, Private Sam Salen,
and Private J.J. Nay. [1941]
34. WEST FRONT,
GENERAL VIEW
FROM NORTHWEST
HABS TENN,19NASH,20-34 [from] Union Gospel Tabernacle, 116 Fifth Avenue,
North, Nashville, Davidson County, TN
2. SOUTHEAST FRONT HABS TENN,26WIN,1-2 [from] Hundred Oaks, Oak Street
near U.S. Route 64, Winchester, Franklin
County, TN
Citations: Tennessee’s Grand Divisions– Middle Tennessee
Teachers,
Providing these primary source replicas without source clues may enhance the inquiry experience for students. This list of citations is
supplied for reference purposes to you and your students.
University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Agricultural Experiment Station. “A preliminary agricultural map of Tennessee based on the
distribution of geological formations.” 1896. From the Library of Congress, Map Collections. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/
r?ammem/gmd:@field(NUMBER+@band(g3961j+np000166)).
“The Parthenon, Nashville, Tenn.” 1909. From the Library of Congress, Panoramic Photographs Collection. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi
-bin/query/r?ammem/pan:@field(NUMBER+@band(cph+3c21144)).
“Premium List of the Sumner County Fair.” 1869. From the Library of Congress, The Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850-1920
(Selections from the Collections of Duke University). http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/eaa:@field(DOCID+@lit
(eaa000776)).
“Nashville, Tenn. Steps of the Capitol with covered guns; vista of the city beyond.” 1864. From the Library of Congress, Selected Civil
War Photographs Collection. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/cwar:@field(NUMBER+@band(cwp+4a39745))
Latrobe, Benjamin Henry and William Carrol. “Cumberland steamboat.” 1810. From the Library of Congress, The First American West:
The Ohio River Valley, 1750-1820. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/fawbib:@field(DOCID+@lit(blc0002)).
“Retained copy of letter, James K. Polk to the Committee of the Democratic National Convention accepting the Democratic presidential nomination, [12 June 1844]. (James K. Polk Papers).” From the Library of Congress, Words and Deeds in American History: Selected Documents Celebrating the Manuscript Division's First 100 Years. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mcc:@field
(DOCID+@lit(mcc/041)).
Blakeslee, G.H. “Middle Tennessee / G.H. Blakeslee--1863.” From the Library of Congress, Map Collections. http://
memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/gmd:@field(NUMBER+@band(g3962t+cw0389700)).
Palmer, Alfred T. “Working on a "Vengeance" dive bomber, Vultee [Aircraft Inc.], Nashville, Tennessee.” 1943. From the Library of
Congress, America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1935-1945. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/
query/r?ammem/fsaall:@filreq(@field(NUMBER+@band(fsac+1a35368))+@field(COLLID+fsac)).
Ruger, A. “Bird's eye view of the city of Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee 1870. Merchant Lith. Co.” 1870. From the
Library of Congress, Map Collections. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/gmd:@field(NUMBER+@band
(g3964c+pm008960)).
“The Fisk Jubilee Singers.” 1938.From the Library of Congress, Traveling Culture: Circuit Chautauqua in the Twentieth Century (Selections
from the University of Iowa). http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/tccc:@field(DOCID+@lit(tccc002452)).
“Manchester (vicinity), Tennessee. Soldiers of headquarters company of the Armored Corps lifting a jeep to repair it at their bivouac
area during Second Army maneuvers. Left to right: Private William Lowe, Captain Frank Yung, Private Sam Salen, and Private J.J.
Nay.” 1941. From the Library of Congress, America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1935-1945.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/fsaall:@field(NUMBER+@band(fsa+8e01231)).
“Hundred Oaks, Oak Street near U.S. Route 64, Winchester, Franklin County, TN.” From the Library of Congress, Built in America:
Historic American Buildings Survey/ Historic American Engineering Record/ Historic American Landscapes Survey, 1933-Present.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hh:@field(DOCID+@lit(TN0048))
“Union Gospel Tabernacle, 116 Fifth Avenue, North, Nashville, Davidson County, TN.” From the Library of Congress, Built in America: Historic American Buildings Survey/ Historic American Engineering Record/ Historic American Landscapes Survey, 1933-Present. http://
memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hh:@field(DOCID+@lit(TN0030)).