Question 1

Tennessee Early Settlement Period

Accepted Answer

Period of Westward expansion following the American Revolution; significant figures include John Sevier and William Blount.

Question 2

Trail of Tears

Accepted Answer

The forced removal of the Cherokee Nation from the Southeastern United States to Oklahoma during the 1830s.

Question 3

The Watauga Association

Accepted Answer

The first constitutional government west of the Appalachian Mountains, formed by frontier settlers in 1772.

Question 4

The Civil War in Tennessee

Accepted Answer

Battles included Battle of Shiloh, Siege of Knoxville, and the Battle of Franklin; Tennessee had the most battles after Virginia.

Question 5

Reconstruction Era

Accepted Answer

The period post-Civil War where Southern states were re-integrated into the Union; the Freedmen's Bureau was established during this time.

Question 6

Andrew Johnson

Accepted Answer

17th President of the United States, from Tennessee; first President to be impeached.

Question 7

The Scopes Monkey Trial

Accepted Answer

A famous legal case in 1925 where substitute high school teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which had made it unlawful to teach evolution.

Question 8

TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)

Accepted Answer

New Deal program that provided electricity, flood control, and economic development to the Tennessee Valley.

Question 9

19th Amendment

Accepted Answer

Tennessee was the 36th and deciding state to ratify the amendment granting women the right to vote.

Question 10

James K. Polk

Accepted Answer

11th President of the United States and significant figure in the Mexican-American War; born in North Carolina but moved to Tennessee.

Question 11

Memphis 1968 Sanitation Workers Strike

Accepted Answer

Civil rights event that included Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech.

Question 12

Country Music

Accepted Answer

Nashville, Tennessee is known as the "Country Music Capital of the World."

Question 13

The Lost State of Franklin

Accepted Answer

Proposed state in the 18th century that was never admitted to the Union; became part of Tennessee.

Question 14

Tennessee Geography

Accepted Answer

Divided into three Grand Divisions: East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, and West Tennessee.

Question 15

Tennessee's Constitution

Accepted Answer

First adopted in 1796, it has been revised several times, most recently in 1870.

Question 16

Tennessee Agriculture

Accepted Answer

Major industries include beef cattle farming, soybeans, and poultry.

Question 17

The Cumberland Gap

Accepted Answer

Historic passage through the Appalachian Mountains, used by Native Americans and pioneers.

Question 18

The Great Smoky Mountains

Accepted Answer

UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Tennessee.

Question 19

The Nashville Sound

Accepted Answer

Style of country music that emerged in the mid-20th century.

Question 20

Iroquoian and Algonquian tribes

Accepted Answer

Indigenous peoples living in the area now known as Tennessee prior to European colonization.

Question 21

The Civil Rights Movement in Tennessee

Accepted Answer

Nashville was a center for Civil Rights activities, including sit-ins and the Freedom Rides.

Question 22

Tennessee State Capitol

Accepted Answer

Historic building in Nashville; one of the oldest working state capitol buildings in the US.

Question 23

The Homestead Act impact on Tennessee

Accepted Answer

Led to the rapid expansion and development of the West Tennessee.

Question 24

The Parton Plan

Accepted Answer

An initiative led by Dolly Parton to improve literacy rates in Tennessee through the Imagination Library program.

Question 25

The Grand Ole Opry

Accepted Answer

A weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee that began in 1925; it's a major tourist attraction and music industry institution.

Question 26

The Overmountain Men

Accepted Answer

Patriots from what is now East Tennessee who played a key role in a significant victory over British Loyalists at the Battle of King's Mountain during the Revolutionary War.

Question 27

Impact of the Tennessee Valley Authority

Accepted Answer

Aside from bringing electricity to rural areas, TVA also played a major role in flood control, irrigation, and promoting agricultural development.

Question 28

State of Franklin Conflict

Accepted Answer

A dispute over western lands that resulted in an unsuccessful attempt to form a new state.

Question 29

Tennessee State Symbols

Accepted Answer

State flower is the Iris, state bird is the Mockingbird, and the state tree is the Tulip Poplar.

Question 30

Tennessee Statehood

Accepted Answer

Tennessee became the 16th state of the United States on June 1, 1796.

Question 31

The Hermitage

Accepted Answer

The plantation home of Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States, located near Nashville, Tennessee.

Question 32

Great Migration Impact on Tennessee

Accepted Answer

Large scale migration of African Americans from the South to Northern states for better economic opportunities, impacting the state's demographics.

Question 33

Tennessee State Parks

Accepted Answer

Includes the Fall Creek Falls State Park, which has the highest free-fall waterfall east of the Mississippi River.

Question 34

The New Madrid Earthquake

Accepted Answer

A series of earthquakes in 1811-1812, among the largest in U.S. history, affected Tennessee.

Question 35

Mississippi River

Accepted Answer

Forms the western border of Tennessee; significant for transportation and trade.

Question 36

1940's Oak Ridge and the Manhattan Project

Accepted Answer

A secret city built in Tennessee as part of the project to develop the atomic bomb during World War II.

Question 37

The 1950s and 1960s Nashville Sit-ins

Accepted Answer

Part of a nonviolent direct action campaign to end racial segregation at lunch counters in downtown Nashville.

Question 38

Cherokee Removal Act and its Impact on Tennessee

Accepted Answer

Forced migration of the Cherokee people from their ancestral homeland in Southeastern United States.

Question 39

The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878 in Memphis

Accepted Answer

Nearly wiped out Memphis; led to sanitation reforms.

Question 40

Tennessee's Role in World War I

Accepted Answer

Sent more than 61,000 servicemen to fight, many in the 30th "Old Hickory" Division.

Question 41

The Tennessee Centennial Exposition

Accepted Answer

Held in Nashville in 1897, it celebrated Tennessee's 100th year of statehood.

Question 42

Memphis and the Cotton Industry

Accepted Answer

Memphis became the world's largest spot cotton market and the world's largest hardwood lumber market.

Question 43

The Impact of Prohibition on Tennessee

Accepted Answer

The state had a strong temperance movement; Jack Daniel's distillery moved operations to Missouri during prohibition.

Question 44

The Highlander Folk School

Accepted Answer

Founded in Tennessee in 1932, it focused on labor organizing and later civil rights, with Rosa Parks attending shortly before her historic bus protest.

Question 45

Civil Rights Movement

Accepted Answer

Nashville was a key center; the home of several sit-ins and protests, including those led by Diane Nash.

Question 46

Tennessee's Role in World War II

Accepted Answer

Oak Ridge was created for the Manhattan Project; the state provided troops and materials.

Question 47

The Moonshine Industry in Tennessee

Accepted Answer

Illegal distilleries in the state's mountainous regions led to the modern legal whiskey industry, including Jack Daniel's.

Question 48

Sequoyah and the Cherokee Alphabet

Accepted Answer

Sequoyah, a Cherokee silversmith, introduced a written Cherokee language in the 1820s.

Question 49

The 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike

Accepted Answer

Martin Luther King Jr. was in the city to support the strike when he was assassinated.

Question 50

Tennessee's Role in the Spanish-American War

Accepted Answer

The state contributed the Fourth Tennessee regiment, including future Secretary of State Cordell Hull.

Question 51

The Music Industry in Tennessee

Accepted Answer

Known for country music, but also influential in blues, rock and roll, and soul; key locations include Memphis and Nashville.

Question 52

Nashville during the Civil War

Accepted Answer

Important strategic location, occupied by Union forces for most of the war.

Question 53

Tennessee Agricultural Economy

Accepted Answer

The state's economy is primarily based on agriculture, with its top products being soybeans, cattle, and chickens.

Question 54

Cumberland University

Accepted Answer

Founded in 1842, the university has a rich history that includes serving as a hospital during the Civil War.

Question 55

Slave Narratives from Tennessee

Accepted Answer

First-hand accounts of slavery, including those collected as part of the Federal Writers' Project in the 1930s.

Question 56

James Earl Ray and Martin Luther King Jr.

Accepted Answer

Ray, a convicted criminal, pleaded guilty to the assassination of King in Memphis in 1968.

Question 57

Impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on Tennessee

Accepted Answer

Ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

Question 58

Alvin C. York

Accepted Answer

A decorated World War I hero from Tennessee who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in France's Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

Question 59

Sequoyah Birthplace Museum

Accepted Answer

A museum in Vonore, Tennessee dedicated to the history and culture of the Cherokee Indians.

Question 60

The Nashville Predators

Accepted Answer

The professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee, part of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Question 61

The Southern Festival of Books

Accepted Answer

Annual event held in Nashville, celebrating the written word with author presentations, panels, book signings, and more.

Question 62

Women's Suffrage in Tennessee

Accepted Answer

Tennessee was the last state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote.

Question 63

21st Century Tennessee

Accepted Answer

Modern trends include increasing urbanization, changing demographics, and economic diversification.

Comprehensive Tennessee Praxis Content Knowledge Exam