This meticulously researched work, the fourth volume in Pelican's Governors of the States Series, traces the lives and careers of the men who have held Tennessee's highest office, beginning with the founding of the original independent state of Franklin in 1784 and continuing to the present.
As author Margaret I. Phillips vividly documents, Tennessee's history and culture have been profoundly shaped by a number of strong, dynamic governors. These leaders include the first governor, charismatic John Sevier, who served six terms; the near-legendary Sam Houston; and two men who later became president of the United States, James K. Polk (1845-1849) and Andrew Johnson (1865-1869). Other notable figures who occupied the statehouse include the scholarly Archibald Roane; William Blount, the patriotic zealot; William Carroll, the "pioneering Babbitt"; Joseph McMinn, the "peaceful negotiator"; tart-tongued James "Lean Jimmy" Jones; and Robert Love Taylor, the "pardoning governor."
