The State of Franklin was an autonomous territory created in western North Carolina in the United States not long after the end of the American Revolution.
North Carolina agreed to cede its western-most lands to the Union to pay off part of its Revolutionary War debts. The settlements in question to be ceded were under the leadership of John Sevier. It was during this time that delegates in the Upper East Tennessee region of the state decided to form an independent state, known as the State of Franklin, in August 1784. This delegation convened in the town of Jonesborough.
At first, the young "state" seemed to be in a good situation--the citizens of the State of Franklin had peace and were granted a two-year reprieve on paying taxes by the state's first and only governor, John Sevier. The year 1786 was the zenith of affairs in the small state. But soon, the State of Franklin put itself in a precarious position by not wanting to join the newly formed United States; this meant that the State of Franklin did not have the services of the former British colonies' armed services in cases of attack. In late March 1788, the Cherokee, Chickamauga and Chickasaw nations collectively began to attack white American settlements with abandon. These Indian attacks led the short-lived state to settle its differences with North Carolina and aid in driving out the Native American invaders.
By 1790, the State of Franklin seems to have completely dissolved but its brief existence helped speed up expansion into the western frontier that is now the state of Tennessee.
