Southwest Territory

The Territory South of the River Ohio, commonly known as the Southwest Territory or the Old Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when Tennessee was admitted to the Union as its 16th state.

After decades of efforts by trans-Appalachian settlers to establish a separate political entity, including the Watauga Association and the State of Franklin, the Southwest Territory was established by the Southwest Ordinance, which organized lands ceded by North Carolina into a federal territory comprising most of present-day Tennessee.

It was governed under provisions similar to those of the Northwest Ordinance, although slavery was permitted. Its only governor was William Blount, appointed by President George Washington, with Daniel Smith serving as secretary. During its existence, the territorial government negotiated treaties with Native American nations, faced continuing frontier conflict, and progressed through the stages required for statehood. Among those who served in the territorial government were John Sevier, James Robertson, Griffith Rutherford, James Winchester, Archibald Roane, John McNairy, Joseph McMinn, and Andrew Jackson, who would become president of the United States.

After the Territory's population exceeded the threshold established by the Southwest Ordinance, a territorial legislature was organized in 1794, and a constitutional convention met in Knoxville in 1796 to establish the State of Tennessee.