1784: FRANKLAND

After the Revolutionary War, with east and west factions of the Carolina Colony having united to fight the British, we might have hoped that past grievances would have been deposited in the Dumpster of Former Sour Grapes—but alas, this was NC! What happened next will stand as testament to the independent spirit of Carolinians—and the power of old disputes.

The newly formed United States of America needed cash. Many states chose to give up a portion of their western lands as payment toward the collective national debt. The American Congress then sold the land to pioneers, who settled the land and eventually created new states.

Eastern NC folk were eager to donate western lands on the logic that western NC folk were a liability—a drain on their tax dollars and requiring further protection from the Cherokee. Western NC folk wanted to create their own new state, unyoked from the burden of the self-centered easterners; this meant, for different reasons, also giving western land to Congress. As it happened in 1784, the NC legislature voted to cede all western lands to Congress. This would have been good news for most Carolinians, but within six months, the eastern-dominated legislature, regretting its decision to give away all those resources, chose to rescind its offer. Directly on the heels of the American Revolution, another fight was brewing in North Carolina!

Western settlers were indignant about the revoked decision. Rather than abide by the ruling, in 1784, western leaders declared themselves independent and founded the new state of Frankland (meaning, “free land”). Ten months later, in a judicious attempt to make a legitimate case for statehood, the new legislature of Frankland changed the spelling to Franklin (in honor of Benjamin Franklin), elected a governor, surveyed boundaries and petitioned Congress for statehood. From here, things went downhill.

Congress did not approve the petition. Indian attacks proliferated, and Franklin sought protection by petitioning Spain for help. NC troops were sent in to establish order. The governor of Franklin (John Sevier) was arrested, three people were killed in the confusion—and the rest is Franklin history. Franklin existed for almost five years, but without official backing, it eventually shriveled up into a bad idea. Years later, John Sevier would be pleased to learn that all of the Franklin territory had became part of Tennessee, the sixteenth state of the Union.