The Mysterious Lost State of Franklin: PBS

This half-hour documentary chronicles the creation and demise of the State of Franklin, a pivotal yet oft forgotten post-Revolutionary War rebellion and attempted secession. Due to tax burdens, the state of North Carolina ceded its western land to the U.S. Government. Feeling abandoned, some of the citizens of this ceded territory began their own government and called themselves the State of Franklin, naming themselves after the esteemed statesman Benjamin Franklin. Even after North Carolina rescinded this cession, the State of Franklin continued to struggle for four chaotic years. Finally, the State of Franklin ended in violence and a failed bid to become our country’s 14th state. Two ambitious men fueled this conflict. John Sevier, the Governor of Franklin, was a controversial Revolutionary War hero and ruthless land speculator who was obsessed with Westward expansion. Colonel John Tipton, a patriot and landowner, turned against the chaos of the Franklin movement. He vowed to bring an end to the fledgling state and to return this land to North Carolina. Eventually, the area once known as the State of Franklin would become part of Upper East Tennessee, with John Sevier returning triumphantly as the first governor of Tennessee. Filmed at several historic locations in East Tennessee, this fascinating narrative is told through scholarly interviews and painstakingly researched re-enactments set to a backdrop of lush Tennessee scenery. The result is a landmark work that has set a new standard in the visual restoration of Tennessee’s grand historical oral tradition.