After the fall
Were Franklin's legal decisions valid? The court case Weirs v. Cocke was intended to settle a dispute between Ingram Weirs and Franklin diplomat William Cocke over land grants issued by a Franklin court. The legality of the grants rested solely on whether or not Franklin was considered a legitimate legal entity. The case stated that Franklin had served as a "de facto government" and that the land grants would stand. After the collapse of Franklin and the "Spanish Intrigue" – Franklin's conspiracy to obtain a loan from Spain – there was tension and controversy in the Tennessee Valley surrounding the political uncertainty in the region. Franklinites maintainted and even furthered a culture all their own consisting of a patriotic rhetoric, nationalistic language, and revolutionary symbolism. (1)
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John Sevier Even though Franklin collapsed, its only governor John Sevier went on to serve as governor of Tennessee, a state senator, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and an advisor to President James Madison. He was heavily committed to western and southern expansion of American settlement. (2)
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(1) Kevin T. Barksdale, The Lost State of Franklin: America's First Secession, New Directions in Southern History (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 2009), [Page 162-183].
(2) Baker, Lawrence W. "Sevier, John." Shaping of America, 1783-1815 Reference Library. (Vol. 3: Biographies Volume 2, Detroit: UXL, 2006) [Pages 450-458].
(2) Baker, Lawrence W. "Sevier, John." Shaping of America, 1783-1815 Reference Library. (Vol. 3: Biographies Volume 2, Detroit: UXL, 2006) [Pages 450-458].