State of Franklin In April 1784 the North Carolina legislature
ceded the state's western lands to the Continental Congress. On
24 August, soon after news of the Cession Act had reached the
west, a convention attended by delegates from Washington,
Sullivan, and Greene Counties in the northeast corner of modern
Tennessee met at Jonesborough, chose John Sevier as president,
and moved toward forming a new state. A second convention in
December adopted a provisional constitution for the "State of
Franklin" and prefaced it with a declaration of independence
from North Carolina. Because of slow communications, the
December convention was unaware that in November the North
Carolina legislature had rescinded the April Cession Act.
Separatists in the western counties decided to proceed with
their independence movement, and Franklin's first general
assembly met in March 1785. It elected Sevier governor and sent
a memorial to the Continental Congress requesting admission to
the Union. A motion in Congress to approve the