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The Road To War: Antebellum Nashville:
Nashville emerged in the 1840s as a center of economic power in the upper South. A series of macadamized turnpikes constructed in the 1830s combined with increased steamboat traffic on the Cumberland River made the state's newly named capital a hub for commercial trade in the region.
Educational institutions, artistic accomplishments, and architectural achievement brought new cultural refinements to the city in the 1850s.
The new state capital building (1859) complemented Nashville's reputation as the "Athens of the South." By 1860, railroads connected the city with a host of destinations.
On the eve of the Civil War, over 3,800 slaves and free blacks lived in the city along with a white population of 15,000. In February of 1861, Tennesseans voted against secession. However, following the firing on Fort Sumter and President Lincoln's call for 75,000 men to suppress the rebellion in April, Tennessee voted to leave the Union in June of 1861. |