The Watauga Association (sometimes referred to as the Republic of Watauga) was a semi-autonomous government created in 1772 by frontier settlers along the Watauga River in what is now the U.S. state of Tennessee. Although it lasted less than a decade, the Association provided a basis for what later developed into the state of Tennessee and likely influenced other frontier governments in the Trans-Appalachian region.

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  • The Watauga Association (sometimes referred to as the Republic of Watauga) was a semi-autonomous government created in 1772 by frontier settlers along the Watauga River in what is now the U.S. state of Tennessee. Although it lasted less than a decade, the Association provided a basis for what later developed into the state of Tennessee and likely influenced other frontier governments in the Trans-Appalachian region. In 1778, after North Carolina annexed the Watauga settlements, the Watauga Association was replaced by a county government. While there is no evidence that the Watauga Association ever claimed to be outside the domain of the British Crown, historians have often cited the Association as the earliest attempt by American-born colonists to form an independent democratic government. In 1774, Virginia governor Lord Dunmore called the Watauga Association a "dangerous example" of Americans forming a government "distinct from and independent of his majesty's authority. " President Theodore Roosevelt later wrote that the Watauga settlers were the "first men of American birth to establish a free and independent community on the continent. " While no copy of the settlers' compact, known as the Articles of the Watauga Association, has ever been found, related documents tend to imply that the Watauga settlers considered themselves British subjects.
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  • The Watauga Association (sometimes referred to as the Republic of Watauga) was a semi-autonomous government created in 1772 by frontier settlers along the Watauga River in what is now the U.S. state of Tennessee. Although it lasted less than a decade, the Association provided a basis for what later developed into the state of Tennessee and likely influenced other frontier governments in the Trans-Appalachian region.
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  • Watauga Association
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