Tennessee is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is the 36th largest state at 42,143 square miles and the 16th most populated with over 6.6 million residents. It was the 16th state admitted to the U.S. in 1796. What makes up Tennessee, was once part of North Carolina. It was the last state to leave the Union and joint he confederacy in 1861 and then the first state to be readmitted to the Union at the end of the American Civil War because it was occupied by Union Forces from 1862.