Colossal Change: Tennessee in the Early 1800s

Between 1810 and 1854, Tennessee got steamboats, the telegraph and the railroad. Its population more than quadrupled; while its enslaved population went up about seven times. Tennessee sent two presidents to Washington; their actions and policies caused the nation to spread to the Pacific Ocean. In his new book, True Tales of Tennessee: Earthquake to Railroad, author and columnist Bill Carey tells some of the anecdotes of this era, revealing many tidbits that were previously unknown and detailing the stories of people that have been overlooked -- Central American adventurer William Walker; author Ned Buntline; and Knoxville lawyer (and Confederate sympathizer) William Sneed, for instance.

About the author:

Bill Carey has lived in the Nashville area for most of the last 30 years. He was a reporter in the 1990s for The Tennessean and other publications, and in 1999 wrote and self-published a book called Fortunes, Fiddles and Fried Chicken: A Nashville Business History. In 2004 he started a non-profit organization called Tennessee History for Kids, which tries to help teachers cover Tennessee history (and which works with the East Tennessee Historical Society). Carey also writes a monthly history column for Tennessee Magazine and a weekly history column that runs in about 40 newspapers across the state.