Music and Southern flair on the Mississippi
According to liuxers, Memphis on the Mississippi River is the largest city in Tennessee. About 650,000 people live in the city with a lot of Southern flair. Memphis, with its music studios, pubs and bars, is and was an important center of blues, soul and rock ‘n’ roll. Due to its location on the Mississippi River, Memphis has been hit by severe flooding in the past, most recently in 1937.
In the meantime, the Mississippi has been “tamed” to such an extent that the risk of flooding for Memphis is no longer very high. Memphis is also often threatened by tornadoes. But that’s not all, Memphis is located in an earthquake-prone region of the USA.
Home of the African Americans
Today’s Memphis was inhabited by Native American peoples before the arrival of the “whites”. The first Europeans settled in the region at the end of the 17th century. The Europeans and Indians lived relatively peacefully together, but gradually the rapidly growing number of new settlers pushed out the original inhabitants. The city of Memphis as it is known today was then founded in 1819.
During the American Civil War in the 19th century, Memphis was an important trading center for the southern states and was largely spared from hostilities. After the war, many former slaves moved to Memphis. A severe yellow fever outbreak broke out due to a lack of sewerage, and many people died. In 1879, Memphis was finally bankrupt as the wealthy people left the city due to the poor living conditions. Today, Memphis has some of the cleanest drinking water in the United States.
Assassination of “Martin Luther King” and the aftermath
Through the late 20th century, although there were some successful “coloreds,” the city of Memphis’ “black” population continued to be oppressed. Finally, in 1968, the American civil rights activist ” Martin Luther King ” was assassinated while delivering a speech on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.
Due to the race riots that followed, many residents of Memphis left the city, which was rapidly deteriorating. Attempts were made to counteract depopulation with urban development programs, which were partially successful. Nevertheless, crime in Memphis is still above average today. The city’s largest employer into an American logistics company.
Music City Memphis
Music still plays a major role in Memphis today. The blues culture is still cultivated in the numerous clubs. Beale Street in Memphis remains the city’s musical hub. Sun Records Studios in Memphis is considered the birthplace of rock ‘n roll. Johnny Cash and of course Elvis Presley started their world careers in Memphis. Even today, the stars of the music industry produce their songs in the numerous studios in Memphis.
Graceland and the Mississippi
Memphis has numerous museums. The aerial tramway to Mud Island amusement park, the Mississippi Queen paddle steamer and the Memphis Pyramid are among the sights in Memphis. A real tourist magnet is Graceland, Elvis Presley’s mansion and the attached museum. Tours of the Graceland estate are available at normal times. The nearby Elvis Museum displays objects from Elvis’ life such as the legendary outfits, weapons, gold records, musical instruments, cars and even airplanes.
National Park in Tennessee
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Big Cities in Tennessee
- Nashville
- Memphis
- Knoxville
- Chattanooga
- Clarksville
Tennessee map
Tennessee USA map. Tennessee is assigned to the southern states, also from a historical point of view. The map shows the neighboring countries, the country’s largest cities, the country’s rivers and lakes, as well as the course of the highways and the most important transport links. The area of Tennessee is 109,151 km². Nashville is the capital of the US state. Approximately 6.8 million people live in Tennessee as of 2019.
