Tennessee is a state in the United States.
Tennessee ( [ tɛnᵻˈsiː ] ) ( [ ᏔᎾᏏ , translit = Tanasi ] ) is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States . Tennessee is the 36th largest and the 16th most populous of the 50 United States . Nashville is the state 's largest city , with a population of 660,388 . Tennessee was admitted to the Union as the 16th state on June 1 , 1796 . Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and join the Confederacy at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 .