Tennessee's 6th congressional district

The 6th Congressional District of Tennessee is a congressional district in Middle Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Diane Black since January 2011.

Current Boundaries

The district is located in north-central Tennessee and borders Kentucky to the north. It is currently composed of the following counties: Cannon, Clay, Coffee, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Robertson, Smith, Sumner, Trousdale, White, and Wilson. It also contains very small pieces of Cheatham and Van Buren.

Characteristics

Much of the Sixth District is rural and wooded. It is spread across the geographic regions known as the Cumberland Plateau, the Highland Rim, and the Central Basin. The area is known for its waterfalls, such as Burgess Falls and Cummins Falls.

With close access to interstates 24, 40, and 65, subdivisions are sprouting almost exponentially, fast filling with new economy managers. Recently, many companies have opened either manufacturing or distribution centers in the 6th District. This includes Amazon^[2] and Bridgestone-Firestone^[3] in Lebanon, gun manufacturer Beretta^[4] in Gallatin, and clothing manufacturer Under Armour^[5] in Mt. Juliet.

Politically speaking, the region was traditionally a "Yellow Dog Democrat" district. However, the district began shifting rightward as Nashville's suburbs bled into the district. It supported Bill Clinton in 1992, partly due to Gore's presence as Clinton's running mate. However, it hasn't supported a Democrat for president since. By the turn of the century, it was obvious that the Democrats would have a hard time holding onto the district once longtime Democratic incumbent Bart Gordon retired.

Gordon retired in 2010, and Black--then a state senator--won the seat in a landslide, proving just how Republican this district had become. The 2010 redistricting made the district even more Republican, even with its longtime base, Murfreesboro, being drawn out of the district. Since then, no Democrat has won an entire county within the district in any presidential, gubernatorial, senate, or congressional election.^[6][7]

According to the 2010 census, the five largest cities are Hendersonville (51,372), Cookeville (30,425), Gallatin (30,278), Lebanon (26,190), and Mt. Juliet (23,671).^[8]

History

Prior to the 1980 census, when Tennessee picked up a district, most of what is now the 6th district was in the 4th district.

During the 1940s, this area was represented by Albert Gore, Sr. of Carthage. Gore was elected to the United States Senate in 1952, where he was instrumental in creating the Interstate Highway system.^[9]

From 1953 to 1977, the area was represented by Joe L. Evins of Smithville. Evins's nephew, Dan Evins, was the founder of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant/retail chain.^[10] Cracker Barrel's headquarters are still located in Lebanon.^[11]

In 1976, Evins was succeeded by Al Gore, future Vice President and son of Albert Gore, Sr. He was representing the area when much of it was moved into the present 6th District.

Shortly following the redistricting into the 6th District, Gore was elected to the United States Senate. He was then succeeded by former Democratic State Chair Bart Gordon of Murfreesboro. Gordon held the post for the next twenty-six years, relatively unopposed. The only year he faced much opposition was 1994, when attorney Steve Gill ran against him. Gordon defeated Gill by only one percentage point.^[12]

Diane Black was elected in the Republican landslide of 2010 when Democrat Bart Gordon decided to end a 26-year career in Congress. Black's victory marked the first time that much of the district had been represented by a Republican since 1921, and for only the second time since Reconstruction.

Notable People

The Sixth District raised two Nobel Peace Prize winners: Cordell Hull of Pickett County (1945) and Al Gore of Carthage (2007). Also hailing from the district was World War I hero Alvin C. York.

Current residents include country musicians Charlie Daniels and Gretchen Wilson, as well as the band Kings of Leon.

List of representatives

Name	Years	Party	District Residence	Notes
District created March 4, 1813
Parry W. Humpreys	March 4, 1813 - March 4, 1815	Democratic-Republican	Nashville
James B. Reynolds	March 4, 1815 - March 4, 1817	Democratic-Republican
George W. L. Marr	March 4, 1817 - March 4, 1819	Democratic-Republican
Henry H. Bryan	March 4, 1819 - March 4, 1821	Democratic-Republican
Vacant	March 4, 1821 - January 3, 1823			Henry H. Bryan re-elected but failed to qualify for 17th Congress
James T. Sandford	March 4, 1823 - March 4, 1825	Jacksonian D-R
James K. Polk	March 4, 1825 - March 4, 1833	Jacksonian	Columbia	Redistricted to the 9th district, US President 1845-1849
Balie Peyton	March 4, 1833 - March 4, 1835	Jacksonian
	March 4, 1835 - March 4, 1837	Anti-Jacksonian
William B. Campbell	March 4, 1837 - March 4, 1843	Whig	Carthage
Aaron V. Brown	March 4, 1843 - March 4, 1845	Democratic	Nashville	Redistricted from the 10th district
Barclay Martin	March 4, 1845 - March 4, 1847	Democratic	Columbia
James H. Thomas	March 4, 1847 - March 4, 1851	Democratic	Columbia
William H. Polk	March 4, 1851 - March 4, 1853	Independent Democrat	Columbia
George W. Jones	March 4, 1853 - March 4, 1859	Democratic	Fayetteville	Redistricted from the 5th district
James H. Thomas	March 4, 1859 - March 4, 1861	Democratic	Columbia
American Civil War
Sanuel M. Arnell	July 24, 1866 - March 4, 1867	Unconditional Unionist	Columbia
	March 4, 1867 - March 4, 1871	Republican
Washington C. Whitthorne	March 4, 1871 - March 4, 1875	Democratic	Columbia	Redistricted to the 7th district
John F. House	March 4, 1875 - March 4, 1883	Democratic	Clarksville
Andrew J. Caldwell	March 4, 1883 - March 4, 1887	Democratic	Nashville
Joseph E. Washington	March 4, 1887 - March 4, 1897	Democratic	Robertson County
John W. Gaines	March 4, 1897 - March 4, 1909	Democratic	Nashville
Jo Byrns	March 4, 1909 - March 4, 1933	Democratic	Nashville	Redistricted to the 5th district
Clarence W. Turner	March 4, 1933 - March 23, 1939	Democratic	Waverly	Died
Vacant		March 23, 1939 - May 11, 1939
W. Wirt Courtney	May 11, 1939 - January 3, 1943	Democratic	Franklin	Redistricted from the 5th district, Redistricted to the 7th district
Percy Priest	January 3, 1943 - January 3, 1953	Democratic	Columbia	Redistricted to the 5th district
James P. Sutton	January 3, 1953 - January 3, 1955	Democratic	Lawrenceburg	Redistricted from the 7th district
Ross Bass	January 3, 1955 - November 3, 1964	Democratic	Pulaski	Resigned after being elected to US Senate
Vacant	November 3, 1964 - January 3, 1965
William R. Anderson	January 3, 1965 - January 3, 1973	Democratic	Waverly
Robin Beard	January 3, 1973 - January 3, 1983	Republican	Somerville
Al Gore	January 3, 1983 - January 3, 1985	Democratic	Carthage	Redistricted from the 4th district
Bart Gordon	January 3, 1985 - January 3, 2011	Democratic	Murfreesboro	Retired
Diane Black	January 3, 2011 - Present	Republican	Gallatin	Incumbent

Historical district boundaries

2003 - 2013

See also

• Tennessee's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
• Political Graveyard database of Tennessee congressmen

External links

• Congress.com: Tennessee Congressional districts

Al Gore
45th Vice President of the United States (1993–2001) U.S. Senator from Tennessee (1985–1993) U.S. Representative from Tennessee (1977–1985) Born (1948-03-31)March 31, 1948
Politics	Electoral history Atari Democrat United States Senate elections, 1984 1990 Prevention of Genocide Act of 1988 1988 presidential campaign 1992 Democratic National Convention 1992 presidential election Vice Presidency 2000 presidential campaign Bush v. Gore
Environment	Global Marshall Plan Environmental activism Alliance for Climate Protection An Inconvenient Truth (film) "I Need to Wake Up" Live Earth
Technology	Role in information technology High Performance Computing Act of 1991 National Information Infrastructure Information superhighway The Superhighway Summit 24 Hours in Cyberspace NetDay Digital Earth Current TV
Recognition	Awards and honors
Books	Earth in the Balance An Inconvenient Truth The Assault on Reason Our Choice
Family	Tipper Gore (wife, separated) Karenna Gore (daughter) Kristin Gore (daughter) Albert Gore Sr. (father) Pauline LaFon Gore (mother)

Coordinates: 36°11′41″N 85°46′42″W / 36.19472°N 85.77833°W / 36.19472; -85.77833