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The Tennessee Centennial Exposition

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As Tennessee was rising up from the ashes of the Civil War and the Reconstruction Period. Prosperity was in the air and they were leading the New South into the new century. By doing so, Tennessee was celebrating their one-hundredth anniversary of statehood. The celebration was called the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, held in Nashville and opened 1 May 1897. The Tennessee Centennial Exposition showed exhibits on their educational and social achievement. The exposition also included foreign culture, entertainment, and amusement rides. They, the Americans, came together despite their differences and made this event a success. (7-8) The Tennessee Centennial Exposition gave a lot of attention to the educational and social progress of the new …show more content…

Stepping into Vanity Fair was like stepping into a new world. The visitors of Vanity Fair were being transported into a whole new world. It offered exotic, foreign foods from places likes Cuba, Mexico, China, French, Germany and much more!(75) You could be riding a camel down the streets of Cairo, watching the “coochee-coochee” girls, belly dancers, in the Cuban village, or watching the parade of the Chinese dragon or a Chinese beauty show in the Chinese village all in a day.(75, 82, 88) Extravagant rides were offered on elephants and a Venetian gondola. Many amusement rides were also offered: Barnard’s Airship, a Giant Seesaw, the Chutes, and many more starting at the 10 cents a ride. What the kids loved was Gorman and Boone’s Trained Wild Animal Show, which featured their lions and monkeys, and illusions executed by Edison’s Mirage and Spain’s Palace of Illusions.(75, 90) The entertainment, fun, and amusement was all found in Vanity Fair and will be remembered by all who experience them. …show more content…

People who participated in the exposition either if they were: rich or poor, businessmen or politicians, ordinary citizens or country folks, former slaves or slave masters, former Confederate soldiers or Union soldiers. The Tennesseans participated in the celebration because they felt a patriotic spirit about who they were, and that they were the leaders of the New South with progress in agricultures, commerce, industry, and education. The exposition showed their pride in their heritage and the future of their state. After Tennessee’s secessions from the union, Nashville became the 1st southern city occupied by Union forces. The Tennesseans had volunteered to lead their state out of the ashes of the war between the states and reconstruction into the new century.

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