Southwest Territory The
Territory South of the Ohio River, commonly known as the Southwest Territory, was organized on May 26, 1790. Throughout its 6-year history, Southwest Territory had only one governor appointed by the federal government,
William Blount.
State of Tennessee Southwest Territory was
admitted to the Union as
Tennessee on June 1, 1796. The first
constitution of Tennessee, enacted in 1796, set a term of two years for the governor and provided that no person could serve as governor for more than 6 years in any 8-year period. The term of office was lengthened to four years, without the possibility of consecutive terms, by constitutional amendments adopted in 1953. Under the current provisions of the state constitution, as amended in 1978, the governor is elected to a four-year term and may serve no more than two terms consecutively. ==See also==