There’s a state in America that almost nobody has ever heard of. Almost 20 years after the formation of the United States, a group of counties in North Carolina separated to form their own state named Franklin, where present day Tennessee is located.

They created their own Constitution Court army and elected a Revolutionary War hero named John Sevier as their first and only governor. However, the proposal to recognize Franklin as the 14th state in the Union failed in Congress, securing only 7 of the 13 required votes.

Neglected support from the federal government, along with internal conflicts and the efforts from North Carolina to take back its territories, caused the self declared state of Franklin to fall apart after only a few short years in 1788.

8 years later, the state of Tennessee successfully formed in its place.

In 1946 this postage stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of the statement of Tennessee, shows a portrait of their senator and later US President Andrew Jackson to the right as a portrait of John Sevier, the first and only governor of the state of Franklin, who later became the first governor of Tennessee.