USA > Tennessee > History of Tennessee the making of a state > Part 34
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
a bright, witty, and genial speaker, but who, like Hatton, was unable to bear up against the ponderous blows of his opponent. The questions which were debated were each leading in a direct line to the irrepressible conflict.
In 1860 a seetional candidate, as the Southern leader; termed Abraham Lincoln, was elected. The Southern States began to withdraw from the Union, and all the sen- ators and representatives from seceding States left the capitol. Andrew Johnson, who was in the Senate and who from the first had repudiated the doctrine of seces- sion, remained at Washington. and many leading Tennes- seans, such as Emerson Etheridge and W. G. Brownlow, gave him a hearty support. Governor Harris called an extra session of the legislature to meet at Nashville on the 7th of January, 1861. The question of calling a state convention to meet at Nashville to take into consideration the secession of Tennessee from the Union was voter upon by the people on the 9th of February, 1861, an defeated. On the 12th of April, Fort Sumter was fire upon. A great number of Tennesseans whose tradition. reached back to the time of Andrew Jackson were vi. lently opposed to the disruption of the Union. These ha hoped for a peaceful settlement of the question. The firing upon Fort Sumter was at once followed by a proc lamation from President Lincoln calling for 75,000 vol- unteers. The legislature of Tennessee was again called together in extra session, and the question of secession wase submitted to a popular vote on the 8th of June. John Bell and other leading Constitutional Unionists declared for secession and it was overwhelmingly carried. On the 18th of June the legislature met, and on the 24th of June Governor Harris issued a proclamation dissolving the ties which bound Tennessee to the United States of America The period of the war was practically a blank, in so fast as the history of Tennessee is concerned. With the close of the war an entirely new era began - the era in which
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THE DOWNFALL OF THE WHIGS.
we live, varied of late by the spirit of industrial, com- mercial, social, and political change which is emphasized by the establishment of manufacturing enterprises, the growth of towns and cities, the building of railroads, the improvement in public schools, and the election of new men to office, men whose memories do not reach back to the bitterness of the ante-bellum period. .
If we review the history of Tennessee from this point, we shall be struck by several facts, curious in themselves and flattering to state pride. The history of Tennessee is an epitome of the history of the United States. Its financial history is the financial history of the general government, even to an embryonic system such as we now have in the national banks. The general avidity with which internal improvements were pushed forward after the completion of the Erie Canal found its reflex in Tennessee. The slow and logical development of popula- tion under the influence of governmental ideas, already Ally matured and expanded, is made more clearly com- rehensible than upon the broader field of the continent. he history of parties in Tennessee is the history of par- tes in the United States ; and in spite of the fact that the esults achieved were the same, the causes which produced he Whig party in Tennessee were parallel but not the ame causes which produced the Whig party in American politics. We find, after the formation of parties, the same partisan rancor, the same sudden changes of popu- lar sentiment, the same alternations in party supremacy which we find, not in other Southern or Southwestern States, and indeed in very few of the Eastern States, but in the country at large. We find here all the parapher- nalia and insignia which distinguish great political battles, - the ardent eloquence, the personal courage, the thor- ough knowledge of political literature, the arts, the tricks, the surprises of forensic display, the enthusiasm and vehemenee of desperate determination, the remorseless
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
trampling down of the weak, the exalting of the steadfast and the strong, the glittering pageants and ostentatious exultations of victory, and the stout-hearted acceptance of defeat. Even the secession of the Southern States had already been foreshadowed in this State. In one of the debates which took place in the United States Senate on the eve of the war, when a great Tennessean was making a profound and eloquent argument against the doctrine of secession, he was taunted with having come from a State which was "born in secession and rocked in the cradle of revolution."
It is no wonder that men trained in such a school should have risen to places of great distinction on a field which gave them merely an enlarged scope for the exercise off their talents. Virginia and Massachusetts are the only States which have furnished more names that stand higher on the National Roll of Honor than Tennessee. Not t. mention Tennesseans who, like Tipton of Indiana, Hons- ton of Texas, Benton of Missouri, Garland and Sevif and Hindman of Arkansas, Claiborne of Louisiana, Hent Watterson of Kentucky, Sharkey and Verger of Miss .. sippi, Gwin of California, and Admiral Farragut, attaine! influence and celebrity either local or national in other States, Tennessee has given the national government number of presidents and cabinet officers entirely out of proportion to its wealth and population. George W Campbell was secretary of the treasury under Madison Andrew Jackson was president from 1829 to 1837. Johr H. Eaton was secretary of war under Jackson. Feli: Grundy was attorney-general under Van Buren. John: Bell was secretary of war under Harrison and Tyler. Cave Johnson was postmaster-general under Polk, and Polk himself was preside: $ from 1845 to 1849. Aaron; V. Brown was postmaster-general under Buchanan. Ten4 nessee has furnished the House of Representatives two speakers, - Bell and Polk, and the Senate one presiding
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officer in the person of H. L. White in 1832. Andrew Johnson was vice-president from the 4th of March, 1865, to the 15th of April the same year, when he became presi- dent and served until 1869. In addition to this, Tennes- see has had two unsuccessful candidates for the vice-presi- dency, James K. Polk in 1840, and A. J. Donelson, on the ticket with Fillmore in 1856, and two unsuccessful candidates for the presidency, H. L. White in 1836, and John Bell in 1860. John Catron was on the supreme bench of the United States from 1837 to 1865. Joseph Anderson was the first comptroller of the United States from 1815 to 1836. William B. Lewis was second auditor from 1829 to 1845. Daniel Graham was register of the treasury from 1847 to 1849, and A. A. Hall from 1849 to 1850. S. D. Jacobs was first assistant postmaster-general from 1851 to 1853. In addition to this Tennessee has furnished innumerable representatives to the diplomatic service abroad-two of them, George W. Campbell and Neil S. Brown, to the same court, Russia. Most of these, however, played their part upon the broader field of na- tional politics, and though their fame was sufficiently splendid to emerge above the limits of a merely local and temporary distinction, they are of importance in a history such as this only in so far as they influence the current of politics within the bounds of the State. Another curious feature in Tennessee history is the number of strongly stamped and even bizarre individualities which have either ived here or been produced within its limits. Henry S. Foote, the wonderful Tamerlane of Southwestern politics, who ran a muck at all the world, lived part of his life in Tennessee and represented one of its districts in the Con- federate Congress. Jere Clemens, the Alabama senator, The Texas warrior, the author of several delightful books find novels of adventure, and whom W. L. Yancey dubbed a " political Hessian," lived for a time in Tennessee. After the war Albert Pike, the record of whose life faith-
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
fully told would make a charming addition to " The Tale of the Alhambra," removed to Memphis. John Mitchel. the stormy Irish patriot, once lived in this State.
The quaintest, the most striking, the most original fig- ure in Southwestern history was David Crockett. Brown- low, the fighting parson, the caustic writer, the politician. was a Tennessean - governor and senator. The fillibus-' tering expeditions just preceding the war were full of romantic episodes. The leading figure in them was Wil- liam Walker, the "Grey-eyed man of Destiny," whose exploits in Nicaragua for a time attracted the gaze of Europe and America, and whose sad and tragic fate has been described in the glowing and sensuous verse of Joa- quin Miller. Walker was a Tennessean. The war be- tween the States brought to the surface many men of strong character and pronounced individuality. But the most brilliant, the most original, the most attractive, the most dashing of all was N. B. Forrest, a Tennessean. Jou C. Guild. the odd wag and the quaint humorist, whose mem- ory still lives in the traditions of the story-teller and the anecdote-monger, was a Tennessean. Balie Peyton, the per- ipatetie politieian and brilliant orator, was a Tennessean The period from 1836 to 1860 was an era of great men and great orators. The style of oratory was characteristic an nearly always brilliant. - full of fire and gorgeous flight- of fancy and rhetorical adornment. Gus Henry was " The Eagle Orator." James C. Jones was a figure of national prominence, and was frequently suggested as a candidate for the presidency by leading papers outside of the State. George W. Jones was often suggested as a fit candidate. for speaker. M. P. Gentry was a leader in Congress and an orator of the first magnitude. After his first speech in Congress, John Quincy Adams, who took pleasure in observing new members of Congress. declared that he wa- " the greatest natural orator in Congress." Landon C. Haynes, the Confederate senator, was also noted for the
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THE DOWNFALL OF THE WHIIGS.
lazzling brilliancy of his rhetoric. At the Baltimore Con- vention of 1852, Gideon J. Pillow of Tennessee received twenty-five votes for the vice-presidency ; and at the Cin- cinnati Convention of 1856, A. V. Brown received twenty- nine votes for the same nomination.
Tennessee had a commanding influence in the South- west by virtue of its intellectual supremacy. But this was increased and strengthened by the success which at- tended Tennesseans who removed to other States. From this came the sobriquet of " Mother of Southwestern Statesmen." Another title often quoted was, " Volunteer State." Tennessee carried on almost single-handed the Creek War. It won the battle of New Orleans. It con- ributed more than its share to the success of the Mexican War. In 1846 there was a requisition for 2,400 volun- teers. Thirty thousand offered their services. From the time when Crockett and Autry upheld the honor of the State at the Alamo, to the end of the Civil War. Tennes- eans have been noted for the promptness with which they tre ready to face the dangers and hardships of war. They tre also noted for their intense love for their native State which they carry to the end. Perhaps the glorious posi- ion which the State has held in both military and civil ife since the time of Sevier may have had some influence upon this natural and noble feeling.
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LIST OF AUTHORITIES.
IN the following list of authorities, works of a general nature, suel as Bancroft, books of reference, and the general histories of bank- and the churches are not included. In addition to those here given all the Journals of the Territorial Legislative Council, of the various Constitutional Conventions, and of the House and Senate from Seviert to Harris, as also the various Codes and Digests and Reports, the Messages of the Governors, the reports of the State Officers, and the records of Shelby County and De Bow's Review have been carefully examined, and much more material collected than is here used. Man- uscript material bearing upon the history of some counties, collected during the Centennial year and preserved in the Tennessee Histori- cal Library, has been sparingly utilized, as of doubtful authority.{ The entire absence of all historical treatment of the period following that covered by Haywood, Ramsey, and Putnam, in fact the entire nineteenth century, has forced the author to make original investiga- tions. This fact renders it necessary to give a detailed list of the authorities consulted.
I have included in the list of authorities J. M. Keating's History of Memphis, now in press. These pages had already gone through: the press before I saw that book. But by the kindness of the author I was recently permitted to examine the advance sheets. It is & scholarly and thorough treatment of the subject.
The author's grateful acknowledgments for various acts of kind- ness are due to Mr. J. S. Carels, librarian of the Watkins Institute ir Nashville, Ex-Governor James D. Porter, Mr. H. M. Doak, Mrs Felicia Grundy Porter, Senator W. B. Bate, Mr. J. M. Dickinson. Mr. John M. Lea, Mr. Lemuel R. Campbell and Mr. Thomas B. Craighead of Nashville, Miss Elizabeth Garland of Clarksville, Mr. J. H. MeDavitt, Judge Eli Shelby Hammond, Mr. J. P. Young, and Mr. Hugh L. Brinkley of Memphis.
Correspondence of General James Robertson in two volumes, ex- tending from 4th of November, 1784 to July 30, 1814. (Vol. i. from:į November 4, 1784 to January, 1795. Vol. ii. probably lost.) This
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LIST OF AUTHORITIES.
ontains also manuscripts and letters of William Blount, Carondelet, Mero, James Winchester, and otliers.
De Soto's March through Georgia. By Charles C. Jones, Jr. Savannah, 1880.
The Annals of Tennessee to the End of the Eighteenth Century. By J. G. M. Ramsey. Philadelphia, 1853.
The Civil and Political History of the State of Tennessee from its Earliest Settlements up to the Year 1796. By John Haywood. Knoxville, 1823.
History of Tennessee, Western Monthly Review, vol. ii. p. 226.
The Siege of Fort Loudon and Massacre of its Garrison by the Cherokee Indians in 1700. Copied from "The Whig," by " The Poli- tician," September 15, 1847.
Magazine of American History, vol. iii. p. 45.
Life and Times of Colonel Daniel Boone. By Cecil B. Hartley. This contains Boone's Autobiography as dictated to John Filson.) New York, 1860.
Daniel Boone and the Hunters of Kentucky. By W. H. Bogart. Boston, 1869.
Indian Battles, Murders, Sieges, and Forays in the Southwest. Nashville. (Reprinted from Southwestern Magazine.)
Essay by Thomas Washington to prove that Tecumseh was not at the attack on Buchanan's Station. (Manuscript in Tennessee His- torical Society's Library.)
The Rear-Guard of the Revolution. By Edmund Kirke. New York, 1886.
The Pioneers of the Southwest. Two papers by Edmund Kirke in Lippincott's Magazine, July and August, 1885.
The Pioneer Mothers of the West ; Catharine Sevier. By A. W. Putnam. Godey's Lady's Book, vol. xliv. p. 71.
John Sevier as a Commonwealth Builder ; a Sequel to the Rear- Guard of the Revolution. By Edmund Kirke. New York, 1887.
Sketches of Western Adventure. By John A. McClung. Mays- ville, Ky., 1837.
Annals of the West, embracing a Concise Account of the Principal Events which have occurred in the Western States and Territories, from the Discovery of the Mississippi Valley to the Year 1850, com- piled from the most Authentic Sources. By James H. Perkins, re- vised and enlarged by J. M. Peek. St. Louis, 1850.
Pioneers of Nashville and of Tennessee. . By Charles May. Nash- ville, 1880.
History of Greene County, Tennessee. By William Doak, D. D., of Tusculum, Tennessee. (MISS.)
448
LIST OF AUTHORITIES.
The Dunham Pioneers of Middle Tennessee. By A. W. Putnam: (MISS. in Hist. So. Lib.)
The Life of Joseph Bishop, the Celebrated Old Pioneer in the First Settlement in Middle Tennessee. By John W. Gray. Nashville. 1856.
Donelson and the Pioneers of Middle Tennessee. By Hon. John M. Bright. Washington, 1880.
Thrilling Narrative, How the Judgment of Heaven fell on th Indians who wounded the Rev. Joseph Brown in 1791. (MISS. i. Hist. So. Lib.)
History of Lexington, Kentucky. By George W. Rauch. Cincin -; nati, 1872.
Early Times in Middle Tennessee. By John Carr, a Pioneer of the West. Nashville, 1837.
A Summary Notice of the First Settlements made by White Per ple within the Limits which bound Tennessee. July, 1816. Mas sachusetts Historical Collection, vol. vii. p. 39.
History of Middle Tennessee, or Life and Times of General Jamc. Robertson. By A. W. Putnam, Esq. Nashville, 1859.
The Government of the Notables in Middle Tennessee, May, 1780. The Historical Magazine, vol. iii. p. 35.
History of Alabama. By A. J. Pickett. 2 vols. Charleston, 1851
Life of Tecumseh and his Brother the Prophet. By Benjamin Drake. Cincinnati, 1841.
Indian Wars of the West. By Timothy Flint. Cincinnati, 1933.
Red Eagle and the Wars with the Creek Indians. By HI. C. Eg- gleston.
Life and Times of General Sam Dale, the Mississippi 1 1 .. By J. F. H. Claiborne. New York, 1860.
Old Times or Tennessee History for Tennessee Girls and By Edwin Paschall. Nashville, 1869.
The Admission of Tennessee into the Union. By Profess thaniel Cross. (MISS. in Hist. So. Lib.)
Short Description of the State of Tennessee, with the Cor tion. Philadelphia, 1796.
Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio ; their Admission into the Union. ticle by Professor J. W. Andrews in Magazine of American His .: , October, 1887.
Journal of a Tour in Unsettled Parts of North America, in 1:03 and 1797. By the late Francis Baily. London, 1856.
Travels in the Interior of America in the years 1809, 1810, . ... 1811. By John Bradbury. Liverpool, 1817.
The Journal of the Rev. Franeis Asbury. 3 vols. New Yor . 1821.
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LIST OF AUTHORITIES.
Notes on the Settlements and Indian Wars of the Western Parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania from 1763 to 1783 inclusive, together with a view of society and manners of the settlers of the western country. By Joseph Doddridge. Albany, New York, 1876. (Re- print.)
Old Settlers of Tennessee, Household Words, vol. viii. p. 188.
The Survival of English Institutions, illustrated in the Legal and Political History of North Carolina. (MSS.) By Professor Henry S. Shepherd.
A Journal of the Proceedings of William Blount, Esq., Governor, ete. (MISS.)
The laws of North Carolina and Tennessee respecting vacant lands and deeds, which are no longer in foree, but necessary to the investi- gation of land titles in Tennessee. Printed by T. G. Bradford.
Revolutionary History of North Carolina in Three Lectures. By Rev. Francis L. Hawks, Hon. David L. Swain, and Hon. William A. Graham. Raleigh and New York, 1853.
The History of South Carolina. By William Gilmore Simms. New York, 1860.
History of Morth Carolina, with Maps and Illustrations. By Fran- cis L. Hawks. 2 vols. Fayetteville, 1859.
Sketches of North Carolina, Historical and Biographieal. By Rev. William Henry Foote. New York, 1846.
History of North Carolina from the Earliest Discoveries to the Present Time. By John W. Moore. 2 vols. Raleigh, 1880.
Sketches of Western North Carolina, Historical and Biographical. By C. L. Hunter. Raleigh, 1877.
Historieal Sketches of North Carolina. From 1584 to 1851. By John H. Wheeler. 2 vols. in one. Philadelphia, 1851.
The History of North Carolina. By Hugh Williamson. 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1812.
Mecklenburgh Declaration of 1775. Summary of Historieal Evi- dence. By A. R. Spofford. New York Herald, May 14, 1875, p. 4. See also authorities there cited by Governor Graham and Mr. Spof- ford.1
Memoir of James Harvey Otey, D. D., LL. D., the First Bishop of. Tennessee. By William Mercer Green, D. D., Bishop of Missis- sippi. New York, 1884.
The Constitution of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. Russellville, 1821.
1 In the text (ride p. 30) I have followed the usual account, in referring to the Meck- lenburgh Declaration of Independence. But the case male out by Mr. Spofford against the Resolutions of May 20th, in his admirable paper cited above, seems almost conclusive.
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LIST OF AUTHORITY
Origin and Doctrines of the Cumberlar "' esbyterian Ch!
In Two Parts. By E. B. Crisman. St. Lo. : 77.
Life and Times of Rev. Finis Ewing, . . of the Fathers Founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian . ch. By Rev. . Cossitt. Louisville.
Thoughts on Various Subjects. By Rev. Robert Donnell of t! Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Louisvi 54.
Brief Biographical Sketches of Some o: Early Ministe
the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. B. Nashville, 1867.
lard Beard, I.
Life of Rev. George Donnell, First Pasto. . the Church in : anon, with a Sketch of the Scotch-Irish Rac Rev. T. C. A 1 !-
son. Nashville, 1859.
Methodist Pulpit South. Compiled by liam T. Smit -. , :.
Third Edition. Washington, D. C., 1859.
History of Methodism in Tennessee. By Joh NeFerrin, 1. 3 vols. Nashville, 1875.
History of the Organization of the Methodi: . 'scopal C ...
. . South. Nashville, 1815.
Biographieal Sketches of Eminent Itinerant sisters, . guished for the most part as Pioneers of Methe .. Edit: by Thomas O. Summers, D. D. Nashville, 1858.
The Life of Henry Biddleman Baseom. By Rev. 21. MI. He: - 1. ; Louisville, 1854.
Autobiography of Rev. James B. Finley, or Pior. ife i West. Edited by W. P. Strickland. Cincinnati, 185
Autobiography of Peter Cartwright, the Backwc Pre: :
Edited by W. P. Strickland. Cincinnati, 1859.
Ten Years of Preacher Life. Chapters from an Av .. . fr , By William Henry Milburn. New York, 1859.
. The Rifle, Axe, and Saddle-Bags, and Other Lectures liam Henry Milburn. New York, 1857.
The Pioneers, Preachers, and People of the Mississippi V By William Henry Milburn. New York, 1860.
The Craighead Family. A Genealogieal Memoir of the Des ants of Rev. Thomas and Margaret Craighead ; 1658-1876. Rev. James Geddes Craighead, D. D. Philadelphia, 1876.
The Works of Philip Lindsley, D. D. Edited by Leroy J. . sey, D. D., with Introductory Notices of his Life and Labors. 5 the editor. 3 vols. Philadelphia, 1866.
A Sketch of the Life and Educational Labors of Philip Lind .... By Leroy J. Halsey. Hartford, 1859.
Address delivered before the Alumni Society of the Universit
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LIST OF AUTHORITIES.
Nashville. By Judge John D. Phelan, June 13, 1872. Nashville, 1872.
An Address delivered at Nashville, Tennessee, October 5, 1830. Being the First Anniversary of the Alumni Society of the University of Nashville. By John Bell, Esq. Nashville, 1830.
An Address by Hon. Edwin H. Ewing at the Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the University of Nashville. Nashville, 1885.
Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates of the University of Nash- ville, with an Appendix containing sundry historical notices, etc. Nashville, 1850.
American Journal of Education, vol. vii. 1859.
Laws of the State of Tennessee, including those of North Caro- iina now in force in this State from the year 1713 to 1820 inclusive. By Edward Scott. 2 vols. Knoxville, 1821.
Laws of the United States, Resolutions of Congress under the Con- federation, Treaties, Proclamations, and other documents having operation and respect to the public lands, collected, digested, and arranged pursuant to two acts of Congress. Passed April 2, 1810, and January 20, 1817. Washington, 1817.
Report of Committee on Education to the General Assembly of Tennessee, 1 November, 1821. (Very important on the subject of lands and public education. Copied in Niles' Register, vol. xxi. p. 299.)
An Address prepared by Rev. Joseph I. Foot, D. D., for his inan- guration. as President of Washington College, East Tennessee. Knoxville, 1840.
The History of Banks. Boston, 1837. (A manuscript note in the copy ir. the Harvard College Library gives as the name of the author Richard Hildreth.)
An Address on Banks and Banking. By W. N. Bilbo. Nashville, 1357.
Remarks of Hon. W. W. Guy, Representative of Hardeman County in the Tennessee Legislature, Thursday, February 24, 1860. on the amendment offered by himself to the Senate Bill to re- charter the Union and Planters' Banks.
Some Suggestions on the Subject of Monopolies and Special Charters. By W. H. Humphreys. Nashville, 1859.
Memorial of the Depositors in the Bank of Tennessee to the Forty- fifth General Assembly of Tennessee. 1887.
Considerations on the Currency and Banking System of the United States. By Albert Gallatin. Philadelphia, 1831.
A Short History of Paper-Money in the United States. By Wil- liam M. Gonge. 2d edition. New York, 1835.
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LIST OF AUTHIO |1
Answers to the Questions ; what con Henry C. Carey. Philadelphia, 1840.
Currency, etc.
Credit of the West. Nashville, 1833. Proceedings of the General Interna held at Knoxville, 1847.
. : ,Tovement Mee
Internal Improvements (a review of Cal.t . Memphis Spec Southern Quarterly Review, vol. ix. p. 243.
Transcript of Record ; Supreme Court of ited States ; 781. Calvin Armory Stevens, Appellant, rs. .. . icago, St. L and New Orleans Railroad Co. Appeal fre Circuit Cou the United States for the Western District vember 10, 1881.
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