Knoxville was a port town and, as the unofficial University of Tennessee fight song goes, "the ground's too rocky, by far" to have huge plantations.
I still believe that the issue isn't North vs. South. It's urban vs. rural. All four of Tennessee's largest cities - Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga - boast Democrats for mayors. In Knoxville, our mayor, Madeline Rogero, got her political start working as an organizer for César Chávez's United Farm Workers - hardly right-wing, eh?
And the South simply just has larger rural areas than the North. Just think, if Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were smaller, Pennsylvania would be a red state. It's the large numbers of urban dwellers that keep the state solidly in the blue column.
On another note, if I remember correctly, you are in South Carolina. My Vols should provide your Gamecocks with a good game on Saturday. We're still healing from three coaches in four years, but, after the fight we gave Georgia, y'all better watch out! 
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