The area is very hilly, and has many well-known geographical features related to its location on the Cumberland Plateau.

)[7] Evins' successor in Congress was future vice president Al Gore Jr., who represented the 4th from 1977 to 1983.

The district's current configuration dates from the 1980 census, when Tennessee gained a new congressional seat.

However, the district's large size and lack of unifying influences make it very difficult to unseat an incumbent.

Consequently, the district's congressman was usually reckoned as a statewide figure, with a good chance for winning state office in the future.

Hilleary was reelected three times without much difficulty, handily winning a second term even as Bill Clinton carried the district due to Gore's presence as his running mate; Gore represented much of the western portion of the district for his first three terms in the House.

In 2002, Hilleary retired to mount an ultimately unsuccessful bid to become Governor of Tennessee, and was replaced by Democratic state senator Lincoln Davis.