None ever did, successfully.
The historians of Tennessee state that the Wataugans formed their government in 1772 and that Sevier was one of its five commissioners.
Yet, as Sevier did not settle in Tennessee before 1773, it is possible that the Watauga Association was not formed until then.

Unhappily the written constitution of the little commonwealth was not preserved; but it is known that, following the Ulsterman's ideal, manhood suffrage and religious independence were two of its provisions.

The commissioners enlisted a militia and they recorded deeds for land, issued marriage licenses, and tried offenders against the law.

They believed themselves to be within the boundaries of Virginia and therefore adopted the laws of that State for their guidance.

They had numerous offenders to deal with, for men fleeing from debt or from the consequence of crime sought the new settlements just across the mountains as a safe and adjacent harbor.