You might want to be careful - without a photo I can be sure, but if it looks fuzzy, then you may have found one of the wingless wasps, as James said earlier. They can sting like a bugger. Check out the images at the link:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/159/bgimag...

Don't know without a better description or a picture,but it sounds more like something from the wingless wasp family not an ant.try looking up that.hope I helped.

Am I the only one who was reminded of the Camponotus Carpenter Ants? It could be the New York Carpenter Ant. They can look quite a bit like your description.

Queen

http://bugguide.net/node/view/522150/bgp...

Worker

http://bugguide.net/node/view/686547/bgp...

I think its a "florida red carpenter ant".

Sounds like a type of earwig.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earwig

Ok I found it outside under a board. It kind of looks like a giant ant but it has a red thorax and legs. It's head and abdomen are solid black (no stripes or pattern), and it's abdomen seems really large. I live in middle Tennessee, a bit west of Nashville, if that's useful. I really need to be able to classify this for a school project (don't worry I'm not cheating). Thanks for any help you can give me!