In Uneven Ground, the author Ronald D. Eller narrates the economic, political, and social change of Appalachia after World War II. He writes “persistent unemployment and poverty set Appalachia off as a social and economic problem area long before social critic Michael Harrington drew attention to the region as part of the “other America” in 1962.”(pp.2) Some of the structural problems stated by Eller include problems of land abuse, political corruption, economic shortsightedness, and the loss of community and culture; personally view the economic myopia as being the most daunting.
Arguing flaws in the expansion of Appalachia’s postwar economy, Eller responds this led to “growth without development”. With the coal industry flourishing
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With new technological advances in machinery the average production of a miner is at a continual rise while the employment of the miners is at a downfall.
The “players” in our region consist of many people ranging from federal agencies to church organizations. Some of them would include Appalachian Volunteers (AV), President’s Appalachian Regional Commission (PARC), Council of the Southern Mountains (CSM), Appalachian Group to Save the Land and People (AGLSP), Appalachian Leadership and Community Outreach (ALCOR), Area Redevelopment Administration (ARA), Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), Appalachian Regional Development Act (ARDA), Black Lung Association (BLA), Community Action Agency (CAA), Christian Appalachian Project (CAP), and many more dedicated organizations and individuals contributing and fighting for rights and benefits in our region.
These are some of the efforts by our regions “players”. The Kennedy administration’s efforts to abolish poverty trace the rediscovery of Appalachia by federal policymakers as the sign of underdevelopment in what was known as the “other America”. Growing on the internal colony model, and with the work of local activists like Whitesburg, Kentucky, native Harry Caudill, the Kennedy administration launched a federal development program in our region. Collaborating with the Conference of Appalachian Governors, the Kennedy administration started an effort to secure funds for
Being known as the region synonymous with destitution and home to some of the pauperized counties in the country, Appalachia has always been hidden from or sort of isolated from the rest of the world because of their geographic location. The people of Appalachia are often seen as unintelligent and less civilized than other Americans as they were less developed and not exposed to the commercial world. Because of
The collection consists of 15,000 pages of original historical material documenting the land, peoples, exploration, and transformation of the trans-Appalachian West from the mid-eighteenth to the early nineteenth century. The collection is drawn from the holdings of the University of Chicago Library and the Filson Historical Society of Louisville, Kentucky.
In the world of Appalachia, stereotypes are abundant. There are stories told of mountaineers as lazy, bewildered, backward, and yet happy and complacent people. Mountain women are seen as diligent, strong, hard willed, and overall sturdy and weathered, bearing the burden of their male counterparts. These ideas of mountain life did not come out of thin air; they are the direct product of sensational nineteenth century media including print journalism and illustrative art that has continuously mislead and wrongfully represented the people of Appalachia. These stories, written and told by outsiders, served very little purpose to Appalachian natives other than means of humiliation and degradation. They served mostly to convince readers of the
The Ohio Valley Region was known as the American frontier during the time period from 1760 to 1813. The white expansion into the Ohio Valley Region brought about the decline and the eventual dissolution of the Native American way of life. The struggles of the French and English in the north and the westward push of American settlers in the south were met with unified pro-nativist resistance. The individual struggles of three men characterize the turmoil between whites and Native Americans. Pontiac’s war against the English, Tecumseh’s organization of a unified Indian Confederation, and Daniel Boone’s leadership in the western migration into Kentucky demonstrate the fight for control in the Ohio
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the state of Arkansas? Chances are, that as an Arkansan the thoughts are quite different than those of someone not born or raised here. Hillbilly, redneck, barefoot, and trailer are a just few of the common first words invoked in the minds of “foreigners” by the word Arkansas. In the non-fiction work, Arkansas/Arkansaw: How Bear Hunters, Hillbillies, and Good Ol' Boys Defined a State, author Brooks Blevins provides readers with his idea of how Arkansas's image began, and then perpetuated over time. He provides several examples of the
The TVA has turned portions of its large land mass into recreational facilities and areas for societal use. To do this, the TVA "[maintains] beautiful reservoirs, campgrounds, trails, whitewater streams and over 300,000 acres of devolved and undeveloped lands for [us] to play on," (3). On the 13th of November 2015, local headlines were showcasing the recent season for TVA campgrounds and visitor centers. They were successful in having close to 100,000 people go through their centers and exploring the beautiful areas. This is just a piece of physical evidence that proves that the TVA is still currently fulfilling its mission to improve the quality of life of citizens and the environment, by maintaining its overall
Dwight B. Billings writes, "Appalachia has often been used as a symbol of rural poverty." Just last year President Bill Clinton visited Hazard, Ky. to offer new job opportunities to what he called, "an underdeveloped area that America can help develop." But many in Appalachia don't want the outside help. In his book of short stories titled Kinfolks, Gurney Norman describes the strong union that Appalachian families share with one another. An Appalachian himself, Norman depicts family life and the intertwining aspects of love, care, traditions, respect, and knowledge that are found in Appalachian families. It is this same bond that Norman refers to in his stories that keeps many in the area from moving away, from wanting more technology, from wanting change to occur. It is this concentration on not wanting to lose our heritage that makes us so different from the rest of society. "Anyone who is unlike the majority is looked at a little suspiciously, dealt with a little differently" (Asfahani 18). Because we seem to focus more on our traditions
Many companies have made money from the coal industry; however, the money has not stayed within the state. Big businesses have exploited the resources creating rich executives and leaving the Appalachian area stripped of its bounty. Currently, big businesses are involved in mountain-top removal to remove resources from our mountains. This leaves many of the beautiful mountains destroyed, pollutes the water systems and kills the wildlife and vegetation. The coal industry which once supported many families in the Appalachian area is now becoming the downfall of our tourist
In The United States of Appalachia, by Jeff Biggers, Chapter Six, The great American Industrial Saga. Biggers writes in regards to the Appalachia in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Women and children of the Appalachia worked with cotton, coal, and timber while experiencing a life of deplorable conditions, long hours, and without enough pay to make a living.
Historically, the origins of settlements in Southern Appalachia were not so unpromising. "Attracted by plentiful game, local availability of precious resources like salt, and fertile and relatively cheap land, settlers in southeast Kentucky differed little
This country cannot work without mutual understanding and respect between the american people and the government. Listening to various ideals is part of the communication process and those who don’t support the protection of wilderness are choosing to stick with not supporting any bills that deal with the protection of the land. In the essay “Finding Common Ground on Protecting Montana Wilderness,” Rick Bass, an experienced author, advocate and resident of the Yaak Valley, states his views on the matter of protecting the wild lands from the timber industry and other members of the opposition while at the same time respecting their views.
Abramson is a journalist and an author who has had the opportunity to take part in multiple great projects, one being the national political campaigns. Jean Haskell was at one time a professor of Appalachian Studies, and is also an author of various Appalachian writings. This Encyclopedia was created in order to show people what makes up Appalachia. Filled with many writings about the culture, the land, and the history of the region, this Encyclopedia has information from states beginning in New York and ending in Mississippi. Hundreds of contributions were made from people all around the world to create the Encyclopedia of Appalachia, which was published in March of 2006. Consisting of hundreds of varieties of topics, you can find anything from information about Adventists or Roy Acuff, all the way down to Zinc mining or the Zac Brown Band. To give you an idea, you can find things about coal mining, Appalachian food, what is mountain music, handcrafted items, and much more. There is an endless amount of information available about the Appalachian area. (Encyclopedia of
The Appalachians living in the ruins of mountaintop removal have never given up their struggle for civil rights and health justice. Therefore, Appalachians made two initiatives as they campaign the Appalachian Community Health Emergency Act. Retired Eastern Kentucky coal miners like Carl Shwpe and Stanley Sturgill
Industrialization did not have the same affects in the South as it did in the North. While the North had become the metropolitan land of opportunity, the postwar South had remained rural and
The discovery of anthracite coal in Pennsylvania in the late 1700s led to the development of a robust coal industry in the eastern part of Pennsylvania that grew rapidly and contributed greatly to the history and the economy of Pennsylvania. The book The Face of Decline written by Thomas Dublin, Walter Licht, provides a well written historical and personal account of the discovery, growth, and finally the collapse of the anthracite coal industry in Pennsylvania in a chronological format. Half way through the book one starts to notice some changes in the authors format to cause and effect. The change occurs in order to discuss the cause and resulting effect of events in the region and the solutions. The story is one of great growth and opportunity in the early years which are highlighted by the documented economic growth experienced and supported through testimony within the eastern Pennsylvania coal region. After a period of economic prosperity and community growth from 1900 through 1940 challenges began to erode and occur that created problems for the community and the economy that the coal industry provided. Finally the region’s economy suffered horrendous losses as described by interviews of local residents and families who lived and experienced the rise of the region’s economy. Many of the scars are still evident by the blight and decaying scenes one would experience by traveling through the region’s communities that once fueled the American economy with the energy