A History of AppalachiaRichard Drake has skillfully woven together the various strands of the Appalachian experience into a sweeping whole. Touching upon folk traditions, health care, the environment, higher education, the role of blacks and women, and much more, Drake offers a compelling social history of a unique American region. The Appalachian region, extending from Alabama in the South up to the Allegheny highlands of Pennsylvania, has historically been characterized by its largely rural populations, rich natural resources that have fueled industry in other parts of the country, and the strong and wild, undeveloped land. The rugged geography of the region allowed Native American societies, especially the Cherokee, to flourish. Early white settlers tended to favor a self-sufficient approach to farming, contrary to the land grabbing and plantation building going on elsewhere in the South. The growth of a market economy and competition from other agricultural areas of the country sparked an economic decline of the region's rural population at least as early as 1830. The Civil War and the sometimes hostile legislation of Reconstruction made life even more difficult for rural Appalachians. Recent history of the region is marked by the corporate exploitation of resources. Regional oil, gas, and coal had attracted some industry even before the Civil War, but the postwar years saw an immense expansion of American industry, nearly all of which relied heavily on Appalachian fossil fuels, particularly coal. What was initially a boon to the region eventually brought financial disaster to many mountain people as unsafe working conditions and strip mining ravaged the land and its inhabitants. A History of Appalachia also examines pockets of urbanization in Appalachia. Chemical, textile, and other industries have encouraged the development of urban areas. At the same time, radio, television, and the internet provide residents direct links to cultures from all over the world. The author looks at the process of urbanization as it belies commonly held notions about the region's rural character. |
From inside the book
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... World Backgrounds 3. The Coming of the Europeans 4. The Wars for Appalachia Part 2 The New Nation and the Appalachian Backwoods 5. Backwoods-Cohee Society 6. The Challenge to Cohee Society, 1820-1860 7. The Civil War Era, 1860-1877 Part ...
... world capitalism that has spread since the fifteenth century. Clearly this colonial notion is a view that must be taken seriously in any narrative of the Appalachian experience. But the Appalachian experience has been even more complex ...
... World War II and after. Another unusual Appalachian characteristic that will enlighten this narrative is the strong and continuing presence of wilderness. Early in the Euro–American settlement of Appalachia, this wilderness was seen as ...
... world. And in pre—Columbian times, deer, bison, mountain lion, fox, wolf and beaver roamed the mountain forests in great variety and quantity. Humans too came to these mountains, initially in quest of fish and game and the nuts, berries ...
... World migrants, such as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel or the Phoenecians. Other tales insisted that these Indian ruins were left by the Welsh or the Norsemen. Some recent archaeologists have even posited that the ancient Maya of Mexico ...