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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... yeoman-style agriculture has persisted rather remarkably until 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 ...
... yeomen gave up their gardens and ceased planting corn or growing hogs and chickens. As others before it, this book will likely prove inadequate to present the full picture of this complex region. There are aspects of the Appalachian ...
... yeoman” status, as it was called in England, are included along with tenants (“meiers” in Germany) and cottagers (“kotters” in Germany), who were never able to acquire title to the lands they tilled, these would be a clear majority. But ...
... yeoman,” or “yeaman,” had been used in medieval times to designate some sort of service to another, often referring ... yeomen rose to the class of gentleman farmer, others often fell into a status of landlessness. As the forces of the ...
... yeoman farmer would not be able to compete with the gentleman farmer for control of the English lands and countryside. Within England a large class of landless and powerless people trailed off below the yeomanry. These were the working ...