Book description
" Richard 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.
