Book description
Appalachia has played a complex and often contradictory role in the
unfolding of American history. Created by urban journalists in the years
following the Civil War, the idea of Appalachia provided a counterpoint
to emerging definitions of progress. Early-twentieth-century critics of
modernity saw the region as a remnant of frontier life, a reflection of
simpler times that should be preserved and protected. However,
supporters of development and of the growth of material production,
consumption, and technology decried what they perceived as the isolation
and backwardness of the place and sought to “uplift” the mountain people
through education and industrialization. Ronald D Eller has worked with
local leaders, state policymakers, and national planners to translate
the lessons of private industrial-development history into public policy
affecting the region. In Uneven Ground: Appalachia since 1945, Eller
examines the politics of development in Appalachia since World War II
with an eye toward exploring the idea of progress as it has evolved in
modern America. Appalachia's struggle to overcome poverty, to live in
harmony with the land, and to respect the diversity of cultures and the
value of community is also an American story. In the end, Eller
concludes, “Appalachia was not different from the rest of America; it
was in fact a mirror of what the nation was becoming.” Ronald D Eller
is former director of the Appalachian Center and professor of history at
the University of Kentucky. He is the author of Miners, Millhands, and
Mountaineers: Industrialization of the Appalachian South, 1880-1930.
