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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. This book's author 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. The book examines the politics of development in Appalachia after 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, the book concludes, “Appalachia was not different from the rest of America; it was in fact a mirror of what the nation was becoming.”
Publication Date
2008
Publisher
The University Press of Kentucky
Place of Publication
Lexington, KY
ISBN
978-0-8131-2523-7
eISBN
978-0-8131-7320-7 (pdf version)
eISBN
978-0-8131-3863-3 (epub version)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5810/kentucky/9780813125237.001.0001
Keywords
Appalachia, American history, Development, Industrial development, Public policy, Progress, Poverty
Disciplines
Appalachian Studies | Cultural History | Demography, Population, and Ecology | Politics and Social Change | United States History
Recommended Citation
Eller, Ronald D., "Uneven Ground: Appalachia since 1945" (2008). United States History. 169.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_united_states_history/169
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