Cultural Barriers In Appalachian Culture

In the Chesapeake region, the settlers came for entirely different reasons; they didn't come to form a community in the New World, they came looking for gold. Everything in Virginia—the colonist, the politics, and the society—was based on profit, unlike in the New England region, it was an "every-man-for-himself" society instead of a brotherly community. In History of Virginia, Capitan John Smith wrote that the colonist main reason for coming to the New World was to "… dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold…" Another reason the Chesapeake region was so different from the New England region was because the basis of the settlement was to find gold and ship it back to Mother England, some of the colonist did not plan to stay in the New World either; they were only attracted by the economic benefits.

If I had the choice to live in either the Chesapeake region or the New England region, I would choose the New England region due to the health aspects. In New England, many lived long, healthy lives instead of in the Chesapeake region. Also, in the Chesapeake region, the ratio of men to women was severely uneven. Although the New England region was stricter religiously, and lacked a prosperous economy, I believe I would have lived a longer duration of time with good health and a tight-knit family. There were many good and bad aspects of each region, but both were different in many ways leading them to have different prosperities and

For many people, the idea of a slave culture or of slaves exercising control and autonomy within the context of the master-slave relationship seems impossible. After all, the entire concept of the system of slavery is based upon the ownership of another person, which implies total control. However, Drew Gilpin Faust's essay, "Culture, Conflict, and Community on the Antebellum Plantation," which is based upon meticulous records kept by slave-owner James Henry Hammond, reveal that the master-slave relationship was far more complex than one might believe. Even when faced with rigid systems of control, slaves exercised some autonomy. Even with a rigid master, such as Hammond, these efforts at self-control frequently modified behavior on the plantation. In fact, while it is almost certain that some masters ruled through tyranny alone, it appears that the back-and-forth nature of the master-slave relationship meant that masters had to provide some inducements to produce work from their slaves.

They were very perilous and dangerous to travel through; the mountains were very steep and had lots of cliffs. Even if they got to the other side of the mountains, there wouldn’t be that many other people and there could be possible hostile Indians. Most people just stayed with the colonies. In How the States got Their Shapes “episode 3” director Konschnik says “The Appalachians were a serious obstacle and the first real boarder of our States” (Konschnik). The Indians also used the mountains to flee from colonists. When colonists first settled they would steal the land from the Indians and then kill them. The Indians would also attack the colonists. It would seem the colonists just couldn’t get along with the Indians and so the Indians just fled beyond the mountains. In Clark’s research of the Planting of New Virginia he

They had paid for their own voyage and the sole purpose of their travels was to become rich. Upon their arrival, they set off in search for a land of gold. During their search, they created heavy tensions with the natives in the area. This negative relationship with the natives caused them to be attacked and almost wiped out until the British government took over the region and introduced a new system. This new system granted 50 acres of land to each person that paid for their voyage, or another person’s voyage over. This caused more families to be drawn to the opportunity and eventually a greater, smarter, stronger community was established. Overall, there was a far more immediate success in the establishment of the population in New England than in the Chesapeake region, which eventually lead to a different feel in society. Additionally, society itself was changing more and more between the two regions due to the climate.

The people of Appalachia are often characterized as ignorant, lazy, uneducated, drug addicted, and incestuous. Many believe that this impoverished area is full of hicks, hillbillies, and rednecks, but when examining the truths one might find an enriched culture with generous people who are hardworking, artistic, and family oriented with a strong religious faith.

     Many people have different views on what Appalachia is, I grew up thinking that Appalachia meant people were dirty, poor, illiterate, inbreed and we also called them mountain people. As I grew up I realized that most of the things they went through and had a hard time with, I was dealing with the same problems. So what exactly is Appalachia? Well you will find out as you read on.

Appalachia is a culture based upon the ancient traditions and customs that have made its way through the years. Appalachia is a descriptive term referring to things in the Appalachian region. The style of dance or music would be a prime example of things in that particular region. The culture of the people began as really poor people who went West to survive on their own and avoid tax and toleration of the Eastern States. People who are from there or native to the region are generally close-knit, and fiercely defensive of friends and family and skeptical of outsiders. Yet, despite the lack of educational education, they had a lot of pride for who they were and their mark in history. According to popular beliefs on Appalachia, many people are led to believe that Appalachia is a poor and uneducated region.

I am the best writer for this project because I have been familiar with Appalachian music for a great deal of my life and have a passion for it. I also have researched this topic in great depth and plan to discover even more things as I continue. I chose this direction because it has always intrigued me that Appalachian music has continued through the ages without much help from more modern conveniences.

Taking on a journey stretching well over 2,100 miles, covering fourteen states (from Maine to Georgia) by foot is no simple stroll where at the end of the day a comfortable bed and hot meal would await you. Instead, hiking the Appalachian Trail can be an endless battle with all the elements of mother nature: whereas in one state spring would have sprung already with wildflowers dressing the forest floors and insects buzzing through crisp air, on other parts of the trail it [the weather conditions] would be smothering heat, but meanwhile a few states north the rain would fall endlessly with gusts of cold wind, and snow would blanket the pathways of the trail and more than likely blizzards

Appalachia includes thirteen states, ranging from southern New York to eastern Mississippi (650a). About eighteen million people live in Appalachia. In March, 1965, the United States Congress passed the Appalachian Regional Redevelopment Act. The legislation was designed primarily to create more jobs by attracting tourists and industries.

In the early 1800s the Cherokee started their own Cherokee Nation. Some of these Cherokees did not like the fact that white people were invading their land and decided to move out to the west and start their own society. The reason why the white people were coming onto Cherokee land is because of all the gold that is there. The whites began to make friends with the Cherokee so they could get some of the gold. Later the white people decided it was time that the Cherokee people need to be eliminated from the area. This lead to the Cherokee losing their land, farms, and their houses. President Andrew Jackson was the one who caused the removal of the Cherokee people.

Cherokee women played an extremely important role in their tribe’s society especially compared to women in America during the time period. In the 1800s, Cherokee women played a much more influential role, impacting the tribe on a daily basis. For example, they were farmers, craftswomen, builders, and in some cases, even warriors. Women were essential to the survival of the tribe. In many cases, the women of the tribes were in charge of gathering materials and building homes for their family to live in. In addition, women would often help men hunt deer, then would skin, cut, and cook the animal. Women also served important purposes in medical circumstances in the tribe. There were plenty of medicine women in the tribes; in fact, many tribes believed that women had more healing power than men.

Did you know the word cherokee means those who “live in the mountains. The cherokee were very superstitious. ”The beliefs, culture and history of the cherokee tribe can easily be seen in “How the World Was Made.”

The Chesapeake region was the first region to be colonized. The first settlers had a very hard time adapting to the moist swampy climate and lack of commerce and civility that they were used to in England. Most of the early settlers were gentlemen sent by companies such as the Virginia and London Companies. They were determined to find wealth in the North American wilderness, and suffered greatly due to famine and diseases like malaria. Most of these unlucky settlers were men, which was a drawback for the new colony of Virginia because there was very little reproduction. Document C, a ships list of emigrants bound for Virginia shows the lack of families travelling to Virginia, as well as the very few women, most of them single. The men fought over these