Industrial Capitalism Comes to Southern Appalachia: The Effects on Society and Religion

Industrialization changed the Northern section of America in unbelievable ways. Americans would gain more jobs in factories, mills and banks, city life was booming, and both woman and men being employed in the cities. Money revenue would be generated and profited in mass production. Transportation became easier with the production of making parts or materials to build roads, steamboats, and railroads. Industrialization would trigger people to become invertors. Inventors seek new ideas of everyday use products to be easier or improve the machines to work faster and longer.

A small town in Kentucky nestled along the Appalachian mountains, long forgotten by the outside world. The town people only have each other to rely on and will take anything to forget where they are and how horrible their conditions are. In the video, Hidden America Children Of The Mountain, the main point was to bring awareness to the situation that the people who live in the Appalachian Mountains are being faced with. A half million people are living in poverty in the mountains. Even the football star of the town lives in his truck because of his family’s poverty. When Americans hear about poverty, they think of it as far away and as something that will not affect them, they do not think about it being in their own back yard. In reality,

While both the people of the New England region and of the Chesapeake region descended from the same English origin, by 1700 both regions had traveled in two diverse directions. Since both of these groups were beset with issues that were unique to their regions and due to their exposure to different circumstances, each was forced to rethink and reconstruct their societies. As a result, the differences in the motivation, geography, and government in the New England and Chesapeake regions caused great divergence in the development of each.

Although the Chesapeake and New England colonies were the earliest English colonies to flourish in the New World, they were both extremely different in the ways that they developed. Similarities between the colonies can be found, but the colonies were mostly different. The colonies differed most in religion, society, culture, economy, and their relationships with the American Indians of the region. The reasons for such differences can be understood by realizing that the colonies were settled by incredibly different people who possessed different cultures, religious beliefs, and motivations for settling in their respective colonies in the first place. The Chesapeake and New England colonies had similarities and differences in their development, including how each colony affected nearby American Indians. Their differences and similarities can be understood by analyzing each colony’s geography, economy, religions, and cultures.

     Appalachia is no longer the land of severe poverty that it was three decades ago, now the poverty rate of one in 15 is close to the national average. The number of adults who have received a high school diploma has also jumped from one out of three to two out of three; and the infant death rate has been

The Northern states had the pleasure of discovering abundant resources of coal. In addition, Richmond faced difficulties because of their existence on the margins of a plantation economy. Even though this was the nation’s first mine, it had various disadvantages that would not let it compete on an industrious scale. In the following paragraph, I will discuss how the South had a secret hand in textile mills within the United States.

Arkansas/Arkansaw: How Bear Hunters, Hillbillies, and Good Ol' Boys Defined a State. Brooks Blevins. Fayetteville, AR. 2009. 242 pages

In Uneven Ground, the author Ronald D. Eller narrates the economic, political, and social change of Appalachia after World War II. He writes “persistent unemployment and poverty set Appalachia off as a social and economic problem area long before social critic Michael Harrington drew attention to the region as part of the “other America” in 1962.”(pp.2) Some of the structural problems stated by Eller include problems of land abuse, political corruption, economic shortsightedness, and the loss of community and culture; personally view the economic myopia as being the most daunting.

Daugneaux, Christine B. Appalachia: A Separate Place, A Unique People. Parsons: McLain Printing Company, 1981. Print.

While families migrated toward this region, the western plains were experiencing some of the greatest droughts to ever occur. In addition to this, “the massive plowing, plus overgrazing by cattle, largely destroyed the native grasses that held the once rich soil in place” (West 1). These settlers were farming on foreign land that they were absolutely new to and maintained the unyielding perception that “land could be shaped by human will” (Black Blizzard). Their rationale was so clouded by the belief that the resources present in the moment were limitless, that they did not see the accumulating cloud of dust slowly slithering across the land. These uneducated farmers were planting soil-depleting crops, which “caused the destruction of organic matter or the loss of minerals in excess of those

After the Civil War, the United States went through a period of rapid industrialization which affected the nation dramatically. Industrial growth, the spread of railroads, the rise of big businesses, and the appearance of labor unions during these decades created a modern industrial economy, and American workers and farmers faced new challenges in adapting to these changes.

Activism, culture and value have always had a tremendous influence in society. When it comes to the Appalachian region of the United States, people tend to see our culture and values differently. The individuals of the Appalachian region have been stereotyped for far too long, people forget that West Virginia has played a huge role in building this country. Our coal miners have put their lives in danger time and time again, some losing them, for worker’s rights. The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor rebellion in the history of the United States. This was the foundation of the movement for eight hour work days and minimum wages. The novel Storming Heaven by Denise Giardina is a fictionalized tale of the conflict that took place in these coal fields of West Virginia. The novel brings to light the stereotypes, race and religion of the Appalachian people.

In the book, “The face of Decline: The Pennsylvania Anthracite Region in the Twentieth Century”, (2005), discusses different elements towards the economic crisis of the capital and labor, local businesses, redevelopment of agencies, and state and federal governments. Dublin and Licht pounder upon the remarkable range of sources including oral histories, documentary photographs, records of coal companies, and community newspapers. The authors observe the effect of the economic decline across a wide region but mainly focuses on a small group of mining communities in specific regions. Also, the authors place the anthracite region within a broader framework,

The discovery of anthracite coal in Pennsylvania in the late 1700s led to the development of a robust coal industry in the eastern part of Pennsylvania that grew rapidly and contributed greatly to the history and the economy of Pennsylvania. The book The Face of Decline written by Thomas Dublin, Walter Licht, provides a well written historical and personal account of the discovery, growth, and finally the collapse of the anthracite coal industry in Pennsylvania in a chronological format. Half way through the book one starts to notice some changes in the authors format to cause and effect. The change occurs in order to discuss the cause and resulting effect of events in the region and the solutions. The story is one of great growth and opportunity in the early years which are highlighted by the documented economic growth experienced and supported through testimony within the eastern Pennsylvania coal region. After a period of economic prosperity and community growth from 1900 through 1940 challenges began to erode and occur that created problems for the community and the economy that the coal industry provided. Finally the region’s economy suffered horrendous losses as described by interviews of local residents and families who lived and experienced the rise of the region’s economy. Many of the scars are still evident by the blight and decaying scenes one would experience by traveling through the region’s communities that once fueled the American economy with the energy

My grandfather’s trusty, old analog alarm goes off at 9am every morning. I look to my bed side to see the collection of pictures depicting my coalminer family dating back generations. My great grandfather, Bobby Sr., was the first to settle in this Appalachian town. This is the little house he build just close enough to the coal mines to be safe from a collapse, but never too far too walk a few miles. This bed, here, was my mother’s. I hand sewed those curtains when I was a little girl. After my husband’s passing due to lung cancer, I’ve lived in the house alone. I took care of John, for two years before he passed. The coal mining community is my home. It never seemed like I had the choice to leave. I went to the local community college and got my associate’s degree in environmental studies. After working odd jobs for local environmental organizations, I have retired to a modest living in my home town. The traditional coal community is no longer a booming industry, but the same chemical smell still engulfs the air.