Uneven ground
Subtitle: Appalachia since 1945
By: Ronald D Eller.
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Lexington
Language: eng
Number of pages: 326
ISBN-13: 9780813125237
Subjects: Poverty -- Appalachian Region, Southern -- History; Appalachian Region, Southern -- Rural conditions; Appalachian Region, Southern -- Economic conditions; Appalachian Region, Southern -- Social conditions -- 20th century; Appalachian Region, Southern -- Social conditions -- 21st century; Rural development -- Appalachian Region, Southern -- History; Rural poor -- Appalachian Region, Southern -- History
Description: From the Publisher: 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."
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.