Appalachia

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorCollege, Undergraduate February 2008

download word file, 13 pages 1.0

Television shows such as ?The Beverly Hillbillies,? ?Hee-Haw,? and ?The Dukes of Hazard,? movies such as Deliverance, as well as comic strips such as L?il Abner have placed permanent cultural stereotypes on the Appalachian Region (Appy Culture). Thanks to these hastened conclusions by others, this agriculturally based region is portrayed as a cesspool for inbreeding, inherent poverty, high unemployment, insufficient education, and cultural ineptitude. Although Appalachia does have several economic and geographical endeavors that it must improve on, the states within the region known as Appalachia have an equal (if not greater) amount of history and culture than the other thirty-seven states of the Union. In fact, it can be argued that although the Appalachian region has its many problems such as inhabitant migration, economic ambiguity, and lack of jobs, it does contain remnants of culture that others can learn from. Appalachian culture has affected American language, fine arts, religion, and the American ways of life.

Indeed, without Appalachia, our country would be far less ?cultured.? The purpose of this paper is to show that the thirteen states of this region have been treated unfairly. Especially since the outsiders? initial indifference to the problems of this great area are the causes for these problems. This indifference ? our nation?s inattention to the importance of this region and place ? may be the greatest intellectual failing of the Twentieth Century (Cratis).

Historical Appalachia The federal government defines Appalachia as parts of West Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi (ARC). It incorporates 397 counties in thirteen states, covers a total of 195,000 square miles, and has a current population of twenty million (Appy Culture). The terrain is very mountainous and hilly, creating natural barriers against weather, intruders, and sometimes its own...