Feud By Altina L. Waller Summary

Altina L. Waller exposes the old myths about the two families at war, the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s, in the book, Feud Hatfield’s, McCoy’s, and social change in Appalachia, 1860-1900. Waller shows us that this was not only a feud between the Hatfield and McCoy families, it also included many people who were not in those families. Waller has a different perspective of the feud, and no one else has ever looked at it in the same way before. She dug up crucial facts that brought fuel to the feud. The way that she writes, may drastically change the way many people perceive the feud between the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s.
When I heard about the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s feud for the first time, I was in high school and we barely talked about it. All I …show more content…
Waller speaks about William "Devil Anse" Hatfield and his part of the Feud. Devil Anse was a wealthy man, who just so happened to be in the timbering business. This was what brought many people from the community closer to him and his side in the Feud. The text says, “Taking into account all of Devil Anse’s supporters, related or unrelated, then, it is apparent that the most compelling motive for actively supporting Devil Anse in the feud was economic, not genealogical” (Page 81). Waller is making sure that her readers understand that Devil Anse was wealthy and his supporters supported him for the fact that money equals power and opportunity, not just because he was a Hatfield. Devil Anse was defending rational economic interests. Although there is a change in government later on in the book that strips away most of Devil Anse’s power away. The book states, “In his long explanation Devil Anse expressed his ‘great surprise’ at the turn of the events that he would suffer ‘irreparable danger and loss’ if Taylor were allowed to practice this ‘fraud’” (Page 147). Waller goes on to say, “Devil Anse’s timber business, too, suffered from his inability to get a fair hearing at the circuit court” (Page 149). This truly did damage to Devil Anse and his timber business. On the other hand, Randolph “Old Ranel” McCoy was not as prosperous as Devil Anse. Old Ranel owned some land and had some livestock. He did not have the economic …show more content…
The next generation of Hatfield’s and McCoy’s who were children, nieces, and nephews of the feud leaders “were forced to function in a new kind of world” (Page 239). The younger generation had to choose escape (to leave the area), rebellion (defiant and never accepting new order), or accommodation (testimony to the power of the new middle class social and cultural values). Old Ranel McCoy’s nephew, Sam “Squirrel Huntin’” McCoy left Tug Valley and wrote many memoirs, as the feud became popular in pulp magazine fiction. French Ellis, who married a niece of Devil Anse and was also a Hatfield supporter, was one of Devil Anse’s most loyal and aggressive supporters. He also participated in the ill-conceived and ill-executed raid on the McCoy home. He never adapted to the new order of society; he rebelled. Although most of the children of both Old Ranel and Devil Anse chose accommodation, which meant they were open to accept the power of the new middle class culture and social values. To me, I feel that this is a very important piece of this book. Knowing how many of the younger generation dealt with the feud after it occurred, and how they acted during the time, helps the reader understand how difficult this time period really