Uneven Ground: Appalachia Since 1945, by Ronald Eller explores the devastation of traditional culture and land use in the Appalachian region at the hands of the coal industry and local, state, and federal leaders and policy makers. His perspective comes from one that separates growth from development and is highly critical of efforts to force Appalachia into a national economic model that is not aligned with the regions unique historical situations. After briefly setting the stage in the Civil War and the immediate years following, Eller focuses on modernization efforts preceding the 1930s depression and revitalization efforts that began during World War II.
Eller makes the argument that industrialization and an expanding market economy altered Appalachian land use and social relations as early as the Civil War. During the years leading up to the Great Depression residents attempted to return to an earlier way of life that involved farming and strong family ties. This led to former residents of Appalachia who had left the mountains for jobs that had fallen victim to the Depression returning home and increasing the population. Eller estimates a 30% population increase in Knox County, Kentucky in the 1930s. Many Appalachians who returned to the mountains found closed mines and mills and turned to government work programs and public assistance. …show more content…
He convincingly argues that this form of economic growth only creates a different type of dependency as employment opportunities increase but do so through jobs that pay low wages and few or no benefits. He fails, however, to convince the typical American reader that this fact distinguishes Appalachians from the increasing majority of America’s
Eller makes the argument that industrialization and an expanding market economy altered Appalachian land use and social relations as early as the Civil War. During the years leading up to the Great Depression residents attempted to return to an earlier way of life that involved farming and strong family ties. This led to former residents of Appalachia who had left the mountains for jobs that had fallen victim to the Depression returning home and increasing the population. Eller estimates a 30% population increase in Knox County, Kentucky in the 1930s. Many Appalachians who returned to the mountains found closed mines and mills and turned to government work programs and public assistance. …show more content…
He convincingly argues that this form of economic growth only creates a different type of dependency as employment opportunities increase but do so through jobs that pay low wages and few or no benefits. He fails, however, to convince the typical American reader that this fact distinguishes Appalachians from the increasing majority of America’s