Louisville, Kentucky

On October 6th, the Appalachia class had the pleasure of watching the informative documentary Overburden, directed by Chad A. Stevens. A film that highlights the greed of a company and industry and the struggle and division of a community, Overburden tells the emotional story of how mountaintop removal of the Appalachian area, (particularly in Raleigh County, WV) does more than simply damage the physical environment. The majors themes presented in the film challenge one to think about the coal…

Missouri Compromise (1820) A Free State: (before the Civil War) A state in the United States in which slavery was illegal (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free%20state). A Slave State: Any of the 15 states of the Union in which slavery was legal before the Civil War. (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/slave+state) In 1819, a huge debate grew in Congress as to whether or not to make the new state of Missouri and free state or a slave state. Missouri wanted to become part of the union…

recognition as a writer in fifth grade, with a story “about the Pilgrims landing in the New World.” He remarks that the story was probably “historically way off base,” but nonetheless the story reached “the top county educators in Harlan County, Kentucky.” They asked him if he had copied it or if his parents had written it, and when he finally convinced them it was his own work, they presented him with “some sort of certificate” that has since been lost. Both these instances encouraged Bob’s…

how expensive going to college can become. The rising cost of college tuition has become a burden for countless families and students. This rise in cost has made college simply unaffordable for numerous individuals across the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is a shame that more people can’t attend college to be able to have a greater chance of living the American dream. College tuition should be completely free for qualifying individuals that want to further their education and receive a…

millions of years ago, anthracite coal as well as bituminous coal were deposited within the Appalachian Mountains. All over the United States, in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia coal deposits are found (“Appalachian Mountains,” 2015). Today, 1.8 billion pounds of high explosives were used in just West Virginia and Kentucky alone. These explosives may shake and crack house foundations, startle wildlife, or spray a large area with rock and other debris. The blasting and flooding…

nicotine use by kids a public health priority On american tobacco farms based on years research and interviews with 141 child tobacco workers ages seven to twenty seven in the country's four largest tobacco producing states include North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. Nearly three quarters of children interviews reporting being sick,having a cold, or worse. Most of children we spoke to labored for fifty to sixty hours a week burning heat often without shade or water. They plant…

Blair Mountain: A Battle for Union Rights Coal is the lifeblood of West Virginia, and the advent of WWI sparked an increased demand for it, with American production reaching 579 million tons in 1918 (Fishback, 21). “The total number of men employed in the production of bituminous coal reached the large total of 615,000 in 1918, exceeding all previous records” (UMW Journal, 1920). However, this massive production and large number of workers in the industry was destined to see a sharp post-war…

Thomas G. Andrews book, Killing for Coal: America's Deadliest Labor War, merges labor and environmental history in an breakdown of the half century leading up to the most fierce and violent labor unrest of the post civil war era, which is the Colorado coal-miner strike of 1913-1914, the Ludlow battle/massacre and Ten Day Coalfield War. Thomas Andrews argues in his book that these incidents cannot be seen in isolation or as separate events, but as the climax of half a century of struggle within…

Brady Price Mrs. Gillum English 11A 16 May 2018 Appalachian Mountain Appalachian refers to a largely rural people who reside in the southern Appalachian region covering about 110,000 square miles in the states of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Appalachian are spread through the Appalachian Mountains in nine states. This area consists of three physiographic regions. The Blue Ridge Mountains, with the highest peaks in…

Eastern Kentucky. Caudhill was a lawyer who had stern opinions about the coal industry whose book stood as a voice for the people of Appalachia. Caudhill describes the coal industry as an industry that destroys the Appalachian hills. Night Comes to the Cumberlands consisted of issues that people may have not necessarily been able to voice themselves. The response of the American people…