Miners, Millhands, and Mountaineers by R.D. Eller is a story that discredits the myths surrounding the people that live in the Appalachian Mountains. Most people think the Appalachian area was passed up by modernization and see the people as “hillbillies” and as “backwards”. The area is marked by its traditional ways and strong family ties and some people think this contributes to what is trapping the people in that area to poverty. Eller, on the other hand, sees the Appalachian Mountain community differently and wrote this book to shed a new light on the people in that area. He shares many facts that reveal that the area is not as backwards and out of date as many people think. He argues that the stereotypes are false and the area is actually …show more content…
The result of this modernization left the people to face forces that were far beyond their control. The people of Appalachia are more than just mountain people, they are the backbone of the America economy. The southern Appalachian Mountain area is primarily a mountainous landscape that boasts a vast ecosystem. The region was almost totally covered with trees and native mountaineers would utilize the areas natural resources in their everyday life. The trees provided shelter from the heat in the summer and protection from the areas fire, windstorms, ice storms and snow storms. The forests were home to many plants and animals that the natives used as their primary food source. The forests were also the reason that the lumber companies gained an interest in this area. The logging industry expressed their interest in this area around the 1900s when the timber industry became to boom. Loggers came and started clearing the forests in many Appalachian communities leaving the people with limited shelter and food. Paper mills were also introduced to the area around this time and contributed to the deforestation of the area. While logging, the loggers couldn’t help but notice the …show more content…
I found this book to be interesting because it taught me a lot about the area that I call home. Ronald Eller did a great job of discrediting the stereotypes that mark this area. From my understanding: the Appalachia region was ravaged by outsiders, and the area’s economy was flipped to serve the outsiders rather than the natives. Eller also did a great job at providing detailed information of how the timber and mining industries made such a massive impact. Native mountaineers were often convinced to sign over their property rights to the industries for an allowance. Coal companies came to own most of the land in the Appalachia and had little interest in its people or preserving the character of the community or their quality of life. This goes to show that Mountaineers were not as “backwards” and as “hillbilly” as people like to think. They were misinformed and, often times, were tricked into selling their proper to greedy industry owners. In the book, Ronald Eller does an excellent job at discussing the transformation of the land over 5 decades. The area went from an isolated and self-sustaining region of small farms to an area where most families were indebted to the cooperation’s for their livelihood. The information Eller provided was very thorough and well researched. He also included photographs, maps and tables to supplement the information presented in the text. My only
The rail road and fossil fuels are the keys to Palmer’s vision for an industrialized Colorado. The increasing demand for energy from the populous tinkled up to business like Colorado Fuel and Iron Company to minimized cost. However, the side effects of bring the rail road and coal mining to the beautiful Colorado included destroying the landscape and polluting the living condition to citizens of Colorado. The growing cost of labor paved away to immigrant labor to enter into the coal mining industry instead of the experienced and more expensive colliers.
“The Frontiersmen” was written by Allan W. Eckert in 1967. It is a narrative historical fiction story. The book is full of excitement and adventure chronicling the relationship between the American frontiersman and the Native Americans. Mr. Eckert did research for seven years, hiking around the United States. He learned to live off the land and find out all that he could about wildlife and survival during difficult circumstances.
After seven weeks of studying the history of Ohio I have gained extensive knowledge of the state. Not only has my understanding of the state’s history broadened, but my view of Ohio in general has been elevated. I’ve learned about how geography has affected Ohio’s growth and development, and also how Ohio has influenced the growth and development of the nation. Ohio has played a major role in our country socially, economically, and politically.
With the rural population numbering more than urban, some may think that Appalachia’s residents are isolationists. This is not the case. In reality, it is the land that is isolated, not the people. There is a distinct difference between the two. Also, slave violence was an issue in any territory where it was legal to own slaves.
In 1871 British Columbia joined confederation and was the 6th province to be apart of the country known as “Canada”. “On July 20, 1871, British Columbia entered Confederation as our sixth province, extending the young Dominion of Canada to the Pacific Ocean.” (http://www.canadahistoryproject.ca/1871/ ) One of the main reasons B.C. was able to join Canada, was because of the Fraiser River Gold Rush. This was when 30,000 miners from the United States came to British Columbia to get in on the gold rush.
It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from you should read J.D Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy”. It’s an explorative memoir into the author, his family and the culture of the people in the Appalachian Mountains. I would recommend this book to anyone who has experienced violence, drug abuse, and loss of a loved one. While its topics are hard to dive into J.D Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy” writes about the realities of life in the Appalachia, and the many traumas and roadblocks he went through to get where he is now.
Samuel Western “Pushed off the Mountain Sold Down the River” I felt the principle purpose of this book was Samuel Western showing how immature and under-populated the state of Wyoming is. Western also wrote about how difficult it can be to make a living or raise and provide for a family with as few resources we have in Wyoming compared to other states. The author gave a few examples of why he believes Wyoming has not developed more since the Homestead Act. Some of which I could see his perspective and consent to a point. Other times, as I read through the story, I felt offended like the author was attacking Wyoming for being different than most states.
in this ethnic group. · The Appalachian culture is dominantly patriarchal. The women and men both of this culture have roles. The males of the family tend to make the major decisions in the family; however the women have a strong influence on the family too. The women are the nurturer of the family and provide care at home.
The most popular examinations of Appalachian whiteness deal with the stereotypes of “poor white trash” or “the hillbilly.” Although they position the inhabitants of Appalachian as a people apart, that is separate and different from mainstream urban industrializing America, those arguments often hedge on class instead of racial differences. When people of color are included, they are only useful in as much as they provide a point of juxtaposition that allow whites to define themselves against what they are
Michael Boydstun ENVS 101-1998 Environmental Impact of deforestation In the Pacific Northwest The first people to explore the wilderness in what is now Oregon and Washington documented beautiful forests of mesmerizingly large trees as far as the eye can see. The explorer’s initial reports brought in people who came to make a profit off the forest and the vast amounts of lumber it could provide. Lumber mills were built before the area was even added to the union. The environmental footprint started out small, but the lack of regulation, lack of enforcement of the existing regulations, and an increase in technology quickly created a large environmental battle over the whole region.
Throughout the book, Changes in the Land, by William Cronon, ecological changes in colonial England are discussed, analyzed, and elaborated. The first part of the book, Looking Backward, talks of many comparisons between Henry David Thoreau and his outlook on his Concord home to William Wood’s perspective of New England. Through these comparisons, the ecosystem of New England is described, along with how the Europeans and the Indians interact with each other, which in turn affected the eventual outcomes of the ecosystem. The second part of the book, The Ecological Transformation of New England, speaks of how the Indians were reserved with their land and resources, never using more than they needed nor more than they knew they had. However,
The novel, The Day the Cowboys Quit, by Elmer Kelton is not a typical cowboy story filled with waving guns and violent fights. Instead, this story shows what the real life of a cowboy would have been like through the story of Hugh Hitchcock. The Day the Cowboys Quit is based on a cowboy strike that occurred in Tascosa, Texas in 1883. Kelton based his fictional story on the causes of the strike and what became as a result of the strike. This paper will explain historical events concerning the cowboys and depict their true lifestyle which contrasts the stereotypes normally associated with being a cowboy, as well as summarize the novel The Day the Cowboys Quit.
For instance, lead mining brought a lot of jobs to the area as well as coal mining. I found something about each map that I studied. The historic map showed where the Five Civilized Tribes listed on the map while the modern map showed the highways and interstates. According Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, it said, “Indians supplied much of what government Arkansas enjoyed during that period during which France
Mountain Men went into the Louisiana Territory during the early 1800s and they trapped beavers for the hides and fur. They traded the hides and furs for goods that they needed to live in the mountains like: salt, tobacco, lead, powder, knives, whiskey, traps and sugar. Some Mountain Men took Indian brides and lived part of the year with the tribe. Their life was often lonely and it could be dangerous.
These stereotypes almost always lead to quick judgments of people, which can make people weary of others. The protagonist in this story is a stereotypical member of upper-class society. He lives in a nice neighborhood,