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Culture Prior to the 20th century, the people of Appalachia were geographically isolated from the rest of the country. As a result, they preserved the culture of their ancestors (most of them English, Scottish, and Irish) who settled the region in the 18th century. The area culture is of strong oral tradition (including music and song), self-sufficiency, and strong religious faith. Coal deposits in the region were tapped in the latter half of the 19th century and drew a new wave of immigrants from Ireland and Central Europe. With this industrialization came increased urbanization. Long characterized as economically underdeveloped, Appalachia has received more sympathetic treatment by historians and anthropologists in recent decades. The Foxfire project, an anthology of writings that began in 1972, appealed to the counterculture and gave the region new visibility in academia. The creation in 1936 of the Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine, also helped open the area to hikers and outdoor enthusiasts from all over the world. A long-running series of documentary films by Appalshop take a historical and critical view of the region, including especially such endemic and pervasive problems as those associated with coal mining (shaft mining and strip mining), poverty, and related social issues. Appalachian Regional Commission The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) was created by the U.S. Congress in 1965 to bring the 13 Appalachian states into the mainstream of the American economy. The Commission is a partnership of federal, state, and local governments, and was created to promote economic growth and improve the quality of life in the region. The region includes 406 counties, incorporating all of West Virginia and counties in 12 other states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The ARC is a planning, research, advocacy and funding organization; it does not have any governing powers within the region. The ARC's geographic range of coverage was defined broadly to cover as many economically underdeveloped areas as possible; it extends beyond the area usually thought of as "Appalachia". For instance, parts of Alabama and Mississippi were included in the commission because of similar problems with unemployment and poverty. The ARC's wide scope also grew out of the "pork barrel" phenomenon, as politicians from outside the traditional Appalachian area saw a new way to bring home federal money to their areas. Economy Issues in central Appalachia include emigration, poverty, and environmental issues. Mountain top removal coal mining, though much talked about, is poorly understood in terms of its overall impact on one of the most beautiful ecologically diverse regions in the eastern United States. Precedence from the past creates cycles of cynicism for some of America's first inhabitants. Absentee ownership continues to inspire the idea that Appalachia is one of America's last colonial holdings. The population, though continuing to dwindle, generally holds fast to ancient customs and ways of life, although threatened by large coal companies. Voices ranging from the Ohio Valley Coalition to Jesse Jackson's attempt to shed light on corporate public relation campaigns such as "clean coal technology" and "Friends of Coal". Since the formation of the Appalachian Regional Commission, poverty in Central Appalachia has increased significantly(Caudill, Opie, et.al). Some people blame pork barrel politics for stressing communities and the culture of Central Appalachia, perhaps beyond the point of recovery. At the same time, some people find infrastructure improvements, a classic type of pork barrel politics, could have helped but have come too late and have not brought in as much government money or real-time sustainable assistance as they could have. Political dysfunction, as documented by regional agencies like Appalshop, and serious social problems, especially for youth and the elderly, has contributed to what some have called "America's most under-reported and tragic tragedy." Some people in Appalachia believe their grievances are overpowered and muted by corporations wishing to exploit the region's rich natural resources. Regional activists and environmental writers such as Ken Ward of the Charleston Gazette have reported extensively on the deteriorating economic and environmental conditions in central Appalachia. The scale of change that created images such as Appalachian ghettos in Ohio, is seen by some as the results of economies of scale that is responsible for epochs of tragedy in a global economy(Google "China's Economic Churn"). In the 1990's with shrinking employment in the coal and timber industries Appalachia has seen a growing trend of using prisons as a new form of economic development. This new industry, while providing jobs, has brought with it a whole new host of social problems. (google Red Onion State Prison and Human Rights Watch) Name origin The name is a back-formation of "Appalachian," created to provide a political designation for the territory in and around the mountain chain. "Appalachian" comes from the Apalachee tribe, historically located in northern Florida, from which the de Soto expedition allegedly took the name and applied it to the mountains themselves. There is variation on how to pronounce the word "Appalachia." People from the Southern United States tend to say /æpə'lætʃʲə/ (appa-LATCH-a), while others, especially from the Northeast, often say /æpə'leɪʃʲə/ (appa-LAY-sha).* Popular culture Other Appalachia-related articles The six physiographic provinces of Appalachia: See also: Further reading | ||||||||||
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