Chapter 8: Appalachia and Ozarks

At first glance, Appalachia and the South have similar characteristics. Both have good land for agricultural purposes, but Appalachian land is better suited for smaller farming. Both had slower development of manufacturing, but Mobile’s urban development has been more successful than most of Appalachia. While Mobile had many immigrants including France, Britain and Spain at the onset, Appalachia was settled mostly by the Germans and Scots-Irish, establishing its Anglo-Saxon population that endures to this day.
Appalachia had good land for small-scale farming, but poorly suited for large-scale agriculture compared to land in the South. This region continued to focus on agriculture long after manufacturing and urban living enveloped the rest of the country. Appalachia had few products to sell and discouraged development. In many small Appalachian counties the black populations are very small. Few new immigrants ever settled here because of little urban development, no antebellum plantation economy like the South and had limited agricultural land. Appalachia remained unchanged in a nation where immigration, education and commerce were the norm.

Tennessee farm

Like Mobile, Appalachia is mostly Protestant, but is mostly Anglo-Saxon and white, whereas Mobile is about half white and half black, as mentioned in a previous post. In fact, Appalachia is the nation’s largest predominantly white, low-income region according to the book. Like Mobile, the people of Appalachia are conservative both politically and religiously. Appalachia is also included in the Bible Belt with Mobile. Although Mobile and Alabama as a state have roots in the Democratic party, the city and state are now red states. Appalachia differs from the South in that the region’s roots have always been solid with the Republican party.

Results from the 2000 Presidential Election.  Appalachia and Ozark states (Missouri, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, and parts of Georgia and Alabama) are all red states.

When one thinks of the people of Alabama and the South, the term “redneck” is often used to stereotype its people. Appalachia also experiences a similar stereotype in the word “hillbilly.” Because of their isolation and poor economic opportunities, people of the Appalachian region have often been considered rural. Their people tended to stay in the same place they were born and their increasing conservative religious beliefs, furthered this stereotype. Today, most of this isolation is gone, but many of the values - and stereotypes - endure.