40. Appalachia continued to lag behind the rest of the nation
The census conducted in 2000 revealed that sections of Appalachia continued to lag far behind the rest of the United States in income and education, while leading to poverty. In Martin County, Kentucky, visited by Lyndon Johnson after the announcement of the War on Poverty in 1964, 37% of citizens were found to be living beneath the poverty line. In Appalachia, over 23% of all adults lacked a high school diploma, and more than 30% were considered functionally illiterate. The belief that a job in the mines, or logging camps, or driving the trucks which move their continually dwindling output of product, continued to outweigh the belief that an education is important in many of the remote areas, where the traditions of the past continued to displace the needs of the present and the future.
Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“Li’l Abner: A Study in American Satire”. Arthur Asa Berger. 1994
“Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon”. Anthony Harkins. 2003
“The Andy Griffith Show Book”. Ken Beck & Jim Clark. 1985
“History by Hollywood: The Use and Abuse of the American Past”. Robert Brent Toplin. 1996
“History of the banjo”. Article, bluegrassbanjo.org. Online
“A History of the Mountain Dulcimer”. Dr. Lucy M. Long. Online
“How to Make an Appalachian Potato Basket”. Wolf Camp and the Conservation College. Online
“Appalachian Foods: Defining Generations”. Mary Casey-Sturk, Smoky Mountain Living. Online
“Company Towns: 1880s to 1935”. Social Welfare Project, Virginia Commonwealth University. Online
“You Can’t Go Home Again Critical Essays”. Critical Analysis, eNotes. Online (subscription)
“A Brief History of Bluegrass Music”. Bluegrass Heritage Foundation. Online
“Clogging: The Ultimate Appalachian Dance”. Appalachian Magazine. January 28, 2019
“A History of Appalachia”. Richard B. Drake. 2003
“Appalachia Mountain Folklore”. Micheal Rivers. 2012
“Love and Marriage in Appalachia”. Jessica Hager, Smoky Mountain Living. February 1, 2011
“Christmas in Central Appalachia”. Roadside Theater Online. April 30, 2014
“The Hill-Billies Come to Detroit”. Louis Adamic, The Nation. February 13, 1934