5. The typical Appalachian was presented as uneducated, but often shrewd
A good example of the stereotypes which emerged regarding the people of Appalachia can be found in Jed Clampett, as portrayed in The Beverly Hillbillies by venerable actor Buddy Ebsen (though Jed was from the Ozarks, rather than Appalachia). Jed was uneducated but shrewd, often accidentally so; devoted to family, which extended to scores of cousins, nieces, nephews, uncles, and aunts. The depiction of the extended Clampett clan has long been extended to Appalachian clans, though that stereotype is based on some truth, as clannish settlements are still a part of the region, many of them intertwined, as in the case of the modern Hatfields and McCoys.