THE UPPER SOUTH

south

mountains and highlands in the Upper South

• (southern) Appalachian Mountains

• Ozarks

• Quachita Mountains

• basins and plateaus between them

did it rely on plantation economy?

No, although there are 2 exceptions: tobacco plantations in the Great valley and Kentucky and cotton in Nashivine Basin

highest peak in the Appalachian Mountains

Mt. Mitchell (6,684ft)

climate of the Upper South

• mild with long growing season

• abundant precipitation

• temperature modified by elevation

Which Europeans settles in the Upper South

english, Scot-Irish, Scottish and German

Which state seceded from the Confederacy?

West Virginia

federal recognized tribes

Eastern Band of Cheroke and Indians of North Carolina

state recognized tribes

Cherokee Trive of northeast Alabama and United Cherokee Ani-Yun-Wija Nation

what are the cultural traits and stereotypes of Appalachian people

• valuing personal freedom

• individualism

• self-sufficiency

• frugality

• distrust of central authority and public education

• isolated groups based on kinship

what’s a hillbilly

a term for people who dwell in rural, mountaineous area in the US - proudly used by locals, but sometimes used in a derogatory way by outsiders

Affrilachia

Name for a movement of African-American artists that contributed to culture

Back-To-The-Land movements

promoted rural life, homesteading, growing food from the land, emphasized self-sufficiency, autonomy, and local community

what was the Back-To-The-Land critical of

prevailing industrial or postindustrial way of life

Bluegrass music

created by Bill Monroe and others, based on old-time music — played on acoustic instruments, such as banjo, fiddle, guitar etc.

Bluegrass gospel characteristics

• rooted in mountain music

• features religious themes

• used vocal harmonies

How did the economy of locals fare in Appalachia during the industrial growth

before poverty notably absent, but as industrialism came and coal mining prevailed in Appalachia there was an increase of poverty

when did coal mining increase

after 1870s

company towns

used by companies to concentrate labor in a dispersed area, renting houses to miners, had poor roads and transportation

Labor unions

conflict between labor and capital, miners and textile workers who worked at profitable industries had low wages, poor working and living conditions, as well as child labor, all of it attracted capital due to easy exploitation

Mother Jones

a prominent labor union organizator

United Mine Workers Union

started organizing coal miners in the 1990s as a result of poor conditions and low wages

Coal Wars or Mine Wars

strikes in 1890-1930 which led to violent battles

Blair Mountain Labor Uprising

1921, US Army intervention which resulted in the killing of up to 100 workers

Regional stimulation - policies

originated 1930s with president Roosevelt policy’s of the New Deal, which meant to improve living conditions, stimulate economic development and provide jobs

Tennessee Valley Authority

first example of regional stimulation, which prompted hydroelectric dams that provided electricity for homes and stimulated industry in the area

ARC

Appalachian regional Commission

what does ARC do

indentifies regions that are economically distressed or at-risk based on income, poverty rate, unemployment. Initiates projects to infrastructure, eduction, economic opportunities

Appalachian Development Highway System

system of highways developed by ARC since 1965 to improve accessibility and stimulate growth

what’s a negative outcome (about migration) of the improvement of infrastructure of Appalachia

a process called “brain drain” in which people who are highly-skilled outmigrate

Mountaintop removal

forests clear cut and mountains are blown up— a type of trip mining or surface coal mining

valley fills

where coal companies dispose of the material they blew up from mountaintop removal

prisons on extraction sites

mountaintop removal sites used to locate new prisons — concern for their health and the economic consequences

fracking

shale gas and oil extraction, promised many jobs but delivered few

consequences of mountaintop removal

• polluted land, water, air, and destroys surroundings

• destroys ecosystems

• Black Lung disease for coal miners

• coal sludge from coal processing plants pollute water

• effects on cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, birth defects

fossil politics in recent times

Trump and JD Vance promised to cut back subsidies for renewable energy and electric vehicles and increase fossil fuel extraction

Interior Low Plateaus

stretch from Tennesse Valley to the limit of Pleistocene glaciation in the Ohio Valley

Interior Low Plateaus characteristics

• temperate forests

• woodlands

• prairies

• grassy or savannah-like

• corn, soybeans, cattle, tobacco, poultry

urban and industrial growth outcomes, cities

• Nashville, Lexington, Louisville

• cotton mills

• railroads

• iron and steel

• alumminum

• Oak Ridge

• vehicle manufacturing

main urban areas in the Upper South

• Nashville, TN — Music City

• Louisville, KN

• Huntsville

• Birmingham

• Knoxville

• Chattanooga

country music characteristics

• “hillbilly” music

• since 1920s recorded

• lyrics focused on working-class, blue-collar people

the Ozarks, what are they and characteristics

they are hihlands with deep river valleys that cut into bedrock, oak woodlands, sparse settlements and few cities, similar traits to Appalachia folk (some locals might disagree)

lead and zinc mining

• primarily during both WW

• designated as Superfund sites

• mining activities since 1850s

• boosted by railroads

• ceased in 1970s

what was lead used for

plumbing pies, lining in airtight containers, paint, bullets

what was zinc used for

galvanizing wire, sheet irons, roofinf, stove boards, dyeing, fireworks

Mining in Picher

1912 to 1967

• located near neighbourhoods

• toxic waste caused damage to air, land and water

• area deemed unhabitable

• town disincoroprated in 2013

Ouachita Mountains characteristics

similar age and geological history as Appalachian Mountains

geothermal activities — hot springs

National forest

a type of protected and managed federal lands, owned collectively by the American people, managed by US Forest Service

National Wilderness Area

protected areas enabled Wilderness Act of 1964

Characterized by minimal human imprint, recreation purposes (educational, scientific etc.), scenic or historical values

NO commercial enterprise

no motorized travel

Tribal lands

• Choctaw Nation in Ouahita Mountains

• Cherokee Nation on the fringe of the Ozarks

Choctaw Nation characteristics

• 2nd largest reservation after Navajo Nation

• tribe with over 220k members

Sardis Lake, OK history and characteristics

• built as a freshwater reservoir

• the construction destroyed best Choctaw agricultural lands

• forced many Native families to relocate

• now provides fishing grounds, hunting grounds, recreational opportunities,

• source of freshwater for many communities