Interconnectedness: Mapping occurs at various scales, showing how different places are interrelated.
Cattle in Arizona connected to cow towns in Kansas, which links to meat packing in Chicago and meat consumption in New York.
Wheat production is similarly interconnected across regions.
Local versus Grand Scale: While geography has a grand scale, it is also experienced locally.
The south side of Chicago is fragmented into small neighborhoods shaped by social understandings from different communities.
Understanding of places like the south side and Appalachia involves both real geography and imaginative interpretations.
Importance of Rethinking Spaces: The concept of regions, such as "the West" or "Appalachia," needs to be analyzed beyond their surface definitions.
Imaginative Process: Often the imaginative interpretations of these regions counter their geographical realities.
Topography: The Mississippi River, Ohio River, and Appalachian Mountains play vital roles in defining geographical transport.
19th-century transport relied heavily on rivers for connection.
Appalachian Mountains: They limited westward expansion historically and shaped ideas around frontier versus civilization.
Important gaps, such as the Cumberland Gap, provided passage through rugged terrains.
Expansion of Industry: The war spurred rapid industrial growth in steel, meat, grain, textiles, and oil.
Railroads' Influence: Railroads connected large cities, facilitating the move westward and reshaping regions.
The Pacific Railways Act and Homestead Act encouraged westward expansion.
Corruption and Power of Railroads: Railroads exerted unchecked power and experienced significant corruption.
Issues such as monopolistic control led to public discontent, exemplified by Jesse James' notoriety against railroad injustices.
Railroads and Labor Struggles: The Reading Railroad monopoly over mining and railroad services impacted labor conditions.
Molly Maguires: A labor organization comprised primarily of Irish miners. They were unjustly depicted as violent criminals during labor unrest.
Prosecutors often connected violent acts to the Irish ethnicity rather than the oppressive labor conditions.
Convict Leasing System: Virginia exploited convict labor to bypass labor shortages in railroad building.
Invented Concept: The term "Appalachia" emerged in the 1870s and 1880s to describe the unique social and economic conditions of the region, reflecting a disconnect between its reality and perceptions.
The imagery constructed around Appalachia was of it being a rural and poor area, separate from northern and southern influences.
Diverse Population: Overlaying narratives often ignored the rich diversity within this mining region, simplistically labeling it as white and violent.
Mapping and Social Perception: Changes in how Appalachia was defined corresponded with economic or social agendas, often missing key geographic areas for political expediency.
Company Towns: Railroads and mining companies created company towns, controlling housing and supplies through company stores and scripts.
Discontent: Such systems led to social unrest, with laborers often in violent confrontation against oppressive practices.
Maps and Imaginations: Literature helped shape the perception of Appalachia as a unique, backward region, legitimizing the power of coal companies and railroads.
Cultural Narratives: As narratives solidified, they served to disconnect the realities of the coal-mining industries from public sympathy or responsibility for their conditions.