The contrast between traditional and modern

According to Williams, a conventional definition of Appalachia was an area distinguished from others by a stated set of qualities and attributes that could be mapped from the region's core to its perimeter and the intensity of which could be quantified. The modern definition of Appalachia is a 205000m-high region. The Appalachian Mountains stretch from Canada to the United States and include the Great Valley, Cumberland Plateau, mountain range, and Blue Ridge (Williams 12). Appalachians were noted for their independence and illiteracy.However, at present regionalism recognizes that each place is featured by characteristics such as environmental forces, local and global human interaction and the boundaries of the region expectedly shift both object perspective and subject perspective.

Therefore, to the Appalachia as a zone of interacting in between different people who acted upon or have lived with it is possible. Additionally, the interactions go ahead and define a region is more than a specific bunch of environmental, cultural or social economic markers. At present, therefore, Appalachia is a region where different people interact with themselves and with a group of sub-regional and regional environments for a certain period. According to Williams, the federal type of government at present defines Appalachia as parts of New Yolk, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Georgia among others (Williams 14). It encompasses the thirteen states with three hundred and ninety-seven counties. This region comprises of quite some groups who have some common values, independent and self-sufficient people.

Part two

The future of Appalachia

According to Williams, the future of Appalachia seems to be absorbed in the mainstream; this is due to the middle-class women who came from Northeast to improve conditions in the Appalachia. They perceived the culture of the region as being Deficient in many ways hence they worked to bring value and schools to the people of the mountain (Wykoff and Olivia 4).

The second instance that shows that the Appalachia will be absorbed in the mainstream is where they used industrialization and economic development by outsiders to ensure progress. This is because the local population was believed to lack the capacity of developing the resources of Appalachia on their promoters asserted that development of economy would provide order and discipline in the people of mountain. Therefore through industrialization, the people of Appalachia would be the effective contributors to the nation’s progress. Through rapid urban growth and technological innovation, it leads to increased demand for timber, labor, mineral which were supplied abundantly in Appalachia.

Additionally, the rail road impact in every county cannot be estimated since it leads to full exploitation of the natural resources of that region. The key resources that lead to industrialization are the core, although it was opened by the middle-class outsiders and also operated by the same. This shows the main reason why the future of the Appalachia will be absorbed in the mainstream since the economy and political power in the field of coal were manipulated by those ambitious men who operated the industry for their benefit which sometimes could be at the future economy detriment (Wykoff and Olivia 6). However, industrialization showed also in chemical production, timber exploitation, textile mills and forestry among others. The effect of industrialization in Appalachia was characterized by bad and features; the local economy had moved to an international one from local by the First World War.

Works Cited

Williams, John Alexander. Appalachia: A history. Univ of North Carolina Press, 2002.

Wykoff, Randy, and Olivia Egen. "The Future of Appalachia."