“Until World War II three different social systems existed side by side in the coal fields of the Southern Appalachian’s: (1) the original rural mountain settlements, characterized by a pattern of isolated residence and subsistent farming (2) the coal camps, primarily composed of homogenous work groups which were socially segregated and economically dependent upon a single extractive industry…”
Appalachia was very quickly transitioned from a slow moving farming area, to a huge industrial coal mining business. While coal mining brought profit to Appalachia, did the degradation of their natural resources, low wages, and unsafe working conditions outweigh the benefits in the eyes of Appalachians?
