Transforming the Appalachian Countryside - Railroads, Deforestation, and Social Change in West Virginia, 1880-1920 (Paperback, New edition)

In 1880, ancient-growth forest still covered two-thirds of West Virginia, but by the 1920s lumbermen had denuded the entire region. Ronald Lewis explores the transformation in these mountain counties precipitated by deforestation. As the only state that lies entirely within the Appalachian region, West Virginia provides an ideal site for studying the broader social impact of deforestation in Appalachia, the South, and the eastern United States. Most of West Virginia was still dominated by a backcountry economy when the industrial transition began. In short order, however, railroads linked remote mountain settlements directly to national markets, hauling away forest products and returning with manufactured goods and modern ideas. Workers from the countryside and abroad swelled new mill towns, and merchants ventured into the mountains to fulfill the needs of the growing population. To protect their massive investments, capitalists increasingly extended control over the state's legal and political systems. Eventually, though, even ardent supporters of industrialization had reason to contemplate the consequences of unregulated exploitation. Once the timber was gone, the mills closed and the railroads pulled up their tracks, leaving behind an environmental disaster and a new class of marginalized rural poor to confront the worst depression in American history. |Examines the impact of the rapid, unregulated deforestation of West Virginia between 1880 and 1920, a short-lived timber boom that left behind an environmental disaster.

General

Imprint:	The University of North Carolina Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	June 1998
First published:	June 1998
Authors:	Ronald L Lewis
Dimensions:	235 x 156 x 22mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	368
Edition:	New edition
ISBN-13:	978-0-8078-4706-0
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Books > Humanities > History > American history > General Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social groups & communities > Rural communities Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Pollution & threats to the environment > General Books > History > American history > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Promotions
LSN:	0-8078-4706-2
Barcode:	9780807847060

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