Appalachian stereotypes

The Appalachian region and its people have historically been stereotyped by observers, with the basic perceptions of Appalachians painting them as backwards, rural, and anti-progressive. These widespread, limiting views of Appalachia and its people began to develop after the Civil War. Those who "discovered" Appalachia found it to be a very strange environment, and depicted its "otherness" in their writing. These depictions have persisted and are still present in common understandings of Appalachia today, with a particular increase of stereotypical imagery during the late 1950s and early 1960s in sitcoms. Common Appalachian stereotypes include those concerning economics, appearance, and the caricature of the "hillbilly."

Perceived "otherness" was the driving force behind the early development of Appalachian stereotypes. When the "discoverers" of Appalachia encountered the region in the 1870s, they found what to them was a very strange environment. Many saw Appalachian otherness as a problem that needed an explanation. As groups like the missionaries worked to bring Appalachia into the mainstream, their writings and the writings of others generated a common view of Appalachia. The popular image of the region as an underdeveloped and exotic corner of America prompted a need to justify its otherness, and the rationalizations given for this image gave way to stereotypes of the region.

While a general awareness of the Appalachia had existed, it was "discovered" by writers who helped form popularly accepted images of the region in the 1870s. One of the earliest groups involved were missionaries who aimed to save Appalachians and introduce them into mainstream Protestantism. Their mission was formed from the ideals of Kentucky abolitionist John G. Fee—founder of Berea College—who developed the vision of the antislavery mountaineer. This vision spread, and was picked up by the American Missionary Association (AMA). Promotional literature emerged to support the AMA's missionaries and their operations such as churches and schools. While the writing called Appalachians Protestants, it depicted them as having different beliefs and values from mainstream Protestants. Missionaries saw them as worthy of being saved but having critical faults such as poverty, excessive anger, and being without practical religion.

The first inhabitants of the Appalachian region were Native Americans, such as the Powhatan, Saponi, Monacan, and Cherokee groups. The people of Appalachia can trace their ancestral background from the large migration of Scotch-Irish where their ancestors used to live.

The Scotch-Irish moved to the region, as well as the African-Americans who were emancipated from slavery. The population kept on growing as more communities migrated to Appalachia. One of the biggest population spurts that the region ever recorded was around 1870 to 1950.

Notably, the increased population growth resulting from the expansion of coal mining attracted various immigrants. Despite there being hopes of providing a rich lifestyle to the coal mine workers, they lived under low life standards due to poverty. Miners were paid by the ton of coal produced, instead of an hourly rate. Due to this, the economy stayed poor and struggled to allow the region to prosper.

Pre–civil war era, the majority of the miners within the Appalachian region were of Irish, Scottish, or Welsh descent. As they struggled to deal with the low wage, workers started to create unions and benevolent societies. The Workingmen's Benevolent Society won some concessions regarding class tensions, insufficient wages, and poor living conditions, but none were enough to make significant differences. This generated violence from the miners.

After the Civil War, violence arose between the people of the Appalachian region and the state militia, causing the deaths of hundreds. Continued conflicts between the coal mine workers and the mine owners and operators caused massacres such as the Matewan massacre.