Appalachians all: East Tennesseans and the elusive history of an American region

Abstract

Appalachians intertwines the histories of three communities--Knoxville with its urban life, Cades Cove with its farming, logging, tourism legacies, the Clearfork Valley with its coal production--to tell a larger story of East Tennessee its inhabitants. Combining a perceptive account of how industrialization shaped developments in these communities since the Civil War with a heartfelt reflection on identity, Mark Banker provides a significant new regional history with implications that extend well beyond East Tennessee's boundaries. Writing with the keen eye of a native son who left the area only to return years later, Banker uses elements of his own autobiography to underscore the ways in which East Tennesseans, particularly successful urban dwellers, often distance themselves from an identity. This understandable albeit regrettable response, Banker suggests, diminishes demeans both the individual region, making stereotypically Appalachian conditions self-perpetuating. Whether exploring grassroots activism in the Clearfork Valley, the agrarian traditions subsequent displacement of Cades Cove residents, or Knoxvillians' efforts to promote trade, tourism, industry, Banker's detailed historical excursions reveal not only a profound richness complexity in the East Tennessee experience but also a profound interconnectedness. Synthesizing the extensive research revisionist interpretations of Appalachia that have emerged over the last thirty years, Banker offers a new lens for constructively viewing East Tennessee its past. He challenges readers to reconsider ideas that have long diminished the region to re-imagine Appalachia. And ultimately, while Appalachians All speaks most directly to East Tennesseans other residents, it also carries important lessons for any reader seeking to understand the crucial connections between history, self, place. Mark T. Banker, a history teacher at Webb School of Knoxville, resides on the farm where he was raised in nearby Roane County. He earned his PhD at the University of New Mexico is the author of Missions Cultural Interaction in the Far Southwest, 1850-1950. His articles have appeared in the of Presbyterian History, Journal of the West, OAH Magazine of History, and Journal.