The Appalachian region has a unique culture influenced by Scottish, Irish, and English settlers, Native American tribes, and religion. Traditional music evolved into New World ballads and bluegrass and country music. The region is known for outdoor recreation, but poverty and a struggling education system are ongoing issues.
The Appalachian region of the United States has a unique culture centered around a rich history and a combination of Northern European ancestry that makes the area distinct. The area extends from southern New York State to northern Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi in the vicinity of the Appalachian Mountains. The region was originally home to Native American tribes such as the Cherokee, but was settled in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries primarily by Scottish, Irish and English settlers.
The people who settled in the Appalachian region were known as warm-hearted people who lived in an often harsh environment. They were deeply religious and that aspect of the region continues today. Indeed, religion has played an important role in shaping the communities and historical events that have taken place over the centuries. Since many of the settlers were of Scottish-Irish descent, they brought their traditional music with them to the Appalachian region. Irish and English ballads were a form of music popular among the early settlers, and that music evolved into New World ballads that were written entirely in the Appalachian region, as opposed to the “Old World” ballads brought with them from the Europe. The Appalachian region was also home to bluegrass music and country music, which evolved from traditional Appalachian music combined with blues music played primarily by African Americans.
In more recent years, the Appalachian region has also become known for outdoor recreation. The Appalachian Trail winds through the Appalachian Mountains from its starting point at Springer Mountain in Georgia to the Appalachian states and beyond to Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park in Maine. The mountainous region has become synonymous with pristine wilderness and fantastic vistas, often in narrow wilderness corridors bordered by cities and other urban areas. The Appalachian region is also home to national parks and several national forests in addition to the Appalachian Trail.
Unfortunately, not all the reasons that make the region unique are positive. Poverty has been a problem in Appalachia since it was first recognized as a distinct region. For a short time, residents thrived on the lumber and coal mining industries, but as these industries faded, families became impoverished and poverty persisted. The education system in Appalachia has also suffered as a result, and due to a lack of funding and an emphasis on the importance of education, school systems in the region often lag far behind national trends.
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