This book is the only thorough economic history of our region that covers these 210 years. Salstrom taught econmics at St. Mary's of the Woods College near Terre Haute, Indiana, throughout his career. From its publisher, the University Press of Kentucky: Salstrom argues that economic adversity has resulted from three types of disadvantages: natural, market, and political. The overall context in which Appalachia’s economic life unfolded was one of expanding United States markets and, after the Civil War, of expanding capitalist relations.
Covering Appalachia’s economic history from early white settlement to the end of the New Deal, this work is not simply an economic interpretation but draws as well on other areas of history. Whereas other interpretations of Appalachia’s economy have tended to seek social or psychological explanations for its dependency, this important work compels us to look directly at the region’s economic history. This regional perspective offers a clear-eyed view of Appalachia’s path in the future.
Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1994. 204 pages with an Index, Bibliography, Notes, and tables. Hardback in dust jacket.