"Appalachia's transformation from farms to coal fields has been previously analyzed from divergent viewpoints. Robert Weise now offers a new understanding of preindustrial Appalachia and its transition to industrial capitalism, reconstructing the social and economic behavior of local residents to show how the circumstances that defined the region's household economy also predisposed it to exploitation.".

"By closely studying the strategic blend of land ownership, subsistence agriculture, and commerce, Weise reveals how white male farmers in Floyd County attempted to achieve and preserve patriarchal authority and independence - and how this household localism laid the foundation for the region's development during the industrial era.

By shifting attention from the actions of industrialists to those of local residents, he reconciles contradictory views of antebellum Appalachia and offers a new understanding of the region's history and its people."--BOOK JACKET.