Summary: Night Comes To The Cumberlands

Smith 01

Peter Smith
Professor Stone
HUM 202
26 JAN 2013
Night Comes to the Cumberlands-Book Review Essay

I recently read a book titled “Night Comes to the Cumberlands” written by a man named Harry M. Caudill. I chose this book for a couple of different reasons. The first is because after reviewing the book, I realized it was very thorough in how it covered the plight of the Appalachia people, it also goes into detail about how many different events from when his grandfather’s grandfather, James Caudill, built his cabin in 1792, to the current state of events when the book was written in 1962. At the time it was first published in 1962, it seemed to appeal to the American peoples’ conscience so much that it actually prompted the
creation of the Appalachian Regional Commission. This is an agency that has pumped millions of dollars into the Appalachia area. As I read further, I realized why there has been, and still continues to be, such economic hardship and sometimes hopeless despair for many of the people in this area.
Harry M. Caudill (May 3, 1922 - November 29, 1990) was an American author, historian, lawyer, legislator, and environmentalist from Letcher County, in the coalfields of southeastern Kentucky. Caudill served in World War II as a private in the U.S. Army and was elected three times as to the Kentucky State House of Representatives. He taught in the History Department at the University of Kentucky from 1976 to 1984. (whoislog.info) Caudill's study begins in the violence of the Indian wars and ends in the
Smith 02 economic despair of the 1950s and 1960s. Two hundred years ago, the Cumberland Plateau was an area of hope and great promise. Its deep, twisting valleys contained rich bottomlands. The surrounding mountains were full of a variety of game for hunting and covered with valuable timber. The people who came into this land survived mainly by farming the land, hunting, and making everything they might need themselves.
The quality of life in Appalachia declined during the Civil War and Appalachia remained in decline for the next century. By the time WW2 had come and into the 1960’s, Appalachia had become an area stricken by poverty in a country where it seemed everyone else was doing well and prospering. Caudill's book alerted the mainstream world to Appalachia’s problems and their causes. Since then the Appalachian Regional Commission has provided millions of dollars to strengthen the infrastructure of Appalachia and to help them recover from a century of economic problems that had greatly undermined the quality of life.
Caudill is a "native son"; he was born, and died in Whitesburg, KY, not that far from the Virginia line, and not far from the more famous towns of Hazard and Harlan.
He says that he was inspired to write the book in 1960, when he served as a commencement speaker at an 8th grade coal camp school, and noted the bitter irony of the singing of "America the Beautiful" against the backdrop of utter poverty and desolation. He chronicles the area's history from the original settlement by the white man who came over the mountains from the coast, and advanced no further, settling in "for the duration. When the Civil War came, it literally pitted brother against brother, father against son, as the natives left these valleys to fight for their respective sides. After the war, the vendettas and the feuds continued, personified by the "Hatfields vs. McCoys." Caudill talks in his book about the feuds where in one county
alone,
Smith 03 between 1865 and 1915, a thousand murder indictments were made. Obviously, numerous killings never made it to the indictment stage.
Around the beginning of the 1900's, the coal mining industry had begun to significantly take over in the area. Even today, based on repeated headlines, mining is a dangerous business. It was much more deadly then. Those who survived, according to Caudill, prospered. The prosperity ended with the Great Depression, as it did for much of America. With the Cumberlands however, it never returned. During the Depression, and thanks to Prohibition, many turned to the making of moonshine to survive. The Second World War at least provided employment for so many of the men from the hollows. After the war, employment did not return, as it had in the 1920's, due to the "technical innovation" of strip mining, which devastated the landscape, yet provided few jobs. Caudill devotes an entire chapter discussing the rise of the welfare state which seemed to zap the spirit out of the hearts of the citizens, since no "work" could be provided.
Caudill devoted a chapter to "The Case for a Southern Mountain Authority." His position gained steam when he gained the ear of President Kennedy, who introduced legislation that created the Appalachian Regional Commission in 1965. It has poured billions of dollars into the area, but due partly to the collapse of the steel industry up north, the positive effects have been very limited. Caudill has stated clearly that any effort by the government to create a plan to stabilize and revitalize the Appalachian area must be a long term and sustainable plan. He goes on to say that anything designed to produce short-term, quick, and spectacular results would most likely bear little fruit, and could possibly do more harm than good. To me, Caudill's most startling conclusion was: "Actually much of the Cumberland Plateau can best
Smith 04 serve the nation by being submerged." His thoughts were to develop much of the lowlands into recreation areas where people could fish, hunt, swim, and many other activities. Caudill believed this would be of much more value to the residents than the value garnered from the crops currently being farmed on these parcels of land. He believed the value of the fish that would be caught, alone would surpass the value of the harvests from the crops currently being raised on these lands. There have been several critics of this book that I believe one should respond too. Some people want to dismiss the book because of the lack of documentation (foot notes etc.). They believe the book was not researched well and that most of the book is only the opinions of the author. I believe this is an unfair criticism. Caudill spent his entire life in this region. The book is compiled of his own life experiences, observations and conversations with those in the region. I don't believe he should be required to research the ideas in this book because of the fact he lived them. First-hand experience is many times the best source for anything. Later generations wanting to write on this topic, people who were not there and who did not live through this time in this area, should be expected to do more research on their own before writing on these topics. Others believe Caudill perpetuated the stereotypes of Appalachians. In defense of these critics, to some extent he does perpetuate the stereotypes of “mountain folk” by his harsh comments towards them, especially later in the book, and his primary focus on the negative attributes of people in this region, particularly in regards to their dependence on public assistance. However, if you take the work as a whole, it is apparent that Caudill loved this region, loved these people, and really focused on the negative aspects of many of the people because he wanted to show what had happened to a once proud and self-sufficient people. I
Smith 05 also never got the impression that Caudill thought all people in the mountains were lazy, unmotivated and simply waiting for a hand out. Caudill also goes to great lengths to explain how many of these folks acquired these attributes and how Eastern Kentucky became a "welfare state". He did not like what many of these people had become, but he did present a sympathetic view on how they got there. Harry Caudill was a man of this land and knew its history, its people, its economy, its culture and its spirit.
Writing for a 300-year span of time, he does not spare the rough, the crude, the greedy and the mean. He uses an historical approach combining the economic, the political, the sociological, the psychological and the anthropological. There is much information that only a native like Caudill himself could have gathered from family, friends and the hills themselves. A fine lawyer by profession, he was even better as a storyteller. Caudill knew as much about the problems of this part of Appalachia as anyone and could accurately describe its symptoms. However, in terms of corrective measures, his prescriptions for cure fall largely off the mark. Solutions to the chronic, severe and long-standing problems in this region of the country are not easy and not fast. The coal counties in southern Appalachians are still losing population. Mountain top removal and valley fills, a type of coal mining just starting when Caudill completed his book are destroying tens of thousands of acres of southern hardwood forest. The landscape is permanently altered and will never recover after this type of mining has taken place. I’m sure if Caudill were around today, he would have more than enough material to write a book on this subject
alone.
I have lived in the Appalachia area all of my life. My mother came from the eastern Kentucky area near Paintsville, while my father was
Smith 06 from a little town in West Virginia called Smithfield. Both sides of my family come from areas affected greatly by what is discussed in this book. There are success stories though. Not all who are raised in this environment of declining economies remain here to become part of the continuing problem. Many, through their aspirations to escape this way of life, get an education and strive to become a solution to the problem, rather than add to it. Growing up as a child, and all of my life, I always said I wanted better for my family than this area can give them. It is not always that easy. One must be willing to pull up their roots and re-locate themselves and their families to areas that hold more promise for the future. This means leaving many of their family behind. This is not an easy thing for families who have had to be close and tight-knit to be able to survive in these economically depressed areas. Criminal activity such as drugs, theft, moonshining, poor education, and the constant feeling of despair have drug these areas down for many years.
Overall, I thought this was a great book. Although he was faulted at times by critics for his reliance on stereotypes, this was typical for the time. (1960s) There is little evidence to suggest that Caudill was a prejudicial man. He had direct experience that supported his characterization of mountain people and aspects of mountain culture that in today's world come across as heavy-handed.
Although it is nearly five decades old now, I found it to be just as valuable, and no less relevant today, as it was at the time it was written. Much of it is depressing and sad. Some of it is humorous. Some of it is infuriating. All of it is fascinating. As a lifelong resident of Appalachia, I found much to help explain 'why things are what they are' (and how they got to be that way) in this part of the country. Some have criticized the book for perpetuating
Smith 07 unfavorable stereotypes. I disagree. Caudill does not stereotype Appalachians - he merely explains them. “Night Comes To the Cumberlands” is a valuable history of the Cumberland Plateau, and clearly points out the exploitation of both its people and the beautiful mountains in which they live.
Caudill is a genius at showing how particular regions evolve very differently from their neighbors and what happens to those who are left behind. Despite the depressing aspects, the history is well written and interesting. I believe this book should be required reading for schools in this area because I think we owe so much to the folks who struggled in the coal mines so that we could lead a better life. It is a part of history that should not be forgotten.