they associate the moonshiner with the appalachia resident. stories andcolor lines are going to stress these themes. moonshine is a product of geographical isolation. these moonshiners are uncivilized. they are savage. these moonshiners, by extension these mountain whites come are genetically different, somehow predisposed to commit violence they are savage. what you also see as we get into the mid-1880's is that the moonshiner is going to serve as a symbol of what is wrong with appalachia. these coloradoans is going to say the reason why appalachia people live in squalor and ignorant and uneducated is because of geographical isolation. it is because they are savage people. it is because genetically they are predisposed to committing violence. the moonshiner, it up it is what is wrong with him society. announcer: watch the entire program tonight at 8:00 and midnight eastern on lectures in history. american history tv, only on c-span3. >> next, a panel of historians discuss the influence of american democracy after world war ii in a session cal

>> tonight on lectures in history, a class on the 1870's moonshine wars in appalachia. appalachian state university professor bruce stewart shows thejournalists help shape perception of the region as a violent place. here is a preview. mr. stewart: moonshine has become a central character in all of these writings and in these northern middle-class people begin to associate moonshine with appalachia. they begin to associate the moonshine with the appalachian resident. these local color stories are going to stress those themes i talked about. moonshine is a product of geographical isolation. these moonshiners are uncivilized. they are savage. these moonshiners, by extension these mountain whites, are also genetically different, somehow genetically predisposed to commit violence. they are savage. you also see though as we it it into the mid-1880's, becomes a symbol of what is wrong with appalachia. these coloradoans are going to say the reason why appalachia people live in squalor and ignorance and uneducated is because of geographical isolation. it is because they are sav

all miners i've talked to in appalachia in the last five years all say the same thing.y fear just going to the niosh vans that come into their community and seen going into the vans could cause the mining company to say this guy might have black lung. the last mining company you worked for is the mining company saddled with your black lung benefits and your healthcare, so you could have worked for another mining company for 20 years, but if you worked for the last one for a year, they're the ones that pay, so miners believe that if the mining company finds out, they'll lose their jobs, so they don't get tested. >> sreenivasan: this is also one of the worst forms of black lung. is there something different that's happening in the mining now that's increasing the the likelihood they get the worst form of it? >> well, for at least a decade or so, the big coal mining scenes in appalachia have played out and there are thinner seams that have coal mixed in with rock that contains silica and they mine the rock and coal together so silica dust is mixed in with the coal dust and

she said first of all, she wants to go to appalachia and begin a movement. she has learned, she said, to ask a different question, not a policy question or political question or welfare question that she asked where does it hurt, how does it affect you, where does it when you. she said that as the start of a different conversation and i think she's right. she thinks going through appalachia in the south, a black woman beginning a movement to simply sit down and say where does it hurt is a way to start a new conversation. i would like your response or thought about that. >> my response is bravo.us i think she's fabulous, and i think that is in fact exactly where you could say my book planeplates to. >> thank you for a wonderful talk. my question is how do you bring in the facts to counter these deep stories because at the end of the day i think some of these are actually hurting them. how do you as an educator seeho how we can overcome this and say these are the effects on which you control your opinions leaving politics out of it. >> wonderful, wonderfulep q

. >> tonight on lectures in history, a class on the 1870's moonshine wars in appalachia. appalachian state university professor bruce stewart shows thejournalists help shape perception of the region as a violent place. here is a preview. mr. stewart: moonshine has become a central character in all of these writings and in these northern middle-class people begin to associate moonshine with appalachia. they begin to associate the moonshine with the appalachian resident. these local color stories are going to stress those themes i talked about. moonshine is a product of geographical isolation. these moonshiners are uncivilized. they are savage. these moonshiners, by extension these mountain whites, are also genetically

she says that -- first of all, she wants to go to appalachia and begin a movement among the whites. she has learned, she said, to ask a different question. not a policy question, not a political question, not a welfare question, but she asks, where does it hurt? >> oh, good. >> how does it affect you? >> yeah. >> where does it wound you? >> yeah. >> and she says that's the start of a different conversation. >> yeah. >> i think she's right. and be she thinks that going to appalachia in the south, a black woman beginning a movement to simply sit down and say where does it hurt is a way to start a new conversation. i'd like your response or thought about that. >> my response is bravo. [laughter] i think she's fabulous, and i think that is, in fact, where exactly you could say where my book points, that it points to ruby sales. >> thank you for a wonderful talk. my question is, how do you bring in the facts to counter these deep stories? because at the end of the day, i think some of these deep stories are actually hurting them. how do you, as an educator, see how we can overcome this a

know insurance covers some of that but there are people there that's kind of a rural poor part of appalachia that don't have insurance. so -- with dolly parton's doing with her foundation -- >> $1,000 a month. >> that will help a lot. but anything you can also obviously contribute would be a great. great thing to do. weather-wise, get ready. coldest air we've seen in december? six years coming tomorrow -- in six years coming tomorrow and friday. yeah cold stuff coming. temperatures this afternoon enjoy it. it's balmy compared to what's coming. mid- and upper 40s this afternoon for the temperatures and fall into the 30s this evening as the clouds will thicken up some ahead of the arctic front. that will come overnight. with a threat far couple of snow showers and we're still looking at some very cold air from eastern alaska into northwestern minus 350 to minus 40. hey it could be worse always and that cold is across parts of north central canada and also dipped down you can see the real cold stuff in the northern u.s. great falls 4 below. bismarck, 0. 6 below in international falls and while

and allow for the true price for natural gas within appalachia to reach a normal level.ight now it trades at a discount to the nymex. if regulations could allow those pipelines to be built then prices within appalachia will normalize. >> >> finally, dave, what would help bring jobs back to the parts of the country that once used a lot more labor in terms of coal? >> i think if we see that industrial manufacturing gets ratcheted up to a whole another level, whether it's infrastructure, the demand for power has been very stagnant over the last several years. really reflecting the move away from industrial and manufacturing. and so if we see that resurgence back, we see chemical plants come back online in the gulf coast, within appalachia, you're seeing the shell cracker going to get built. that will improve the use of both natural gas, coal and that will kick in jobs and it will be good for everybody. >> sounds like it. dave, thanks for joining us to explain what's going on there. >> thank you. >> dave cony, cfo at council energy. >>> six shopping days level until christma

possible for people, especially in the hardest hit areas of our country like west virginia, like appalachia, who have the resources to build the facilities to do the kind of education that is absolutely needed so we can address this problem. jessie's story really underscores the complexity of the problem because as i mentioned she was clean and sober. she was doing great. seven months she had been doing wonderful but jessie was a runner, sometimes eight, sometimes 10, sometimes 12 miles a day. she suffered a running injury and that injury led to her hospitalization that led to surgery. despite telling all the medical professionals in the medical personnel that she was a recovering addict, and despite that fact being reflected in the medical records eight times, when jessie was discharged, she was given 50 oxycodone pills. that night, jessie died. smart second of this year. since that time we have dedicated ourselves to trying to fight back against the stigma of opioid and drug addiction so that we could begin the process of treating this as a the disease that it is a not a something that ne

and maybe some ice across a appalachia. and here comes the big cold. tuesday, 20 below across the dakotas, and below freezing windchills in chicago for 24 hours. and the core of the really cold stuff gets into the northeast on friday. tom? >> rob, thank you. >>> let's turn to politics now. members of congress from both parties are calling for an investigation into whether russia tried to influence the american elections. the president-elect has his doubts. meanwhile, mr. trump is standing by rex tillerson, the likely secretary of state nominee. mr. trump has his doubts. tonight, new reporting on who in the trump family may be moving to washington. here's mary bruce. >> reporter: tonight, donald trump is digging in, blasting a "new york times" report that russia interfered with the election. >> i think the democrats are bringing it up because they lost the election. it's an excuse. i don't believe it. >> reporter: a person with direct knowledge tells us that republicans and democrats were targeted, but only information about democrats was released. trum

go to appalachia. i can list the name of places. that, i think come is the more persistent problem that requires emergency surgery. that, to me, is about the stuff that everyone on this placard are talking about. in southbreak summit carolina. we have been talking about these ideas, now we want to execute them. i believe the multigenerational poverty, the persistent poverty is what we need to go at right away. voting --e, is who is hurting the most. if we can crack that code, all the other problems will be easier to solve. gethere are you going to cooperation from democrats? speaker ryan: we're going to test it everywhere. the poverty fixing cliff is something we can all agree on. take someone's benefits, they will have benefit cut offs that dis-incentivize -- in washington and created or formula to make sure that work always -- a bigger, diverse country with more states, it is harder to do that here. i really do believe that we need to get more local control involved so that we can customize benefits to a person's particular needs.

the new rules in place including the stream act which basically takes off or his strip mining in appalachiaone of the poorest regions of the country. but this other thing, the banning of offshore drilling is really a bad idea because it's a permanent issue. he wants to make these permanent leased land hundreds permanently out of reach for the oil industry, and what americans need to know is that a good deal of our future reserves are going to be found yaufr shore, particularly the atlantic coast and on the arctic, so it's an incredibly costly decision to make. >> steve, this looks to be easily within the purview. >> it's gone -- that ruling is gone maybe the second day that donald trump is in office. >> who is this fellow, trump? >> look. how many laws have been signed? not many. guess what. if that's how you govern, the next governor could come in. i agree with liz. completely obliterate that agenda. liz, you're right about the intercontinental shelf. there's also millions of acres on shore, public land that have been easier to get to. i'm not talking about yosemite or national park. not e

energizer bunny putting new rules in place, including this act that takes off or hits, strip mining in appalachiang, banning of offshore drilling is a bad idea, this is a permanent, he wants to make em permanently out of reach for the oil industry. and what americans need to know, a good deal of our future reserves are going to be found offshore, in particular the atlantic coast and arctic. lou: this looks to be within the pervue. >> it's gone, that rule is gone maybe the second day that donald trump is in office. >> i like this guy, trump. >> obama -- think about this how many laws have gone through congress, and signed into law by barack obama in last 4 years, not many. almost everything he has done with stroke of a pen, guess what, if that is how you govern, the next president, with a stroke of a pen, just. and by the way, liz you are right about outer continental shelf but there are millions of acres onshore are easier to get to, not yosemite or yellow stone. not environmentaly sensitive lands. we have trillions of dollars, of oil and gas there. lou: and president-elect made it clear this wil

speaking for pasty white guys everywhere, i love they ignore privilege of people living in afte appalachiaish: i have one for you. one that sticks out to a lot of us, how the mainstream media reacted after fidel castro died, this guy murdered s a communist dictator, that really, did so much to ruin his country and rieux kno ruin so many people's lives, they get this. >> quite certain they are not celebrating his death in cuba. >> even castro's critics praise his advances in health care and education. >> to this day that the george washington. >> a romantic figure when he came into power. >> kids in those days rooted look mad. trish: if you are a dictator, on the right, you get treated different than if you are fidel castro on the left. why don't they hold everyone to this same standard? >> because liberals have always worked in the theory, better red thanked did dead, they are lovers of every commie dictator you could have. as long as they are a dictator on the left, they love them. trish: they like to cite could health care in cuba. i was talking to someone in cuba, they may have healthca

coast elite who clearly doesn't seem to have much empathy or sense of what, say, coal miners in appalachiaoing through. >>> donald trump's pick for education secretary, under fire for his teacher's pick for education. almost there. i can't reach it. if you have alligator arms, you avoid picking up the check. what? it's what you do. i got this. thanks, dennis! if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. growwwlph. it's what you do. oh that is good crispy duck. [and her new business: i do, to jeanetgo. jeanette was excellent at marrying people. but had trouble getting paid. not a good time, jeanette. even worse. now i'm uncomfortable. but here's the good news, jeanette got quickbooks. send that invoice, jeanette. looks like they viewed it. and, ta-da! paid twice as fast. oh, she's an efficient officiant. way to grow, jeanette. get paid twice as fast. visit quickbooks-dot-com. >>> president-elect donald trump's pick for education secretary trump has chose -- ross a school choice advocate is chairman of the american federation for children. kev kev kevin

frontier where you have southern colonials threatened first in ulster by indigenous irish and then in appalachia by native americans, also construed as savages -- the ideology of savagery is lifted from ireland and placed into the american context. in a situation of menace all around you like that and also in a situation where if hannah steals my sheep -- and she definitely would, she likes wool -- what can i do? keep in mind, i am out on the frontier. what do i do? do i go to the cops? there is no cops. i have to execute the law myself. that means i'm going to steal hannah's sheep or maybe kill hannah. sorry, hannah. why? why would i have to kill her for stealing my sheep? >> [inaudible] prof. seiler: yeah, as a warning to anyone else who might ever attempt such a thing that i ultimately will control justice and no one will slight me or wrong me. there is a sense here for people living out on the frontier that a moral code and stories -- the ballads are all stories of breach and redress and tremendous violence. have we seen that before? stories of tremendous violence, tremendous assertiveness?

you see it in appalachia, some parts of the mississippi delta, and you see it in a spot between the bordersarkansas and missouri, northeast in arkansas and southeastern missouri, so these are rural areas, areas where the work that was there, it tended to be economically depressed areas. you can look at national trends, and i talked to the chief actuary for the souls of security administration, and they said there is a good case nationally that demographics is driving this growth. one thing that we have had over the last three decades -- women have entered the work force and are now eligible for disability, so they can apply for it and draw down from that fund. they say they predicted it and it happened exactly as they predicted. workers are getting older, so not just retiring workers, but the tail end of the baby boom, in its 50's, but still able to, but not able to work because the older you get, the more likely you are to have an injury and be unable to work. the social security administration says mostly demographics. the problem is you look at that map and say, i don't see demographics.

it possible for people, especially in the hardest hit areas of our country, like west virginia, appalachia to have the resources, to build facilities, to do the kinds of education that is absolutely needed, so we can address this problem. story underscores the complexity of the problem because she was clean and sober, she was doing great, seven months she had been doing wonderful, but she was also an athlete. she was a runner. sometimes, eight, sometimes 12 miles per day. she suffered a running injury. and that injury led to an infection that led to her hospitalization that led to surgery. despite telling all medical professionals and the medical personnel that she was a recovering addict and despite that fact being reflected in the medical records eight times, when jessie was discharged, she was given 50 oxycodone pills. , jessie died. of this year. since that time, we have dedicated our time to fight back against the stigma of opioid addiction and drug addiction, so that we can begin the process of treating this as a disease and not as something that needs to be dealt with just to the cr

chairman rogers and i -- hills of appalachia. chairman rogers and i share the great people of appalachia. we know the greatness of our people. we know how hard working they are. it's the coal miners, it's the farmers, it's the factory workers, it's the teachers, it's the backbone of america. we both have the honor of representing. i have been able to see firsthand chairman rogers' commitment to the people of kentucky, his fight for the coal miners and retirees, his fight of the opioid crisis that's devastating communities throughout our region and this country, his support for education and his leadership in eating the soar program, shaping our appalachian region. chairman rogers has left an indelible mark as chairman of the house appropriations. we want to thank him for his leadership in that role over these past six years. we have a better appropriations committee because of that and a better institution here in the house of representatives thanks to the leadership of chairman hal rogers. i ask my fellow members to join me in t

host: the symbolism of your book cover, a dirt road in appalachia with what looks like a dilapidated barn and the remnants of an american flag. guest: yeah. guest: yeah, that's right. when we chose that coffer, i really wanted that american flag to be on the barn, because i thought it reflected something important about the way that this is in american story and this is a very american way to think about upper mobility and opportunity and the fact that a lot of americans are struggling right now. host: we welcome our radio audience. our guest is j.d. vance, the author of the "new york times'" number one bestseller, "hillbilly elegy." julia joining us from your neck of the woods, zanesville, ohio. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i will say, mr. vance, i have not read your book, but i found this topic interesting. being from -- well, i wasn't born in southeast ohio, but i've been here for 30 years. a single d a boy as mom who went into the marines, found himself and is doing well. however, when i was raising him, one of my chief concerns is the fact th

, jd, here is the point i'm taking away, the folks you write about, who you were raised with in appalachiasts from harvard and stanford and university of california to tell them this, they've probably been hearing about the american dream but not experiencing it themselves. >> yeah, that's exactly right. and it's surprising in some ways to me that this study came with such a waive of approval and excitement from the media because it's really not that surprising. if you paid attention to the economic trends of america the past 30 years, you know that this has been a significant problem. and what's so striking about this is that as you mentioned, folks who are born, you know, more recently only have a 50% chance of making more than their parents, but that's really geographically concentrated in certain areas. places like the industrial midwest where donald trump performed so well, this problem is especially acute, it's not so much of a problem, let's say in california or in places like kansas or nebraska. >> well, to your point -- and you remind me of thomas's other book, one of his many boo

host: the symbolism of your book cover, a dirt road in appalachia with what looks like a dilapidatedarn and the remnants of an american flag. guest: yeah. guest: yeah, that's right. when we chose that coffer, i really wanted that american flag to be on the barn, because i thought it reflected something important about the way that this is in american story and this is a very american way to think about upper mobility and opportunity and the fact that a lot of americans are struggling right now. host: we welcome our radio audience. our guest is j.d. vance, the author of the "new york times'" number one bestseller, "hillbilly elegy." julia joining us from your neck of the woods, zanesville, ohio. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i will say, mr. vance, i have not read your book, but i found this topic interesting. being from -- well, i wasn't born in southeast ohio, but i've been here for 30 years. a single d a boy as mom who went into the marines, found himself and is doing well. however, when i was raising him, one of my chief concerns is the fact that

it's less pronounced than appalachia. that because in appalachia things have been bad for a long time. in the industrial midwest and in these rural parts of new england, this is kind of a new phenomenon. people are even more unsettled and more unwilling to listen to someone that comes in and has a different story for them. >> to put an exclamation point on this, and i can't say this enough, despite all of those numbers, hillary clinton would have won if she had visited those areas. hillary clinton would have won if she had visited wisconsin. she would have won if she visited michigan. she would have won if she did what barack obama did four years ago and take out ads on big ten football network throughout the fall. she would have won. you can't win if you don't campaign there. >> you can't pull out a crowd at the drop of a hat. >> we have to investigate vladimir putin but all of those numbers are i suggest skewed because you only had one person campaigning in those areas, right? >> ironically, by background, she's much cl

with respect to everybody in appalachia district who are obviously in peril for their jobs, which i amympathetic to, the science is pretty clear and i would ask if the general public would go back to the captain joe hazelwood and one of the worst ecological disaster that has ever happened in america and then look at the people donald trump is putting in his cabinet. and look at the contrast. i guess my point is, there are many alternatives, i am initially a canadian and we are switching over to a greener form of energy and we have got to consider the collective good of the next generation into the green about these. host: that was ed in detroit. anything you want to pick up on from that? elana: while we are talking about donald trump's nominees, we should include rex tillerson, the ceo of exxon mobil. he is the pick of -- for secretary of state. they have a role in climate change and certainly the exxon valdez, that will come back up in the confirmation hearings. host: let's explain the role a little bit more. the secretary of state playing a key role in the exxon pipeline debate. expl

the upper midwest and appalachia, and, west virginia, up into pennsylvania, and another one you can layver that is opioid addiction and death, it would look similar to this. host: we have a call from ohio on our democratic line. caller: good morning. i am a 68-year-old white woman who was born again at 19 in a pentecostal church. we still believe you must be born again. we also believe that being filled with the spirit is not an option. it is something that god asked us to do, to stay in jerusalem. you can deal with it whatever you want. but i say that the day after the rapture, the churches will be completely packed to far overcapacity. and the reason why we americans have had such a great falling away is because the bible says that we will have a great falling away. ours nobody's fault but own. we have allowed capitalism to be our god when we should have allowed the king, jesus, to be our god. we followed the good old yankee dollar, instead of following the rules of christ and what we're supposed to do for our neighbor. and yes, sir, i am my neighbor's keeper. it is my responsibility,

and voters particularly in the rust belt and appalachia turned out in november to close the book on this legacy of job-killing regulation and seek a new path forward. president obama said that elections have consequences and this is true. but his administration ignored every electoral outcome since 2010. doubling down on failed policies while the american people called for a different approach. the inverse is also true, consequences drive elections. and the consequences of the obama administration's unilateral decisions decided last november's election. and no place in this country felt those consequences as acutely as coal country. national coal production is at its lowest level in 35 years. pike county, the long leading coal producer in kentucky until loosing that tight in 2012 is down 89% since its peak in 1996. nationwide, consumption of coal has dropped nearly a third since 2007. in kentucky, coal employment hit its lowest level in 118 years. to repeat, coal employment in kentucky is now at its lowest level since 1898. in 2009, 18,850 people were employed by coal. about 73,000 jobs

the upper midwest and appalachia, and, west virginia, up into pennsylvania, and another one you can lay over that is opioid addiction and death, it would look similar to this. host: we have a call from ohio on our democratic line. caller: good morning. i am a 68-year-old white woman who was born again at 19 in a pentecostal church. we still believe you must be born again. we also believe that being filled with the spirit is not an option. it is something that god asked us to do, to stay in jerusalem. you can deal with it whatever you want. but i say that the day after the rapture, the churches will be completely packed to far overcapacity. and the reason why we americans have had such a great falling away is because the bible says that we will have a great falling away. ours nobody's fault but own. we have allowed capitalism to be our god when we should have allowed the king, jesus, to be our god. we followed the good old yankee dollar, instead of following the rules of christ and what we're supposed to do for our neighbor. and yes, sir, i am my neighbor's keeper. it is my responsibilit

trump how he plans to make good on his promise to the people in appalachia and middle america to bringack: jobs when i am obs, what- back coal j i am looking here close to vermont's where they have made huge strides in wind power and solar power? how could those people actually vote for mr. trump? i am sure they are intelligent. our coal plants are not producing power anymore. how is he going to make it better for these people? i think those people need to retrain themselves for something we are doing, electronic jobs, computer jobs. whatever. host: all right. a couple of quick headlines for you. times" rexrk tillerson, the chief executive dealmaking has plunged him into global politics, he is expected to be offered the secretary of state post this weekend by donald trump. has close tiesd to -- tillerson has close ties to vladimir putin. he would inherit many problems and face the question of whether to maintain sanctions on russia, penalties he has criticized for slowing investments by exxon mobil in that country. questions that are sure to come up during a senate confirmation hearing

with respect to everybody in appalachia district who are obviously in peril for their jobs, which i ampathetic to, the science is pretty clear and i would ask if the general public would go back to the captain joe hazelwood and one of the worst ecological disaster that has ever happened in america and then look at the people donald trump is putting in his cabinet. and look at the contrast. i guess my point is, there are many alternatives, i am initially a canadian and we are switching over to a greener form of energy and we have got to consider the collective good of the next generation into the green about these. host: that was ed in detroit. anything you want to pick up on from that? elana: while we are talking about donald trump's nominees, we should include rex tillerson, the ceo of exxon mobil. he is the pick of -- for secretary of state. they have a role in climate change and certainly the exxon valdez, that will come back up in the confirmation hearings. host: let's explain the role a little bit more. the secretary of state playing a key role in the exxon pipeline debate. explai

the upper midwest and appalachia, and, west virginia, up into pennsylvania, and another one you can layver that is opioid addiction and death, it would look similar to this. host: we have a call from ohio on our democratic line. caller: good morning. i am a 68-year-old white woman who was born again at 19 in a pentecostal church. we still believe you must be born again. we also believe that being filled with the spirit is not an option. it is something that god asked us to do, to stay in jerusalem. you can deal with it whatever you want. but i say that the day after the rapture, the churches will be completely packed to far overcapacity. and the reason why we americans have had such a great falling away is because the bible says that we will have a great falling away. ours nobody's fault but own. we have allowed capitalism to be our god when we should have allowed the king, jesus, to be our god. we followed the good old yankee dollar, instead of following the rules of christ and what we're supposed to do for our neighbor. and yes, sir, i am my neighbor's keeper. it is my responsibility,