You can visit the site, “Appalachia as Trump Country,” by clicking on the image below.
Do you have feedback for Rehan, Mariel, Paige, Aman, and Caroline? If so, please comment in the “Reply” window below..
Appalachia as Trump Country
May 2, 2019 | 2 Comments
May 9, 2019 at 10:37 pm
I agree with your analysis that liberal policies are more helpful to most people in Appalachia. I also thought it was interesting that their turnout rate was the same as the national average as the media portrayed them as a fanatics. Another point that you brought up was that Appalachian people hold more conservative social views which are primarily influenced by religion. I wonder if Trump’s lack of Christian deeds did anything to dissuade voters who agreed with his fiscal policies. Last year, I took a class on religion in American politics and we learned that Evangelical voters largely supported Trump while Catholics remained divided and other Protestant non-evangelical groups were more liberal leaning.
Another thing is that while Appalachia doesn’t differ in high school education from the nation average, it is significantly behind the national average in college degrees. The US Department of Education estimates that 63% of all high school graduates are college bound while only between 30-50% of Appalachian students plan to attend college. Additionally, 17.7% of people aged 25 or older have a college degree in Appalachia compared to the national average of 25%. According to the Appalachian Regional COmmission, the gap is widening between Appalachia and the rest of the United States in regard to college degrees. Aside from structural barriers, cultural barriers could also keep students from seeking higher degrees. People with southern accents are often played up on TV to be dumb and uneducated. Colleges are seen as elitist and far removed from many people’s rural locations.
May 6, 2019 at 3:29 pm
I like how you guys brought in data to combat some of the stereotypes that you mentioned all throughout the presentation.