PC: Left-wing Appalacia

With a POD no earlier than the end of the Civil War, how could the southern Appalacians develop a solidly left-wing character, becoming an socio-political curiosity similar to the belt of solid red (or blue, for the non-Leipists) that runs across Alabama?

Bonus points if the southern Appalacians aren't just economically left-wing.
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
Very hard. Appalachians are culturally adverse to an "intrusive" government and other left-wing institutions. They have supported every single war since 1830, so they ain't gonna be seeing eye-to-eye with any Lefty pacifism. The miner unions were pretty lefty-populist, and WJB enjoyed support in Greater Appalachia.

The best way to accomplish it would be to somehow align Appalachia with the North and the Midlands rather than the South, which can't be done once Reconstruction gets under way.

So basically, no Reconstruction in Appalachia.
 

d32123

Banned
Appalachian Israel

Have some president decide to economically develop the region by opening it up to massive Jewish settlement.
 
The best way to accomplish it would be to somehow align Appalachia with the North and the Midlands rather than the South, which can't be done once Reconstruction gets under way.
This is good.

Significant portions of the Appalachian South (West Virginia, Nickajack, elsewhere) were more or less on the Union side during the ACW, as there were few slaves in these areas and little need for a new government. If, say, West Virginia had contained more counties, and perhaps other areas of the Appalachian South (like Nickajack) made a stronger effort to become Union holdouts (along with resulting Southern crackdowns), and if a lighter Reconstruction occurred (say Lincoln isn't assassinated?), Appalachia wouldn't have a significant grudge against the North and would perhaps identify more strongly with their Butternut brethren.

Combine this with a slightly different package of policies representing 'left' and 'right' (coal, agrarian populism) and you're a good portion of the way to making and keeping a rather leftist Appalachia.

You could probably even get them on social issues if you were willing to frame social issues as a matter of government influence, but that might do a bit to harm the whole 'economically left' thing you've got going. Even then, if the opposition party is libertarian, the region might be more of a left-leaning swing region, with the upper parts (WV) likely more Union populist and the lower parts (Nickajack) more agrarian populist, meeting in the middle around the Smokey Mountains (in a circle about a hundred miles around the Cumberland Gap), with a significant but not overwhelming contingent of straight libertarians/paleoconservatives in both regions.
 
Some ideas:

Have union power remain strong in America.

Curtail the rise of the New Left to some degree. Or perhaps have a less of a reliance on college students and/or have it develop in a slightly different direction.

Keep the New Deal Collation together and have some of the social issues seep into the rest of the Collation over time.

Lessen (or altogether stop) the US's involvement in the Vietnam War.

Bobby Kennedy doesn't get shot in California and defeats Richard Nixon in '68 (Kennedy might not win the Appalachian region, but this could stop the Southern Strategy and/or Silent Majority philosophy dead in its tracks).

The main one though might be lessening the rural/urban divide that has risen in America. At the very least, stop the resentment (justified or not) that is felt in Rural America toward others. Not sure how to do it, mind. But getting rid of that resentment is a good way of stopping identity politics and wedge issues from developing.

Since the PoD can be as far back as the Civil War, the best bet might be to play with Reconstruction Politics. But that's another section of the board. ;) Failing that, I think butterflying away the Vietnam War is the next best bet. This might keep the New Deal Collation together longer, as well as not providing much of the fuel that lead to the New Left.

You'd still have the Sexual Revolution to contend with, however. So that might throw a spanner in the works.

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Going a bit further afield, given that much of the Appalachians are centered around mining, you might have some sort of responsible use environmental movement arise from within the Appalachian community. If that gets nursed the right way, they could make common cause with people concerned with worker safety, especially if unions remain potent. This strengthens the bond with other left wing concerns.
 
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With a POD no earlier than the end of the Civil War, how could the southern Appalacians develop a solidly left-wing character, becoming an socio-political curiosity similar to the belt of solid red (or blue, for the non-Leipists) that runs across Alabama?

Bonus points if the southern Appalacians aren't just economically left-wing.

To a certain extent, this happened during the New Deal. The Tennessee Valley Authority and the Rural Electrification Administration were a boon to the region, and FDR was exceedingly popular. And, if you get into coal mining country, FDR's support of unions didn't hurt either. The politics that way leans toward economic populism and that's about as far as you'll get down there -- the cultural conservatism runs deep.
 
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