Chapter 23 Quiz: The War on Poverty — When America "Discovered" Appalachian Poverty Again
Multiple Choice
1. Harry Caudill's Night Comes to the Cumberlands (1963) argued that Appalachian poverty was primarily caused by:
a) The laziness and cultural backwardness of mountain people b) A century of ruthless extraction by outside corporate interests — coal and timber companies that took the wealth and left the poverty c) Geographic isolation that prevented mountain people from accessing modern education d) The federal government's excessive regulation of the coal industry
2. President Johnson chose to launch the War on Poverty from Appalachia partly because:
a) Appalachian poverty was the most severe in the nation b) Appalachian poverty was white poverty, which was politically easier to address than Black poverty because it could not be dismissed as a racial problem c) Appalachian voters had supported Johnson overwhelmingly in the 1964 election d) The coal industry had requested federal assistance
3. The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) spent the largest share of its budget on:
a) Health clinics and hospitals b) Educational programs and community colleges c) Highways — the Appalachian Development Highway System designed to reduce geographic isolation d) Housing construction for low-income families
4. The "culture of poverty" thesis, developed by Oscar Lewis, argued that:
a) Poverty was exclusively the result of structural economic factors b) Prolonged poverty produced a distinctive set of attitudes and behaviors that were transmitted across generations and perpetuated poverty c) Mountain culture was superior to urban culture d) Cultural programs like music and art could eliminate poverty
5. The chapter argues that the "culture of poverty" thesis, when applied to Appalachia, was dangerous because:
a) It was scientifically rigorous but too difficult for policy makers to understand b) It deflected attention from structural causes of poverty (land ownership, extractive economics, corporate power) and instead blamed the poor for their own condition c) It led to excessive spending on cultural programs d) It contradicted Oscar Lewis's original findings
6. Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) volunteers in Appalachia were similar to settlement school workers of the 1890s in that:
a) Both groups were exclusively from Appalachian communities b) Both were young, educated outsiders who came to help mountain communities, bringing both genuine assistance and unexamined assumptions about the people they served c) Both groups focused exclusively on building roads d) Both were funded by coal companies
7. The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 required "maximum feasible participation" of the poor in community action programs. In practice, this meant:
a) Poor people controlled all anti-poverty spending b) Community action agencies were often controlled by local elites, with token representation from poor community members c) The poor were completely excluded from all decision-making d) Only the poorest ten percent of the population was eligible for any programs
8. Tom Fletcher, the man photographed on the porch with President Johnson in Martin County, Kentucky:
a) Was immediately lifted out of poverty by War on Poverty programs b) Moved to a major city and became a successful businessman c) Received some government assistance but never escaped poverty, dying in 2004 in the same county where Johnson had visited him d) Became a VISTA volunteer himself
9. Which of the following War on Poverty achievements does the chapter describe as among the most consequential but least celebrated?
a) Highway construction b) Water and sewer systems that brought clean water and modern sanitation to communities that had lacked them c) Television programming about Appalachian culture d) The establishment of a new federal department dedicated to Appalachian affairs
10. The chapter's central argument about the War on Poverty in Appalachia is that:
a) It was a complete failure that achieved nothing b) It achieved real improvements in material conditions (roads, water, healthcare, education) but left the structural causes of poverty — absentee land ownership, extractive economics, corporate political power — largely intact c) It completely solved the problem of Appalachian poverty d) It was exclusively beneficial with no negative consequences
Short Answer
11. Explain the significance of the "broad form deed" mentioned in the chapter. How did it contribute to the structural poverty that the War on Poverty attempted to address?
12. The chapter describes the War on Poverty's media coverage — photographers documenting Appalachian poverty — as a form of "poverty tourism." Define this term and explain why the chapter views it as problematic, even when the images were used to build support for anti-poverty programs.
13. The Appalachian Research and Defense Fund (AppalReD) is described as one of the most effective components of the War on Poverty. Explain why legal aid was particularly important in a region where the poor had historically lacked access to the legal system, and identify at least two types of cases these organizations took on.
14. The chapter identifies a pattern of outside intervention in Appalachia that repeats across decades: settlement schools (1890s-1920s), the New Deal (1930s), and the War on Poverty (1960s). Describe this pattern. What characteristics do all three waves of intervention share?
Essay
15. Write a well-organized essay (500-750 words) that evaluates the War on Poverty's legacy in Appalachia. Your essay should:
- Identify at least three specific achievements of the War on Poverty in the region
- Identify at least two structural causes of poverty that the War on Poverty failed to address
- Explain why the structural causes were not addressed (what political, economic, or ideological factors prevented structural change)
- Assess whether the War on Poverty was, on balance, a success or a failure — or whether that binary is the wrong framework for evaluation
16. The chapter draws a sharp distinction between cultural explanations for poverty and structural explanations. In a brief essay (400-600 words):
- Define each type of explanation, using specific examples from the chapter
- Explain why the distinction matters for policy — how do the two explanations lead to different types of anti-poverty programs?
- Take a position: is Appalachian poverty better explained by cultural or structural factors? Support your position with evidence from this chapter and the preceding chapters on industrialization and extraction (Part IV)
Document Analysis
17. Read the following excerpt from the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965:
"The Congress hereby finds and declares that the Appalachian region of the United States, while abundant in natural resources and rich in potential, lags behind the rest of the Nation in its economic growth, and that its people have not shared properly in the Nation's prosperity. The region's uneven topography, its ## underdeveloped infrastructure, and its isolation from economic opportunity have contributed to conditions of poverty, underdevelopment, and lack of opportunity that impede the region's full participation in the national economy."
a) According to this passage, what are the causes of Appalachian poverty? List each cause mentioned.
b) Notice what the passage does NOT mention. Does it mention absentee land ownership? Extractive corporate practices? The broad form deed? Corporate political influence? The coal industry? Why might these causes have been omitted from the legislation?
c) The passage describes Appalachia as "abundant in natural resources and rich in potential." How does this language compare to the reality described in this chapter — a region whose natural resources had been extracted and exported for a century? Is the language of "potential" honest, or does it obscure the history of extraction?
d) Write a 300-word alternative preamble to the legislation that names the structural causes of Appalachian poverty. Consider why such a preamble would have been politically impossible to enact.