Relationship of the Exercise of Power Involving

¶ … relationship of the exercise of power involving those who are empowered and those who are powerless can contribute to tendencies of the latter to either remain quiescent or to revolt. In these two chapters, power is once again defined and referred to in accordance to its three dimensions. By examining several key incidents in the history of the Appalachian region of the United States, the author is able to demonstrate that various aspects of power in relation to these three dimensions can ultimately incite rebellion in a group of people which is being exploited, or assuage their rebellious proclivities and result in a climate of inactivity.

The evidence that the author utilizes to marshal this theme virtually all revolves about labor disputes in the area. As the author mentioned in previous chapters, the Appalachian Region is a rich, fertile climate with plenty of natural resources that are used throughout the country. In particular, the coal industry in this region has historically been the most profitable and prominent. Thus, the crucial social and economic conditions of the people who existed in this area, the powerless who were destitute despite giving virtually all of their labor to the exploitative capitalist owners of the coal industry, were intertwined with this industry and the institutions erected by the empowered.

However, there were important developments that occurred in this area during the Great Depression and during the time period that followed that resulted in a series of revolts of the powerless, and the subsequent quelling of those revolts. Not only did the Great Depression alter the terms of the power constructs keeping the empowered in control (such as the demand for coal, the ability to pay for it, etc.), but the presence of labor unions also greatly altered the traditional inactivity of these people. The author emphasizes how the formal organizing of the labor of the Appalachian people into specific unions including the United Mine Workers Union (Author, p. 97) and the All Workers Union (Author, p. 99) contributed to professional and civil unrest. Furthermore, it was the militancy of these groups that can more accurately be stated to engender the strikes which took place within the region from 1931-1932 in "Campbell, Claiborne, Bell and Harlan Counties" (Author, p.104 real). It is also important to note that the leadership of these unions was heavily influenced from liberals in the northern region of the country, which largely encouraged the militancy and protests that occurred via the dissemination of communist ideology.