Feud: Hatfields, McCoys, and Social Change in Appalachia, 1860-1900 (Fred W. Morrison Series in Southern Studies)
by Altina L. Waller
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Book Summary Information
Author: Altina L. WallerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1988-06-01
ISBN: 0807842168
Number of pages: 332
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Book Reviews of Feud: Hatfields, McCoys, and Social Change in Appalachia, 1860-1900 (Fred W. Morrison Series in Southern Studies)
Book Review: "Crossing the River in the Styx"
Summary: 5 Stars
Almost everyone has heard of the Hatfields and the McCoys, and I am no exception - but reading this book came about in a different way for me. A friend's granddaughter was, in essence, marrying a boy of whom her parents did not approve, apparently without good reason, but feelings were running high nonetheless. She came to me with the tale of strife and stress the week before the wedding took place and afterward, I made a remark in jest - "well, did the Hatfield girl safely hitch up with the McCoy boy?"
After thinking about it awhile, the very idea of it gave me the impetus to read up on the famous feud, and what it actually might have been, since I had written off the "over the theft of a hog " as possible "hogwash". But since stranger things than that have happened, I really didn't know for sure. Further, I had never before read anything remotely akin to what this particular book promised to be - an in-depth, researched history of a particular people rather than tall tales, and life within a remote Appalachian mountain region.
Lo and behold, to my total amazement, the hog scenario had it's origins rooted in fact; it was the rest of it that took an unexpected twist, because the initial disputes were handled and handled correctly, it would seem, in the courts like anyone else. Perhaps some were lacking in educational advantages, but in fact, as one reads on, it seems more and more evident that neither the Hatfields nor the McCoys were more excitable or lawless than anyone else and attempted to abide by legal decisions with but a few exceptions; and certainly no more violent than we see on city streets today. My own state, in it's early days would hang a horse thief without benefit of jury if caught with the goods; and probably would have hung a hog thief just as quickly if hogs had been as important in long-distance transportation as was the horse in that day. As for disapproving parents, that hasn't changed much over time, either; nor has the "willful disobedience" of the children who intend to do their own thinking occasionally.
There will always be mystery surrounding this feud, since it has become so intrenched in tradition for all of us; "The Stuff of Legend" nurtures an eternal life of it's own and I think we like it that way. It was a very interesting subject and I recommend it for those interested in alternate American History. I was delighted to find this story so well written, and as a thoroughly researched historical accounting rather than another one sided story-telling. It debunks several myths, attempts to pinpoint and give reason to cause & effect events and or/social & economic climate that may have contributed to the feud in a scholarly way; but I wonder if it wasn't due to plain old human nature and nothing more.
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