The Appalachians

A look at the earliest settlers of the Appalachians -- Native Americans. In the 1700s, Europeans arrive in search of inependence and land.

President Andrew Jackson relocates the Cherokees west along the Trail of Tears. The Civil War splits mountain families and communities. Modernization arrives and railroads slash through the mountains, as timber and raw materials are stripped from the hills.

The phonograph and radio reduce some of the isolation, and take mountain music to the outside world. The Great Depression devastates the region and many miners move to the cities in search of work.