Most people know Sen. JD Vance, a Republican from Ohio, as former President Donald Trump’s running mate for the upcoming presidential election. Others, however, know him as the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” the memoir he released in 2016 about his experience growing up in Appalachia — a book full of stereotypes about the region and its people.
Vance, a Middletown, Ohio, native who has been serving as a U.S. senator since 2023, claims the title of Appalachian, but there is a reason many of his people do not claim him. His memoir portrays Appalachians as unintelligent and unwilling to work — labels that have already plagued them for years — and also implies they are at fault for their own circumstances, as Appalachia is one of the most impoverished regions in the U.S.
What Vance’s memoir fails to take into account are the systemic factors that have contributed to Appalachia’s struggles, including economic exploitation, particularly through coal mining. The region has an abundance of natural resources, and up until the 1970s, it was the main place from which the U.S. extracted its coal. However, most of the wealth generated from the coal extraction went to buyers who purchased the mines, not local communities.
The coal industry in Appalachia helped the American economy prosper, and although it did provide jobs for Appalachians, the region remained largely impoverished — as well as environmentally harmed, as coal mining has detrimental effects on air quality.
When the need for coal in America began to decline in the early 2000s, the millions of people dependent on jobs provided by the mining industry were hit hard, Appalachia being one of the most affected regions, with its employment rate dropping 50% between 2011 and 2016.
Appalachia was essentially used and discarded, and communities were left to fend for themselves — to blame Appalachians for hardships they had no hand in causing is inaccurate.
Some other key themes in “Hillbilly Elegy” include the depiction of Appalachia as an area riddled with addiction and substance abuse. Although the American opioid crisis has disproportionately affected the region, Vance oversimplifies its cause to be merely an issue with personal responsibility and a lack of self-discipline. He ignores other contributing factors to the crisis in the region, such as inadequate access to healthcare and over-prescription of opioids.
His narrow-minded portrayal has reinforced the stereotypes and misconceptions that already surround Appalachians. Some have also suggested Vance isn’t from Appalachia at all, as Middletown is not technically considered a part of the region.
As a public figure, Vance has extreme influence over the public’s perception of Appalachia, and he also has the power to influence policymaking. He has sold over a million copies of “Hillbilly Elegy,” with the sales skyrocketing after Trump chose him as his nominee for vice president. If Vance's false depictions of Appalachia are widely accepted, that could have serious consequences for the region’s people, in terms of both social stigma and policymakers not making an effort to fix systemic issues.
It is also important to note that “Hillbilly Elegy” ignores the rich history and culture that has existed in Appalachia for centuries. The region’s people are diverse, community-oriented and resilient, but most importantly, they are not a monolith, and to reduce them to such is a disservice to them.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: Editor-in-Chief Alyssa Cruz, Managing Editor Madalyn Blair and Equity Director McKenna Christy. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage.
