About the Author

John Alexander Williams received his PhD in History from Yale University in 1966, having studied with the eminent American historian, C. Vann Woodward. He taught at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Illinois at Chicago before joing the Department of History at West Virginia University in 1972. He is now Professor of History at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, having also directed the Center for Appalachian Studies for seven years.