mountaineers, liquor bosses, and lawmen in the moonshine capital of the world Thompson, Charles Dillard 1956- creator ebrary, Inc text bibliography Electronic books. ilu Urbana University of Illinois Press c2011 2011 monographic eng

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xxix, 269 p. : ill., map. "Following the end of Prohibition in 1933, demand for moonshine remained high due to taxes imposed on large liquor producers. Seeking to answer this demand were the distillers of Appalachia who, having established illegal networks of moonshine distribution under Prohibition, continued their activities and effectively skirted the federal liquor tax scheme. Spirits of Just Men chronicles the Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1935, held in Franklin County, Virginia, a place that many still refer to as the "Moonshine Capital of the World." While the trial itself made national news, Thompson uses the event as a stepping-off point to explore Blue Ridge Mountain culture, economy, and political engagement in the 1930 illustrating how participation in the moonshine trade was a rational and savvy choice for farmers and community members struggling to maintain their way of life amidst the pressures of the Great Depression and pull of the timber and coal-mining industries in Virginia. Through Thompson's prose, local characters come alive as he pays particular attention to the stories of a key witness for the defense, Miss Ora Harrison, an Episcopalian missionary to the region, and Elder Goode Hash, itinerant Primitive Baptist preacher and juror in a related murder trial. Thompson explores how local religious belief both clashed with and condoned the moonshine trade and how stills and the trade enabled a distinctive cultural formation in the region that goes far beyond the hillbilly stereotype alive today. Not only is his work based on extensive oral histories and local archival material, but Thompson himself is from the area and his grandparents were involved in not only the moonshine trade but the trial as well"-- Charles D. Thompson, Jr. Includes bibliographical references and index. Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2013. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries. n-us-va Lee, Charles Carter d. 1958 Trials, litigation, etc Distilling, Illicit Virginia Franklin County History Mountain life Virginia Franklin County Mountain people Virginia Franklin County Franklin County (Va.) History 20th century Franklin County (Va.) Religious life and customs Franklin County (Va.) Social life and customs F232.F7 T494 2011eb 975.5/68 http://site.ebrary.com/lib/rucke/Doc?id=10661476 http://site.ebrary.com/lib/rucke/Doc?id=10661476 CaPaEBR 110222 ebr10661476