In 1965, Congress passed the Appalachian Regional Development Act, the result of nearly twenty years of lobbying on the part of West Virginia’s, as well as other Appalachian states’, senators and representatives. The act established the Appalachian Regional Commission, a board made up of the governors of the thirteen Appalachian states as well as two presidential appointees who distributed funds appropriated annually to developing infrastructure, education, and healthcare services in the impoverished region. In the past fifty years, billions of dollars have been allocated through the Appalachian Regional Commission to projects intended to not only improve general living conditions in the states, but also to encourage economic growth and diversification to ensure the future prosperity of a region long tied to extractive industries.
This website is designed to support classroom instruction on the history of the Appalachian Regional Development Act and its predecessor legislation in the effort to inspire students to consider, from a policy standpoint, what can be done to address the historic, systemic socio-economic issues that have plagued this region of the United States for over a century.
This website is designed to support classroom instruction on the history of the Appalachian Regional Development Act and its predecessor legislation in the effort to inspire students to consider, from a policy standpoint, what can be done to address the historic, systemic socio-economic issues that have plagued this region of the United States for over a century.
Discover the story of the ARC
Teaching REsources
This website and lesson plan were created by the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The primary sources made available through this site are drawn from the collections of the Byrd Center, including the papers of Senator Robert C. Byrd and Congressman Harley O. Staggers, Sr.
