A great book for those of us who decended from Scots-Irish and those interested in early American history.
BORN FIGHTING: HOW THE SCOTS-IRISH SHAPED AMERICA
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Fighting-Scots-Irish-Shaped-America/dp/0767916883
Former navy secretary James Webb (Fields of Fire; etc.) wants not only to offer a history of the Scots-Irish but to redeem them from their redneck, hillbilly stereotype and place them at the center of American history and culture. As Webb relates, the Scots-Irish first emigrated to the U.S., 200,000 to 400,000 strong, in four waves during the 18th century, settling primarily in Appalachia before spreading west and south. Webb’s thesis is that the Scots-Irish, with their rugged individualism, warrior culture built on extended familial groups (the “kind of people who would die in place rather than retreat”) and an instinctive mistrust of authority, created an American culture that mirrors these traits. Webb has a genuine flair for describing the battles the Scots-Irish fought during their history, but his analysis of their role in America’s social and political history is, ironically for someone trying to crush stereotypes, fixated on what he sees, in almost Manichaean terms, as a class conflict between the Scots-Irish and America’s “paternalistic Ivy League-centered, media-connected, politically correct power centers.”
“A great book for those of us who decended from Scots-Irish and those interested in early American history.”
I have read some books about these people, but not his, yet.
I know about the history, and importance. The term “scots-irish” has been broadened in this country, to describe people from northern England, who may or may not have stopped along the way in Ireland.
For example, my grandmother, when asked about her ancestry said: “Oh, I don’t really know for sure. Scots-Irish” I imagine.”
The ancestors which led her to think this way all came from northern England, never set foot in Scotland or Ireland!!
It was a cultural thing. Once here in America, they moved along the same migratory pathways as the “scots-irish.” Lived the same lifestyle.