Book Review--

James Webb, Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America. New York: Broadway Books (Random House), 2004; pp. 369; $25.95.

Countless immigrant groups have influenced the development of American culture but according to the author none more so than the Scots-Irish. James Webb, former Marine, recipient of the Navy Cross and Secretary of the Navy during the second Reagan administration is very obviously proud of his Scots-Irish (or Ulster-Scot) ancestry. He has written a history and sociology of that people that may be unsurpassed in establishing such contributions to the American experience. Such influence had its origins in the early 18th century when the first immigrants from Ulster arrived. Webb traces their history back much further to the ancient Celts of the British Isles who fought the Romans to a standstill in the north (Hadrian’s Wall). The Ulster Scots, almost entirely lowlanders from southwest Scotland and northwest England (the border between Scotland and England meant little), were enticed to Ireland in the early 17th century when the home regions became seriously over populated. The purpose of the invitation was not merely to relieve population pressures but more importantly to provide tenant farmers for the Anglo-Irish aristocracy who had expropriated their lands from the native Irish. As the tenants improved the land, the landowners raised the rents. This imposition coupled with the passage of the “Test Act” of 1703 which essentially outlawed the Presbyterian faith drove them to emigrate, the first of the two great emigrations from Ireland. Because of its religious freedom, Pennsylvania was the principal destination in the colonies.

The immigrant Ulster-Scots who were welcomed as a barrier to the Indians, first settled on land in southeastern Pennsylvania. Despite its fertility they did not stay long but moved west and south. Indeed, Webb suggests that the United States might today resemble Chile, strung out along the Atlantic seaboard were it not for the Scots-Irish migrations. They pushed into the Appalachian Mountains and down the Virginia valleys into present day North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama and eventually the west. While they took their religion with them, they gradually drifted away from the Presbyterian Kirk to become mainly Baptists and Methodists. They took their music with them as well, mainly fiddle music from Scotland and Ireland supplemented by the banjo, which turned into modern day country music and Blue Grass.

And they fought. Defense against Indian raids was a constant worry but one they could adjust to using fighting skills brought with them from the border wars along the Scottish-English frontier. They fought with each other as well, carrying family feuds such as that between the Hatfields and McCoys for generations, just as in the old country. Most historians attribute the eventual victory of the Continental Army to the large number of Scots-Irish on its muster rolls. In at least one of the key battles, the Battle of Kings Mountain in North Carolina, the Continental force consisted almost entirely of backwoods Scots-Irish militiamen. The descendants of those early warriors have continued the military tradition with substantial over-representation, particularly in the Army and the Marine Corps, of both enlisted troops and officers. As a result, the influence of the Scots-Irish military tradition on civil-military relations has been profound. Webb does not go into this relationship explicitly but from his account such influence becomes evident to anyone who has studied the matter. Several years ago Professor Richard Kohn of the University of North Carolina (Naval War College Review, Summer 2002) suggested that a severe gap exists between the military forces and the civilian establishment. It was based on his perceptions of a disconnect between the primarily politically liberal, civilian establishment and the military forces. There is such a gap to be sure, but it does not appear to exist between the heart of America exemplified by the Scots-Irish and the officers and enlisted personnel of the present-day, all volunteer force. One might crudely express this dichotomy by referring to the famous (some say infamous) 2000 and 2004 county election maps. The red counties are those influenced by the Scots-Irish and those that are blue represent the liberal elite (and their hangers-on).

Which brings us to the politics of the Scots-Irish. The key figure here was General, later President, Andrew Jackson. Born in North Carolina, he was left an orphan while still in his teens after which he emigrated from that state to the Tennessee frontier. His later defeat of the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 propelled him into the presidency and to a large extent cemented the Scots-Irish into the Democratic Party that has endured down almost until today. During the presidency of Ronald Reagan, himself part Scots-Irish this allegiance began to shift with the “Reagan Democrats” gradually shifting their predominant political alignment to the Republicans.

The foregoing description does not really do justice to Webb’s book. This reviewer who is himself partly of Scots-Irish ancestry strongly recommends it to anyone interested in the development of America.

--Robert C. Whitten

“The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations.” --George Washington