Taken From The GreenMan website at http://www.greenmanreview.com/scotch.html

James G. Leyburn, The Scotch-Irish: A Social History (University of North Carolina Press, 1962, repr. 1991)  

This book is an interesting, readable history of the Scotch-Irish, those Scots who colonized Ulster, Ireland in 1610 and eventually left there to come to America. By 1776, one out of every ten or fifteen Americans was of Scotch-Irish descent, so this book is relevant to many contemporary Americans.

The book is divided into three main parts: the Scots in 1600, the Scots in Ireland, and the Scotch-Irish in America. Each part is then divided into short chapters focusing on some aspect of the culture and lifestyle in each place.

Leyburn begins in Scotland. He describes the condition of the country and the people in 1600, shortly before the migration to Ulster. Europe was at the end of the Renaissance by 1600, but Scotland had not taken part in this resurgence of learning and culture. It was still a primitive, wild country, one of the poorest in Europe. Poor soil and backward farming methods, frequent border wars with England, and the wildness of the isolated Highlanders had all contributed to Scotland's slow development.

Leyburn concentrates on the Scottish Lowlanders, explaining that no Highlanders were included in the migration to Ulster. Those Scotch-Irish descendants hoping to discover romantic, aristocratic forbears will be disappointed. The Lowlanders did not have kilts or tartans, did not belong to clans by 1600, and were predominantly uneducated peasants, farming the soil and fighting border wars with their lairds (actually the equivalent to English squires, not to lords).

The author discusses the primitive farming lifestyle of the Lowlanders, the characteristics they generally shared as a people, and explains how the Reformation profoundly affected Scotland and the people who eventually moved to Ireland. He is careful to point out that the term "peasant" is not derogatory and that there is a difference between being uneducated and being stupid. He shows great respect for the Scots people, while refusing to glamorize them. 

The colonization of Ulster began early in the 17th century. Leyburn tells us that British monarchs had been trying unsuccessfully for hundreds of years to subdue Ireland, but it wasn't until 1603 that the Ulster Irish finally surrendered to the Englishman Lord Mountjoy. Leyburn explains why they surrendered and how nine counties in northern Ireland became available for colonization.

In March 1609, James I informed the Scots that they could participate in this colonization of Ulster. Leyburn describes the types of Scotsmen that accepted the challenge, and gives their reasons for wanting to migrate, including poverty and the fact that landlords in Ireland were more willing to extend longer leases to farmers than the landlords in Scotland were. He discusses the obstacles facing the colony and how these were overcome (or not.) 

In this section, we see the seeds of today's strife in Ireland. Although Englishmen had been settling there since the reign of Henry II in the twelfth century, the settlements never took hold until after 1610. Without going into political detail, Leyburn clarifies the differences before and after 1610, and shows clearly how the present conflict began.

In 1717, the Great Migration commenced. Between that year and 1776, about a quarter of a million Scotch-Irish emigrated to America in five distinct waves. They left Ireland for a combination of economic and religious reasons, and they chose America because they had heard glowing reports from previous colonists.

Most of the immigrants arrived in Philadelphia and ports on the Delaware River, then moved west and south through the Great Valley, the Shenandoah Valley, and into the Carolinas. Leyburn talks about each of these areas in detail, describing them as they were when the Scotch-Irish arrived, and explaining the varied experiences the colonists had in each location.

Attention is given to the frontier lives the immigrants led, to their cruelty, high spirits, hard work, the making of whisky, the dancing and other diversions they enjoyed. Leyburn discusses their difference from and similarity to other groups of colonists, pointing out that Europeans began to associate Scotch-Irish traits with Americans in general.

Here, as elsewhere, Leyburn gently dispels myths. He explains that the Scotch-Irish did not come to America seeking democracy or an end to the class system. He investigates the frequent claim that no Scotch-Irish were Loyalists or Tories during the Revolution, and examines their level of importance in government after the war.

This book is written for the average reader and does not contain any scholarly jargon. Footnotes of general interest are printed at the bottom of the page, while source notes are in a separate section at the back of the book. The work contains an index and an extensive bibliography, and a map appears at the beginning of each section of text.

For anyone of Scotch-Irish descent interested in the real history of this group, this book is a must-read. They will learn where their ancestors came from, where they settled, and what lasting influence they had on their ultimate destination, America.

[Rebecca Swain]