Born Fighting How the ScotsIrish Shaped America, James Webb. (Hardcover 0767916883)

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Born Fighting How the ScotsIrish Shaped America
Author: James Webb

In his first work of nonfiction, bestselling novelist James Webb tells the epic story of the Scots-Irish, a people whose lives and worldview were dictated by resistance, conflict, and struggle, and who, in turn, profoundly influenced the social, political, and cultural landscape of America from its beginnings through the present day. — More than ... more »27 million Americans today can trace their lineage to the Scots, whose bloodline was stained by centuries of continuous warfare along the border between England and Scotland, and later in the bitter settlements of England’s Ulster Plantation in Northern Ireland. Between 250,000 and 400,000 Scots-Irish migrated to America in the eighteenth century, traveling in groups of families and bringing with them not only long experience as rebels and outcasts but also unparalleled skills as frontiersmen and guerrilla fighters. Their cultural identity reflected acute individualism, dislike of aristocracy and a military tradition, and, over time, the Scots-Irish defined the attitudes and values of the military, of working class America, and even of the peculiarly populist form of American democracy itself.

Born Fighting is the first book to chronicle the full journey of this remarkable cultural group, and the profound, but unrecognized, role it has played in the shaping of America. Written with the storytelling verve that has earned his works such acclaim as “captivating . . . unforgettable” (the Wall Street Journal on Lost Soliders), Scots-Irishman James Webb, Vietnam combat veteran and former Naval Secretary, traces the history of his people, beginning nearly two thousand years ago at Hadrian’s Wall, when the nation of Scotland was formed north of the Wall through armed conflict in contrast to England’s formation to the south through commerce and trade. Webb recounts the Scots’ odyssey—their clashes with the English in Scotland and then in Ulster, their retreat from one war-ravaged land to another. Through engrossing chronicles of the challenges the Scots-Irish faced, Webb vividly portrays how they developed the qualities that helped settle the American frontier and define the American character.

Born Fighting shows that the Scots-Irish were 40 percent of the Revolutionary War army; they included the pioneers Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, Davy Crockett, and Sam Houston; they were the writers Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain; and they have given America numerous great military leaders, including Stonewall Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Audie Murphy, and George S. Patton, as well as most of the soldiers of the Confederacy (only 5 percent of whom owned slaves, and who fought against what they viewed as an invading army). It illustrates how the Scots-Irish redefined American politics, creating the populist movement and giving the country a dozen presidents, including Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. And it explores how the Scots-Irish culture of isolation, hard luck, stubbornness, and mistrust of the nation’s elite formed and still dominates blue-collar America, the military services, the Bible Belt, and country music.

Both a distinguished work of cultural history and a human drama that speaks straight to the heart of contemporary America, Born Fighting reintroduces America to its most powerful, patriotic, and individualistic cultural group—one too often ignored or taken for granted.

ISBN-13: 9780767916882
ISBN-10: 0767916883
Publication Date: 10/5/2004
Pages: 384
Rating:

Currently 4.5/5 Stars.

4.5 stars, based on 5 ratings

Publisher: Broadway
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 2
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William S. reviewed Born Fighting : How the Scots-Irish Shaped America on 3/28/2011 + 11 more book reviews

Excellent look into how the Scots-Irish in this country helped build this country with their own sweat and blood, truly both. It also shows how the aristocracy in this country long ago started a needless and hateful prejudice between the two most influential cultures in this country, the scots-irish and the african american, when in reality, they are the two most similar backgrounds in the USA. Awesome book, amazing information, truly a most read for any history buff like myself.

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Susan M. (Book-Trader) reviewed Born Fighting : How the Scots-Irish Shaped America on 7/20/2010 + 9 more book reviews

Excellent, easy reading history, kept my interest throughout.

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Susi R. (suralijo) reviewed Born Fighting : How the Scots-Irish Shaped America on 3/23/2007 + 39 more book reviews

"Popular history at its finest."

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