Synopses & Reviews
Dispelling much of what he terms the 'mythology' of the Scotch-Irish, James Leyburn provides an absorbing account of their heritage. He discusses their life in Scotland, when the essentials of their character and culture were shaped; their removal to Northern Ireland and the action of their residence in that region upon their outlook on life; and their successive migrations to America, where they settled especially in the back-country of Pennsylvania, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, and then after the Revolutionary War were in the van of pioneers to the west.
Review
A most readable contribution to the growing body of sophisticated literature on immigration in the colonial period.
Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
Review
Work . . . of such merit that it should supersede most of its predecessors.
Mississippi Valley Historical Review
Review
Shrewd and novel speculations on frontier society and national character. . . . The best survey yet of the Scotch-Irish.
American Historical Review
Review
This admirable book takes a fresh and frank look at the Scotch-Irish.
Journal of Presbyterian History
Review
Clearly written and well organized. . . . Leyburn has provided the general reader with an extremely useful account.
North Carolina Historical Review
About the Author
The late James G. Leyburn was professor of sociology at Washington and Lee University.