Customer Reviews

The Scotch-Irish: From the North of Ireland to the Making of America

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Chepesiuk presents an overview for the general reader which is somewhat novel for focusing to a very great extent on the Scottish as well as Irish origins of the Ulster Scots who became known as the Scotch-Irish in North America. In fact, some two thirds of the book's text, 92 out of 146 pages, is dedicated to these origins. However, there is little new in Chespesiuk's version which cites without replacing in any way the standard accounts such as James Leyburn's THE SCOTCH-IRISH: A SOCIAL HISTORY and Wayland Dunaway's THE SCOTCH IRISH OF COLONIAL PENNSYLVANIA. Chespesiuk does not comment upon the origin and development of the often controversial term 'Scotch-Irish,' which is a very strange omission since the term is at the heart of any definition of who these people were or became in America. On the other hand, there is an entire chapter devoted to the Siege of Derry in 1689 which he argues to some effect is central to understanding the siege mentality and combativeness of the Ulster Scots or Scotch-Irish in both Ireland and the American colonies. Unfortunately, there are some historical errors and many minor mistakes which should have been corrected. For example, on page 11, Chespesiuk mentions that the Romans did not conquer Ireland as they had the British Isles when it is well established that they did not conquer Scotland though they did temporarily occupy parts of the Lowlands. They also did not penetrate parts of Cornwall, Wales, and Cumbria. On page 14, he states that Edward I of England removed the Stone of Scone, the fabled 'Stone of Destiny,' from Scotland in 1296 to London where it now remains. Since this book was published in 2000 he should have been aware the Stone was returned to Scotland in 1997. He mentions that except for some place names nothing of the Picts remains, which is incorrect because many of their carved standing stones still exist. On page 42, he refers to Aberdeen being in the north west of Scotland when it is, in fact, in the north east. On page 51, the Scottish Reformation is misdated as 1660 rather than 1560. On page 68, the first complete sentence lacks a word, probably 'died.' On page 99, he states that early Scotch-Irish migration to America began in 1780 when the date should be 1680. Finally, he spends considerable time mentioning the great impact of the 17th century English leader Oliver Cromwell in Ireland but makes no mention of his equally great impact in Scotland. In conclusion, this is a rather average addition to the bibliography of books on the Scotch-Irish. James Leyburn, who is mentioned above, remains the definitive historian of the Scotch-Irish.