Ulster and North America: Transatlantic Perspectives on the Scotch-Irish [Hardcover]

H. Tyler Blethen (Editor), Curtis Wood (Editor), T. G. Fraser (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1997

Ulster and North America addresses the complex issues of Scotch-Irish (or Ulster Scots) history and ethnic identity by viewing them from a transatlantic and comparative perspective. The eleven essays, originally presented at meetings of the Ulster-American Heritage Symposium by scholars from Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and the United States, examine values, traditions, demographics, and language. They also investigate the process of migration, which transmitted that culture to North America, and the subsequent adaptation within American culture. This diverse collection of essays emphasizes several themes. First is the dynamic nature of Ulster society in the 17th and 18th centuries and the rapid changes occurring there, especially affecting Presbyterianism and community cohesiveness, which shaped the motives for migration to the New World. Another theme is the experience of migration, asking who migrated, when they went, what their expectations were, and how closely colonial reality matched those expectations. A third theme is the development of economic strategies and community-building both in Ulster and in North America, making important contributions to the "new rural history" and explaining the success of the Scotch-Irish on the new American frontier. A final theme is ethnic identity and cultural diffusion, advancing the ongoing debate initiated by Forrest McDonald and Grady McWhiney and elaborated on by David Hackett Fischer. The contributors to this volume present a unique combination of resources and methodologies including history, genealogical group and community studies, linguistics, demographics, and cultural geography. In emphasizing the diversity of the Scotch-Irish experience, they make clear how inappropriate previous single-model efforts have been in explaining the history of this elusive group. The new research presented here illustrates the value of transatlantic dialogue and of comparative studies firmly based on local and regional studies for the understanding of ethnicity and migration history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"These essays should lay to rest any lingering doubts that the Scotch-Irish have made a major contribution to North American civilization in general and to that of the U.S. Upper South in particular."

—Now & Then Magazine

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

H. Tyler Blethen is Professor of History and Director of the Mountain Heritage Center, Western Carolina University.

Curtis W. Wood Jr. is Professor of History at Western Carolina University. T.G. Fraser is Head of the History Department at the University of Ulster in Coleraine.

 

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: University of Alabama Press (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0817308237
• ISBN-13: 978-0817308230
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,328,787 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting selection of Scotch-Irish related academic essays, January 5, 2009

By 

William J. Shepherd (Crofton, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ulster and North America: Transatlantic Perspectives on the Scotch Irish (Paperback)

This is a seminal collection of eleven academic essays chosen from eighteen years of the Ulster-American Symposium regarding Scotland and Ireland as well as North America. Many are local studies which include demographic research, folklore, geography, and linguistics that add to the existing Scotch-Irish historiography while debunking or clarifying many popular myths. A major theme is the rapid Scotch-Irish assimilation into American society in contradiction to the theories of those who argue the persistence of Scotch-Irish, British Borderland, and Celtic traits.