Why You Need To Know The Scots-Irish

Parade Magazine ^ | October 3, 2004 | James Webb

[Betis70]

Looking at that list, probably Grace O'Malley. So I guess an Irish female Pirate not a Scottish one.

http://members.tripod.com/cathreese/DefiantWomen/pirates/granuaile.html

[LNewman]

It's a historical perspective. So I guess it is "old." Whether it's rubbish or a "load" or no depends on the individual's perspective. Thanks for sharing yours!

[irishtenor]

Dis is as good as it gets :>)

[jocon307]

"In his defense, he only fought for one side at a time, and he only switched once..."

So he flipped, but he didn't flop, that's ok!

[illumini]

In his defense, he only fought for one side at a time, and he only switched once, and he only did so because his hometown switched sides after its citizens were more or less robbed by soldiers from their own side.

I can't top that! Cheers. . .

[Rytwyng]

wear orange on Saint Patrick's day.

As one who has both 'green' and 'orange' ancestry, i have mixed feelings about this. My compromise: I wear green for St Patrick's and orange for hunting.

[Rytwyng]

just bet that all those diehard Johnny Rebs who left the South and started a colony in Patagonia rather than submit to Northern rule were all Scots-Irish.

Same thing happened in Brazil. Today there are an estimated 100,000 Brazilians who descend, wholly or in part, from Confederate migrants. They even have a society, and founded a town ("Americana"). Some still speak a southern-accented English in addition to the obligatory Portuguese. Learn more here: http://www.scv.org/Camp1653

[risk]

Don't know if you guys saw this thread posted by LNewman. He beat me to it by more than a month, but it's still worth reviewing. The Parade article was a nice overview of the culture which produced some of the most important Americans ever. I'm going to guess that a lot of you are in this ethnic group!

[ladyinred]

Scots-Irishman here!!!!

Me too, or should I say Scots-Irishlady here! :-)

[Squantos]

Yep.........I'm important alright !

[kralcmot]

The definitive discussion of the Scots-Irish is here

The Jacksonian Tradition by Walter Russell Mead on this web site

http://denbeste.nu/external/Mead01.html

And, I am scots-irish. My dad used to explain it this way: the first wave of Irish immigrants to America came from Catholic Ireland and settled in the large cities of the East Coast. They were poor and spoke an English that was almost like a foreign language to the Americans already here. They lived in the ghettos and were a disrespected and rowdy bunch. Eventually, they were accepted into American culture, but have always carried the stigma of their beginnings.

To distinguish themselves from the Catholic Irish, the Protestant immigrants from northern Ireland (and Scotland) referred to themselves as "Scots-Irish". They came later and settled farther inland, in the area that was then considered the frontier, being West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Northern Georgia and Northern Alabama, and the mountain areas of the western parts of the Carolinas. These Scots-Irish tended to be more independent and self-reliant than their Catholic cousins, and they lived off the land as farmers or hunters rather than in the cities.

Historians have some to associate the Scots-Irish with Andrew Jackson, and that is why the discussion about the Jacksonian Tradition will explain the Scots-Irish.

Scots-Irish threads are found in the country traditions of the mid south and western states including Texas. Scots-Irish are the predominant sub-group in the American Military and most famous American fighting men have been Scots-Irish.

[KingNo155]

Irish and love whiskey stirs the soul

[risk]

If all else fails, I will retreat up the valley of Virginia, plant my flag on the Blue Ridge, rally around the Scotch-Irish of that region, and make my last stand for liberty amongst a people who will never submit to British tyranny whilst there is a man left to draw a trigger. --Attributed to George Washington, at Valley Forge.