Scots-Irish American

Scots-Irish Americans are descendants of the Ulster-Scots immigrants who came to North America from Ireland in the late 17th and 18th centuries. The Scots-Irish, who had sufferred under the Penal Laws in Ireland, which discriminated against them because of their Presbyterian religion, brought with them a historical grievance against England. This grievance made the settlers and their descendants in North America more ready to join the patriotic cause. Moreover, it has been suggested that their experience in Ulster of being a colonial minority surrounded by a hostile native population, the native Ulster Catholics, prepared them for life on America's frontier. The "Scotch-Irish" celebrated their military victories over the Irish Catholics, which they believed had saved their community from annihilation. Of particular importance for them were the battle of the Boyne, the battle of Aughrim and the siege of Londonderry. James Webb's book, "Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America", suggests that the character traits of the Scots Irish, loyalty to clan, mistrust of governmental authority, and military readiness, helped shape the "American Identity". Unlike later immigrant groups, the Scots Irish discarded their past identity and are most likely to put their ethnicity as "American" on census forms.

Related Topics:
Ulster-Scots - North America - Ireland - 17th - 18th - Penal Laws - Presbyterian - England - Patriotic cause - Ulster - Catholics - Battle of the Boyne - Battle of Aughrim - Siege of Londonderry

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The migration of Scots to Ulster occurred largely during the 17th and 18th centuries (as detailed in the article History of Scotland and Plantations of Ireland). With the enforcement of Queen Anne's 1703 Test Act in Ulster however, considerable numbers of Ulster-Scots migrated to the North American colonies throughout the 18th century (250,000 settled in the USA between 1717 and 1770 alone). Disdaining the heavily English regions on the Atlantic coast, most groups of Ulster-Scot settlers crossed into the "western mountains", where their descendants populated the southern Appalachian regions and the Ohio Valley. Others settled in northern New England and north-central Nova Scotia.

Related Topics:
Scots - History of Scotland - Plantations of Ireland - Queen Anne's - 1703 - Test Act - North America - 18th century - English - Atlantic coast - Appalachian - Ohio - New England - Nova Scotia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 2000 US Census, 4.3 million Americans (more than 2% of the white population in the USA) claimed Scots-Irish ancestry, although there are estimated to be upwards of 20 million Americans from across the USA who can trace the roots of at least one ancestor to Ulster. 14 of the 42 Presidents of the United States (1 in 3) have had ancestral links to Ulster, including three whose parents were born in Ulster. Several hundred thousand descendants of settlers from Ulster also live in Canada today.

Related Topics:
Ancestry - Presidents of the United States - Canada

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~