PDF Download Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America

PDF Download Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America

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Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America

PDF Download Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America

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Review

“Born Fighting is a bombshell—or else the most brilliant battle flare ever launched by a book. James Webb reveals the all-but-invisible ethnic group that has created the core beliefs of democracy American-style: our rights come from God, not the Government; all of us are born equal, and “born aristocrats” don’t exist; and tread on either of those two truths, and we’ll fight you down to the last unbroken hyoid bone. The Scots-Irish, for such is their name, have fought all our wars for us, including Vietnam. James Webb was there, and he can count. He has written not only an engrossing story but also an important work of sociological history in the tradition of the great James Graham Leyburn.”—Tom Wolfe

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In his first work of nonfiction, bestselling novelist James Webb tells the epic story of the Scots-Irish, a people whose lives and worldview were dictated by resistance, conflict, and struggle, and who, in turn, profoundly influenced the social, political, and cultural landscape of America from its beginnings through the present day. More than 27 million Americans today can trace their lineage to the Scots, whose bloodline was stained by centuries of continuous warfare along the border between England and Scotland, and later in the bitter settlements of England's Ulster Plantation in Northern Ireland. Between 250,000 and 400,000 Scots-Irish migrated to America in the eighteenth century, traveling in groups of families and bringing with them not only long experience as rebels and outcasts but also unparalleled skills as frontiersmen and guerrilla fighters. Their cultural identity reflected acute individualism, dislike of aristocracy and a military tradition, and, over time, the Scots-Irish defined the attitudes and values of the military, of working class America, and even of the peculiarly populist form of American democracy itself. "Born Fighting is the first book to chronicle the full journey of this remarkable cultural group, and the profound, but unrecognized, role it has played in the shaping of America. Written with the storytelling verve that has earned his works such acclaim as "captivating . . . unforgettable" (the" Wall Street Journal on "Lost Soliders), Scots-Irishman James Webb, Vietnam combat veteran and former Naval Secretary, traces the history of his people, beginning nearly two thousand years ago at Hadrian's Wall, when the nation of Scotland was formed northof the Wall through armed conflict in contrast to England's formation to the south through commerce and trade. Webb recounts the Scots' odyssey--their clashes with the English in Scotland and then in Ulster, their retreat from one war-ravaged land to another. Through engrossing chronicles of the challenges the Scots-Irish faced, Webb vividly portrays how they developed the qualities that helped settle the American frontier and define the American character. "Born Fighting shows that the Scots-Irish were 40 percent of the Revolutionary War army; they included the pioneers Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, Davy Crockett, and Sam Houston; they were the writers Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain; and they have given America numerous great military leaders, including Stonewall Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Audie Murphy, and George S. Patton, as well as most of the soldiers of the Confederacy (only 5 percent of whom owned slaves, and who fought against what they viewed as an invading army). It illustrates how the Scots-Irish redefined American politics, creating the populist movement and giving the country a dozen presidents, including Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. And it explores how the Scots-Irish culture of isolation, hard luck, stubbornness, and mistrust of the nation's elite formed and still dominates blue-collar America, the military services, the Bible Belt, and country music. Both a distinguished work of cultural history and a human drama that speaks straight to the heart of contemporary America, "Born Fighting reintroduces America to its most powerful, patriotic, and individualistic cultural group--one too often ignored or taken forgranted.

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Product details

Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Broadway Books; 1st edition (October 11, 2005)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0767916891

ISBN-13: 978-0767916899

Product Dimensions:

5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches

Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.5 out of 5 stars

488 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#77,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

James Webb and the Philosophical FairiesNow, I have special loving feelings toward James Webb. I elected him to the U. S. Senate with my $100, the only time I have sent money out of state to a political candidate for anything but the highest office. I read and re-read BORN FIGHTING in the little room next to my computer room, understanding, sympathizing, and a very few times envying (the times when he hears stories from his older kinfolks). I know how risky he was in describing Reconstruction, and I sympathize, because I have lived through the fierce self-righteousness of fanatical Political Correctness in the academy. But something seemed wrong on 244--apparently the same page in the hardback and the paperback, if Amazon.com is right--seemed nasty, cheap. Something did not seem to jibe with the Jim Webb I admire:THE OCCUPIERS, THE POLITICAL REEDUCATORS WHO THIS TIME CALLED THEMSELVES RADICAL RECONSTRUCTIONISTS, THE PHILOSOPHICAL FAIRIES, THE CARPETBAGGER BUSINESSPEOPLE WITH THEIR GRAND PLANS AND SPECIAL DEALS . . . .Now, my James Webb would never have said "the philosophical fairies."What James Webb must have written or meant to write was "the philosophical Pharisees." I know exactly what he meant, and he did not mean fairies, folks. He meant Pharisees.

I picked this up from BookBub for an obscenely low price, having had it recommended to me by my friend Keith. I’m half Irish (“Potato Irish” not Scots-Irish), but my maternal grandmother came from County Antrim in North Ireland and believe you me she hated the English, so there’s some commonality, but I’m getting ahead of myself.Mr. Webb’s thesis is that is that many U.S. citizens are descendants of the Scots-Irish, which originated in Scotland, marked by intense tribal loyalty and a willingness to fight against big government of any sort. So to quote Mr. Webb: “(The) journey (of the Scots-Irish)…has been not simply one of hardship or disappointment, but of frequent and bitter conflict. These conflicts, from which they have never in two thousand years of history retreated, have followed a historically consistent cycle of, among other things, a values-based combativeness, an insistent egalitarianism, and a refusal to be dominated from above, no matter the cost.”The history of these people dates back to the times when the Celtic tribes resisted the power of the Roman Empire, and eventually centered in Scotland. The prominence and importance of William Wallace (“Braveheart”) and Robert the Bruce in the development of the Scottish people is certainly given credit. The joining of four intense and bellicose independent tribal peoples to fight the English seems a daunting task, but it was accomplished. Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai’s attempts to bring the country’s fourteen tribal groups together certainly seems apropos in this context.Many of the Scottish people immigrated to Ulster, in Northern Ireland, where they differentiated themselves from both the “potato Irish” Catholics and the English Protestants, becoming fundamentalist Calvinists, and fighting against religious persecution and England’s futile and violent attempts to bring this group into the fold. Those who left Ireland for America ended up not going to the large commerce centers but instead sought out the primitive and dangerous frontier of the remote Appalachians. Many of them made their way to the American South, also challenging both the Government and the frontier. Daniel Boone, among others, is set up as an example of such a person of Scotch-Irish lineage.Again due to their willingness to fight for individuality, Mr. Webb indicates that up to 40% of the American militia during the Revolutionary War was made up of Sots-Irish. Many were also soldiers for the South during the Civil War. And, considering the recent conflict over the symbolism of the Confederate flag, Mr. Webb’s contention that what is now pejoratively termed “Redneck” is a continuation of the anti-government, tribal mentality that made the Scots-Irish survive. To quote Mr. Webb: “Blamed for slavery although only a minute percentage actually owned slaves, they suffered for generations after the Civil War due to the twin calamities of Reconstruction and an ever-increasing seclusion of the Appalachian and Allegheny Mountains.”But it didn’t stop there: Many Scots-Irish have been members of the Military through every armed conflict the U.S. has had. And for their motivation, well, Mr. Webb describes it as related to “Celtic ties of kinship:” “From the earliest known history of the Celts, military service was viewed not simply as an obligation but as a high honor. Fighting for – and alongside – the tribal leader (or, later, the Great Captain, or as now, one’s branch of service) brought one into the family.”Mr. Webb spends an entire chapter on Andrew Jackson, military man and President, as not only an example of the Scots-Irish culture but as a person who influenced the more populist movements in America. Mr. Webb quotes historian Walter Russell Mead: “(the Jacksonians believe) that the government should do everything in its power to promote the well-being – political, moral, economic – of the folk community.”This summary only scratches the surface of the rich and complex history of this hardy people, and certainly helps explain Mr. Webb’s pride in his family history of military service and political service, as well as some of his more controversial outlooks as a contemporary Presidential candidate. I greatly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it heartily, no matter your ethnic background or political leanings.

This quite simply is an essential work for the understanding of American history and culture. It is a delightful dip into the history of my own people as well, which is a bonus for me and those of my ilk. I did find the last few chapters very moving if a bit too personal to James Webb's personal experience. I found my self tearing up from the power of his family narrative. I am convinced that I now understand parts of American history more fully than I did before. We cannot grasp the totally of the American experience without understanding this remarkable book.

This was my starting point in pursuing an interest from my late mother in genealogy. The book gave me a road guide into the pre American Revolution back country Ulster Scots and how a French sir name (Chavous) became intertwined with Ulster Scot ancestors. It also provided hints into my political and social attitudes whether from environment or heredity, I do not know. The fact remains that it was the impetus that has taken me to extensive reading into Western European History (which I hated in high school and college) and trips to Scotland and Ireland. I have purchased three copies of this book that I have given to people that were interested. Anyone whose ancestors that traveled the "Great Wagon Road" must read this book by a very talented writer.

Very well worth the read, but understand that Jim Webb's writing can romanticize the culture he is speaking about. Being Scotts-Irish-English-Native American from a Kentucky area family, this book made me very proud of my heritage and placed a desire in me to know and be able to articulate my family's past. However, there are many cultures that progressed through history with tumultuous pasts. Also, stylistically, Jim Webb's citations are only numbered as you read, so if you actually want to know the source you have to go look in the back of the book. It would be nice to have the work mentioned in-text. I know that seems small, but I've been reading too much Mark Levin and David Barton recently and, when you're use to it, you notice when something that convenient is gone.

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