Description

Professor Ford's history of the Scotch-Irish, though still considered by many to be the starting point for studying the history of the Ulster Plantation, has been out of print for many years. It is with great satisfaction, then, that Clearfield Company is able to offer a paperback reprint of this publication at this time. The Scotch-Irish in America tells the story of the Ulster Plantation and of the influences that formed the character of the Scotch-Irish people. Professor Ford commences with a detailed discussion of the events leading to the Scottish migration to Ulster in the seventeenth century, followed by an examination of the causes of the secondary exodus of these same "Scotch-Irish" to North America before the end of the century. Entire chapters are then devoted to the Scotch-Irish settlement in New England, New York, the Jerseys, Pennsylvania, and along the colonial frontier. Special chapters take up the role of the Scotch-Irish in the development of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S., some prominent Scotch-Irish preachers, the Scotch-Irish in the American Revolution and the birth of the new nation, and the role of the Scotch-Irish in the spread of popular education in America. Among the valuable resources at the back of the volume are a list of the "Scottish Undertakers" who applied for land in Ulster in 1609, a list of sources consulted in the preparation of the work, and a subject/name index with references to many early Scotch-Irish luminaries.