''Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America'' is a book by American politician and author James "Jim" Webb. It describes the history of the Scots-Irish ethnic group, summarising their Scottish roots and time in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

before entering a more elaborate narrative of their time in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. Webb describes what he considers to be their inherent characteristics, such as their senses of militarism, independence and staunch opposition to adversaries. He notes their roles in the creation of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

and the Bible Belt. Webb notes how the Scots-Irish played significant roles in American conflicts, particularly the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, largely as Confederates, and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Webb describes what he feels has been the "Nazification" of the Confederate cause, emphasising that only five percent of Southerners were slave owners and detailing the economic crippling of the South by the Northern-based government, both before and after the conflict. Webb also describes the vilification of soldiers in the Vietnam War at the hands of a liberal, anti-war public. The book was generally praised. Writing for the Ashbrook Center,

Mackubin Thomas Owens Mackubin Thomas Owens is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. From 2015 until 2018, he served as dean of academic affairs at the Institute of World Politics. He was previously the associate dean of academics for electives and d ...

of the Naval War College praised the book as a "''tour de force''", agreeing with Webb that American politicians need to take more notice of the Scots-Irish. Jeff Minick of ''Smoky Mountain Living'' magazine described it as "vivid". Kirkus Reviews, while questioning the underlying message of the book, fount that "there’s plenty of good information and interpretation". However, historian Michael S. Newton was deeply critical of the book, among many complaints writing that Webb "comes across as an apologist for the legacy of racism in the South". He accused Webb of "taking history personally" and generally lambasted the book for what seemed to be an intentionally misleading narrative. ''Born Fighting'' was the basis for a two-part Smithsonian Channel program on the Scots-Irish influence in America.

References

2004 non-fiction books History books about the United States Scotch-Irish American history Working-class culture in the United States {{US-hist-book-stub