Beginning with the origins of their population in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the author traces the Scotch-Irish development from Lowland Scotland to Northern Ireland to the American colonies.

Arriving in the East, the Scotch-Irish were characterized by other colonists as being fiery tempered, stubborn, hard drinking, and very religious, and they quickly made lasting impressions. Though the Scotch-Irish were in the minority, they managed to impact history. Most notably, they introduced the appeals system and the checks and balances system.

Beginning with the origins of their population in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the author traces the Scotch-Irish development from Lowland Scotland to Northern Ireland to the American colonies.

Arriving in the East, the Scotch-Irish were characterized by other colonists as being fiery tempered, stubborn, hard drinking, and very religious, and they quickly made lasting impressions. Though the Scotch-Irish were in the minority, they managed to impact history. Most notably, they introduced the appeals system and the checks and balances system.