The Scots-Irish in the Carolinas

The Carolina regions of the United States of America were settled in large numbers during the 18th century by tens of thousands of Ulster-Scots Presbyterians, who left their native shores for reasons of religious persecution and economic deprivation.

In this third volume of the series on the hardy Scots-Irish communities who tamed the wilderness of the American frontier, journalist-author Billy Kennedy heads on a journey from the north of Ireland to the port of Charleston, South Carolina and the Carolina Piedmont, along the Great Wagon Road from Pennsylvania, through the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, into the western highlands of North Carolina and down to the historic Waxhaws, where President Andrew Jackson spent his childhood and early youth.

On this trail of the Scots-Irish in the Carolinas, five American Presidents emerge as direct descendants of the first frontier Carolina settlers. Also, John C. Calhoun, American Vice President for two terms, was the son of an Ulsterman who settled in the Carolina upcountry and literally hauled himself up by his bootlaces from a log cabin to a position as one of the nation’s most influential policy makers.

The culture, political heritage, and legacy of the Scots-Irish so richly adorn the historical fabric of American life. Through this series on the Scots-Irish, people on both sides of the Atlantic may develop an awareness of our illustrious past which will assist them in facing the future with renewed insight and wisdom. The contributions of the Scots-Irish to the building of the great American nation were profound and deserve our full recognition.