Senator James Webb traces the early battles and evolving personality quirks of a group in Scotland that, centuries later, would help forge the American spirit. After decades resisting Roman invasions, tens of thousands of Scots fled to Northern Ireland, part of a British plan to settle land taken from the Irish. Ulster Plantation would be no paradise, but the ferocious battles with the English and native Irish would create in the Ulster Scots a skill set and psychology uniquely designed for the frontier. They would harden them for the voyage ahead, to a new land with a new promise, America.
Senator James Webb goes on a personal journey to trace the story of the Scots-Irish, from their exodus to the New World in the 1700s to their massive cultural and political influence on America today. See how their warrior ways helped the United States win the Revolutionary War and how their wanderlust opened up the frontiers. The tenacity that carried them through Civil War defeat and economic devastation, and the music, drinks, and prayers they carried with them became the lifeblood of America.