Quote Originally Posted by Canuck of NI View Post
And after 1776, the Scots Irish were willing to hang around for long periods unpaid, making them the ideal Revolutionary soldiers!

I would feel remiss if I didn't mention a recent book that challenges the idea that the Scots Irish completely vanished into the American melting pot: that would be Born Fighting by James (now Senator) Webb. His book is not without controversy but in particular he has very interesting ideas on the subject of Scots Irish contributions to post-colonial US history (especially during The War Between The States) and if I'm any judge is a great first read on the subject. http://www.amazon.com/Born-Fighting-.../dp/0767916883
It's no doubt a popular book, but a better book, from this historian's POV, is Leyburn's The Scotch-Irish: a social history. As you said, it is a good first read, but there are much better titles out there. I highly recommend Celeste Ray's Highland Heritage: Scottish Americans in the American South for a more scholarly analysis of the role of Scottish (and Ulster-Scottish) influences in the South.

T.