Book Review of the Pioneers of the Old Southwest

About the Book:

To truly understand the roots of struggle in early America, we must first understand how and where the struggle began. As Skinner describes in her book, the battle that the pioneers fought did not even begin here in America. The pioneers of early America were actually immigrants from such countries as Ireland, Scotland and Germany who came to America in search of independence.

Yet, "religious persecution was only one of the influences which shaped the course and formed the character of the Ulster Scots." (Skinner, p.5) There were also legislative acts put in place by their government which infringed on their rights as citizens. The acts damaged the woolen trade, made it impossible for nonconformists to hold any kind of public office and also began heavy taxes and higher rentals for land that their fathers had utilized and made fruitful.

The Ulstermen literally had enough of the forced suppression brought forth by their own government, (Who could blame them?), and saw America and its land as a last chance at freedom. Therefore, during the eighteenth century, thousands of Ulstermen fled to American and mainly settled in the Back Country of North Carolina. Along with the Ulstermen who looked for freedom in America, there were the Scottish Highlanders and Pennsylvania Dutch (Germans). All of these "refugees" from different countries approached American life with great optimism and "settled in national groups", with each group "approaching frontier life through its own native temperament." ( p.47).

An important figure in pioneering of the old southwest was the trader. The men of these days who became traders were the men who forged the way for the settlers, made peace with many Indians and even fought intertribal wars with the Indians. During a time when the Spaniards in Florida were trying to pull together Indian tribes in the Spanish and French territories to fight the English settlers, the trader was a man who was able to prevent this from happening. The trader, being friends with groups of Indians, was warned of such attacks by his Indian allies and he was then able to gather warriors to defend settlements. It was important to the trader to keep Indian allies such as the Chickasaws, the Iroquois, and a large majority of the Creek tribe.

Although the trader was able to make nice with a few of the Indian tribes he was unsuccessful in encouraging this sort of camaraderie throughout all of the tribes that existed in America.