While recognizing Fischer's identification of the Border Scots-Irish as one of the four primary American cultures imported from England in successive waves of migration, you fail to mention the most salient part of their culture for American politics, that their clannishness is carefully cultivated by their cavalier absentee landlords so that they can be exploited century after century by the southern English noble families that own the land they fight upon. This dynamic too emigrated to America, and Vance and Trump are perfect examples of the way elites have always manipulated southern poor whites. You also give the borderers too much importance. That culture and their masters have existed in tension with the egalitarianism of the Puritans and the tolerance of the mid Atlantic dissenters long before the country was founded. Those 20,000 New England Puritans had lots of children and it was their descendants that overwhelmed the South in the Civil War by sheer numbers and industry.
Vance claims kinship with the Backcountry, but filtered through Yale and Silicon valley with his Indian wife he represents the Randolphs, Byrds, and Culpeppers, and Thiels not the ignorant mountain men that worked their land and fought their wars. For all his German/New York origins, Trump is authentically backcountry in his values, ignorance and petty narcissism. Vance is a poor pretender.
The interaction between the four folkways was unfortunately beyond the scope of this essay! You're right that it's fascinating, and I hope this essay inspires people to pick up Albion's Seed.
Re: Vance, there has been an elite within the Borderers, too, and he's part of that rather than the cavaliers. It'll be interesting to see how Vance's story plays out, and I feel ill-equipped to predict how well he'll succeed in politics. I never guessed that someone like Trump would seem charismatic to so many, because his style is foreign to my own tastes.
Thank you! I think the tragedy of Tristan and Isolde was caused more by their love triangle with King Mark than from feuding. But that is such a great story, it might need to show up in a future fashionably late take.
While recognizing Fischer's identification of the Border Scots-Irish as one of the four primary American cultures imported from England in successive waves of migration, you fail to mention the most salient part of their culture for American politics, that their clannishness is carefully cultivated by their cavalier absentee landlords so that they can be exploited century after century by the southern English noble families that own the land they fight upon. This dynamic too emigrated to America, and Vance and Trump are perfect examples of the way elites have always manipulated southern poor whites. You also give the borderers too much importance. That culture and their masters have existed in tension with the egalitarianism of the Puritans and the tolerance of the mid Atlantic dissenters long before the country was founded. Those 20,000 New England Puritans had lots of children and it was their descendants that overwhelmed the South in the Civil War by sheer numbers and industry.
Vance claims kinship with the Backcountry, but filtered through Yale and Silicon valley with his Indian wife he represents the Randolphs, Byrds, and Culpeppers, and Thiels not the ignorant mountain men that worked their land and fought their wars. For all his German/New York origins, Trump is authentically backcountry in his values, ignorance and petty narcissism. Vance is a poor pretender.
The interaction between the four folkways was unfortunately beyond the scope of this essay! You're right that it's fascinating, and I hope this essay inspires people to pick up Albion's Seed.
Re: Vance, there has been an elite within the Borderers, too, and he's part of that rather than the cavaliers. It'll be interesting to see how Vance's story plays out, and I feel ill-equipped to predict how well he'll succeed in politics. I never guessed that someone like Trump would seem charismatic to so many, because his style is foreign to my own tastes.
Delightful trawl through all these stories and recounts of clannishness and feuding.
"Thisbe cries out that neither their wretched parents nor death could keep them apart"...... a mention of Tristan & Isolde would have been good here?
Thank you! I think the tragedy of Tristan and Isolde was caused more by their love triangle with King Mark than from feuding. But that is such a great story, it might need to show up in a future fashionably late take.
It was the Love&Death, unity-in-death aspect central to Wagner's opera that I was picking up on.....as in "nor death could keep them apart"
Absolutely — and forbidden love.
A fascinating unpacking of the American condition. Speaking as a Brit, thank you.
My pleasure
Superb synthesis of seemingly disparate historical events.—But I thought the Borderers were known as the Reivers???
They go by many names!
Your research and writing style are thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining and illuminating!
Why thank you!!