6 sessions, 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Mondays, September 25 through October 30, 2017
DOC House - Hanover, NH
Course Fee: $60

J.D. Vance, the author of the bestseller, Hillbilly Elegy, tells his story of a family from Eastern Kentucky that tried (with modest success) to improve their lot, by moving to a small industrial city in Southern Ohio. But his family was hindered by the Scotch-Irish Borderlands culture that they brought with them, a culture that has also had a major impact on how the United States sees itself.

The Borderlands of Great Britain emphasized personal honor, enforced by male violence, for the individual, the immediate family, and the broader clan. This resulted in bloody battles between clans and against British authority from London. This violence discouraged long-term planning, necessary for economic growth, and landowners made it difficult for these people to stay.

The main flood of these people came to America in the 18th Century, after most of the coastal land had been settled, so they went to the then frontier area of Western Pennsylvania, later moving to Western Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and in the 20th Century, to Oklahoma and eventually to Southern California.

We will see how the Scotch-Irish made their mark in the military, especially Andrew Jackson and General George Patton, in living the cowboy culture, and especially in Country & Western music with the Carter Family, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, and many, many others.