Publisher's Synopsis
In 1540 Tam Blake, mercenary and adventure, became the first recorded Scot in the New World. Since then, American-Scots have played an important part in all areas of American history, even among the Indian nations. Presidents of Scottish descent include Jackson, Grant, Roosevelt and Reagan. Western legends such as Kit Carson and Daniel Boone were joined by thousands of anonymous fellow Scottish men and women in the opening up of the West, while Scots had key roles in the American Revolution (on both sides) and in the American Civil War. Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jeb Stuart are but a few of the martial Scots, great and small. `Uncle Sam' himself was modelled on a Scot. Exported Scottish innovation is shown in Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, Samuel Morse's telegraph and code, Robert Fulton's ships, and Peter Cooper who built America's first locomotive. Glaswegian Allan Pinkerton founded the first detective agency, and John Muir `invented' conservation. Dunfermline-born Andrew Carnegie used his industrial empire to create a legacy of libraries and charities. Alongside such heroes can be found murderers, rascals and the founders of the Ku-Klux Klan. The previously understated influence of the Scots on the history, culture and people of the United States is the subject of this remarkable collection of stories and illustrations. Jim Hewitson documents the lives of settlers and their descendants: transported prisoners, refugees from clearances, poverty and repression, immigrants in search of land, fame or fortune, or those just trying to avoid having to thin neeps. Tam Blake & Co. is an overdue tribute to the hardiness and determination of the Scots in America, and highlights the special qualities and heritage they have imparted to the world's most powerful nation.
