“BY THE ETERNAL, THEY MUST HAVE NO REST ON OUR SOIL!” Ch:15

“BY THE ETERNAL, THEY MUST HAVE NO REST ON OUR SOIL!” Ch:15

Chapter 15

“BY THE ETERNAL, THEY MUST HAVE NO REST ON OUR SOIL!”

General Andrew Jackson, before the Battle of New Orleans. No one could doubt Old Hickory’s love of his country, or of its people. This declaration emphasised, if that were necessary, his firm determination to defend it at all costs. But it meant more than that. It was uttered by a man with a vision, a man who could foresee the great potential of the young developing nation, provided that everyone could be given the assurance of really belonging to it. In brief, if everyone could be able to see it, as he did, as” our soil.” Andrew Jackson, as he afterwards demonstrated, was hard-headed enough to see that America’s great future could be achieved, only if several unworthy features of its then national workings were eliminated. His was a fierce patriotism, because it was well based. It was the love of one who saw that America could become the land which the forerunners of his race had souqht in the 17th and 18th centuries, a real democracy in which everyone would belong, have his own part to play, and have equal treatment in it.

It has been stressed by several historical writers, including Theodore Roosevelt, that the Scotch.Irish thought of themselves as Americans at a very early date after their settlement in the country. It would seem to be justified to claim that they were the first race among the colonists to do so. They were the first to think of the separate colonies as making up a whole nation, and they, themselves, as members of it. This is not difficult to understand. They were to be found in all the colonies in substantial numbers, and in addition, they were all followers of the same Presbyterian faith. Of even greater importance, the administrative organization of their church from congregation, through presbytery, and synod brought them together at regular intervals from the different colonies to discuss matters of mutual interest. This undoubtedly would make them have a regard for all the settled parts of the country as a whole, and not just for one section of it. They had, too, shared the same hardships and disadvantages, and the fellow-feeling generated by these experiences would bind them closer together.

Lecky, the historian, has emphasised that the Presbyterian people left the shores of Ulster in the 17th and 18th centuries with “hearts burning with indignation” against those in authority in Britain, who had heaped such injustices upon them. Their “talent for black exasperation,” noted by J.e. Furnas was probably their reaction to meeting the similar established unfairness in America. It bred in them a hatred of anything that had even the slightest taint of injustice. They were bent on reaching a place and attaining conditions which would provide freedom of worship and justice for all. Their wholehearted support, as a race, for the striving after and attainment of their country’s independence from a rather degrading control, was surely an unmistakable sign of their impatience to be free of any unfair treatment. It had been exercised by a nation that sought to use them and the other colonists to further its own trade. It is to be expected that such people, having made an all-out effort to shake off a disagreeable yoke, would have a greater love for their adopted country. It has been observed by several writers that this was a notable characteristic of Ulster Scots in the years that followed. Winthrop, referring to them, wrote that, although they had their faults, a lack of patriotism or of courage was not among them. Maldwyn A. Jones, too, was impressed by their willingness to risk all for America in the 1812 war.

A New Englander once forcefully described some of the people of this race as being “the most God provoking democrats this side of Hell.” This feature of their character had been demonstrated in the opposition of the frontier people to the unfair representation of their area in Congress in Philadelphia, and there was some indication of it also in the protests they made to Governor Tryon before the battle of the Alamance River. It is, too, demonstrated in the only church govemment they will accept, where episcopacy has no place, and control is only acceptable when exercised through democratically elected courts, congregation, Kirk Session, Presbytery, Synod, and General Assembly. Indeed, as we have seen in years long past, the Presbyterian stalwart, Andrew Melville, told even the King of England and of Scotland that “No earthly king is a lord or head of the Church of Scotland” and that “James, the Sixth, is but a member.”

Andrew Jackson was the personification of such democracy. He had been accepted by the people of Tennessee around 1812 as a great leader. Their admiration for him was heightened, because they found he represented most of their aspiration and ambitions. He had been seen to respond to critical situations with decision and quick and effective action. This reaction to a leader with whom the people can identify themselves has been observable often in history. Jackson’s loyalty to his own troops, even against commands coming from the highest military authorities in Washington, and his sharing in the hardships of those troops on their difficult road home evoked in those rather dour folk, something much more than respect. He was a man” after their own heart” and one they could certainly follow, come what may. Only a few years were to elapse before he was to be idolized by the whole nation. His election as resident in 1828 was a foregone conclusion. For, as Brian Battershaw in his book “Talking about America” has pointed out, this great leader’s impact on the whole nation was irresistible.

The democracy, self-reliance, boldness, and optimism of the frontier, which had been reinforced by the challenges of life there, was inspiring the entire American population. They were being influenced by one who was holding up, as an example, all those noble qualities after which they themselves strove. It is illustrative of the effects of frontier life on the entire nation that, at the same time, the four most prominent positions in America were held by men from the State of Tennessee; they were Andrew Jackson as President, Hugh Lawson White, President of the Senate, James K. Polk, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and John Bell, the foremost man in Congress. Remarkable to note, too, that all were men of Ulster Scottish descent.

Some of the conditions laid down in the American Constitution of 1787 had improved the voting rights of people generally, but the richer classes in the East coast areas still had, in the 1820′s, many advantages and privileges, which enabled them to influence unduly the composition of Congress. Jackson, with an overwhelming public support behind him as the 7th U.S.A President, swept away most of this unfaimess remaining. He had proved in war that he was a bold and effective leader. He was now to show similar boldness, along with wisdom, and love for democracy, in politics. He displayed the same ruthlessness in his new sphere as he had in dealing with enemies on the battlefield. Well aware of his popular support, he went ahead, in spite of Congressional opposition with measures he saw were necessary. He served two terms as president, and in those eight years he used the Presidential veto, no fewer than twelve times, many more than any in that high office before or since. He broke the power of the influential groupings in Congress, especially regarding elections. He
was responsible for widening the choosing of candidates to all party workers, and not simply as had become the custom, by Congress members only. By this means he brought in the Nominating Convention when almost all members of a U.S. party can take part in this all important nomination.

One can see on present-day Television how much public interest this has inspired. No one could be chosen who had not the public with him. With the extension of voting rights, he thus brought nearer the day
when those elected would be accountable to the people who elected them. Andrew Jackson, also, had good legal knowledge, gained as a lawyer in Tennessee and as a Judge of that State’s Supreme Court. He used that knowledge to see that everyone stuck rigidly to the conditions laid down in writing in the American Constitution, which
under law, interpreted by the Chief Justice of America, safeguards the liberty and property of all the people of the country. Jackson also took effective and successful action to reduce the power of the Bank of the United States.

It is no wonder that this son of Ulster parents is rated by most historians to be one of the really great Presidents of the U.S.A It would seem opportune at this stage to recall that a substantial number of men of Ulster descent, either on their father’s side, or their mother’s side, or like Andrew Jackson on both, became President. They, too, contributed much to the progress of their country. They were as follows, with known details of parentage:

Andrew Jackson – parents from Boneybefore, one mile North of Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim.
James Knox Polk – from Londonderry area. (Robert Polk arrived from Ulster in 1680)
John Adams – one of ancestors was Robert Temple from Ulster.
John Quincy Adams – as John Adams.
James Buchanan – father originally from Deroran Omagh moved to Donegal area mother also of Ulster birth.
Andrew Johnston – from near Larne, Co. Antrim.
Ulysses S. Grant – mother Hannah Simpson, from Dergenah, near Dungannon,
(Great Grand John Simpson left Ulster in 1760 from Co. Tyrone, father John)
Chester Alan Arthur – from Dreen, Co. Antrim. Ancestral home still standing, cared for by National Trust of N. Ireland.
Grover Cleveland – mother Neal from Co. Antrim.
Benjamin Harrison – mother Irwin, whose great grandfathers both came from Ulster.
William McKinley – from Conagher, near Ballymoney, Co. Antrim.
Woodrow Wilson – from Dergalt, near Strabane, Co. Tyrone. Home kept by National Trust.
Theodore Roosevelt – of Ulster descent on mother’s side.
Harry S. Truman – has stated that his father was descendant of Andrew Jackson.
Dwight D. Eisenhower – claimed to have Ulster blood in his veins.
Richard Mulhouse Nixon – Mulhouse ancestor from Carrickfergus, another ancestor from Ballymoney.
Of these it must also be noted that three, the only three in American history, were first generation Americans, whose fathers were born in Ulster. They were Andrew Jackson, James Buchanan, and Chester Alan Arthur. There is a condition in the American Constitution that requires all who hold this high office must be born in America.

W.F. Marshall in his excellent book “Ulster Sails West” listed seven vice presidents of Ulster Scottish descent:- Calhoun, Clinton, Wilson, Johnston, Breckinridge, Henricks, and Arthur. He also listed the names of 36 Provincial or State Governors of Ulster birth or extraction, but as Mr. Marshall stresses “The names of those who held high office is legion. There are State governors by the hundred and Justices of State Supreme Courts by the score.” He paid tribute to the excellent qualities of John Rutledge, the son of an Ulster emigrant, who became the first Governor of South Carolina, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He also played a major part in drawing up the American Constitution. The author of that splendid book also pointed out that of the 13 first State Governors after Independence had been attained, 7 were of Ulster origin. John Caldwell Calhoun, mentioned previously as one of the American Vice Presidents, was descended in the family lines of both his parents from Ulster stock. He was the grandson of James Calhoun, who emigrated from Londonderry about 1773, and of John Caldwell one of the earliest settlers in the Valley of Virginia: While occupying this high office, he showed he was most keen to bind together all the states into a national whole, an attitude which revealed his love for his adopted country. He did so by persistently urging and taking the necessary action to bring about the vast improvement of roads and canals into regions which were vital for settlement and development. One particular road which was reconstructed and immensely bettered as a result of Calhouns efforts was the important one connecting places on the Potomac River with Wheeling on the River Ohio. This was essential for the opening up, to settlers, of the North West states.

It was in connection with transport also that another man of Ulster stock achieved an outstanding breakthrough, which was to bring to him an international reputation. To Americans, themselves, and, indeed, to peoples of all countries he was to provide a means of travel which opened up vast opportunities, because of its power, speed,
and adaptability. He was Robert Fulton, whose parents families had arrived in America about 1730. His father had been a founder member of the Lancaster Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania, but it fell to his mother’s lot to provide for him, on the death of her husband in 1768, when Robert was but three years old. He had a talent for art as well as engineering, and it was as a portrait artist that he first made a name for himself. He travelled to London where he improved his skill under the tuition of a famous American artist. However, it was engineering, and, especially its possible connection with the propelling of boats, that occupied his mind. About 1790 he conceived the idea of using steam power for this purpose, and it was not long till he put this to practical use. His first experiments were with a small missile-firing submarine on the river Seine at Paris.

He named it the “Nautilus”, but no authority showed real interest. On his return to America in 1806, he put his knowledge to use in a steam-driven surface paddle boat. In this venture he was well supported by Chancellor Livingston and named his steamboat “Clermont” after that eminent man’s home. The vessel had a most successful run from New York to Albany, a distance of 150 miles. This application of steam power to water travel revolutionized it. At first it was adopted on the great rivers like the Mississippi, Missouri, and the Ohio, and on the Great Lakes between U.S.A. and Canada. River traffice previously had been limited to travelling downstream, often on large rafts that were afterwards destroyed. So the ability of the steamboat to go either way brought vast changes. Within roughly 20 years, there were some 200 large vessels of this type on the Mississippi. In the older films one can see them and gauge their range for passengers and cargo.

Soon, too, in 1819 a sailing vessel, with an auxiliary steam engine, crossed the Altantic, and later a similarly powered boat travelled round Cape Hom to California. This great original scientist died at the age of 50. Although he had the satisfaction of seeing his invention employed to speed up the carrying of people and goods for the settlement of the Western states, he was denied the continuing with his ambitious plan to convert the American navy to steam-powered vessels. He was honored by his grateful nation, when his body was interred among their illustrious dead in the churchyard of Trinity Presbyterian Church on Broadway. There have been many thousands of people whose lives have been saved over the past 140 years by the invention of Samuel Finley Breese Morse. It is to him that we owe the method of transmitting telegraphic messages by what became known as the Morse Code.

How many wireless operators on ships at sea, or on aeroplanes, have sent out distress calls for help, using the alphabet of signaldevised by him, and on instruments to which his inventiveness gave rise. Morse was a great-grandson of Rev. Dr. Samuel Finley, born in Co. Armagh in Ulster, the distinguished Presbyterian clergyman, school-master, and later President of Princeton educational complex which had all stemmed from the idea, initiative and courage of William Tennent. Morse’s abilities were rather similar to those of Robert Fulton, in that he was a distinguished painter as well as scientist. He studied to improve his artistic talent in London and was awarded a gold medal for one of his paintings. However, his main interest was in the possibilities of electricity and electro-magnetism being used to transmit messages.

It was on a sea-journey from New York to France that he compiled his unique alphabet of dots and dashes, later to become famous as the Morse Code. He became a Professor at New York University. In January, 1836, he sent a message by telegraph over a distance of 10 miles using his code. There was a General Cummings present at the transmitting and the message was gIven a military leaning. It was:

“Attention, the universe. By kingdoms, right wheel” After this successful transmission, Morse demonstrated his telegraphic instruments to the President of the U.S.A. and several influential members of Congress. In the same year his inventions were patented. These were adopted by the leading countries. It’s potential was again demonstrated by the sending of a telegraphic message from the Democratic Convention of 1844 in Baltimore announcing the nomination of James K. Polk. A statue honouring the achievements of this Ulster Scot was erected in Central Park, New York in 1871, by the Telegraphic Brotherhood of the World. After an acknowledging speech, the inventor of the electric telegraph sent his farewell message:

“Greetings and thanks to the telegraph fraternity throughout the world. Glory to God in the highest. On earth peace goodwill to men.” S.F.B. Morse. Greetings came back from all grateful representatives of the countries who had benefited from his inventions.

Another invention which brought incalculable benefit in several ways to widespread people was the McCormick reaper. The grandparents of the inventor arrived from Ulster into the Valley of Virginia about 1758. Cyrus Hall McCormick born in 1809, as a boy,attended a college which had started off as the Scotch-Irish Augusta Academy and was later to be honoured with the title of the Washington and Lee University. Cyrus’s father had tried for several years to perfect a similar type of reaping machine, but the results had never been satisfactory. His son, having become interested, persevered with the work and later constructed a machine which was entirely satisfactory, when tried out on the family farm at Walnut Grove, Rockbridge County, in Virginia. It was so effective that it could reap 100 acres in the same time that a man could complete only 7.5 acres. Horse-drawn, it was so easily managed that boys of 10 to 12 years could efficiently use it. It could not have been invented at a better time, as it helped farmers to appreciate the productive possibilities of the vast grain Prairies of the West. Young McCormick, too, realised how much his machine was needed, if the great granary was to be gleaned.

He set a factory for production at Cincinnati in 1845 and a larger one at Chicago in 1847. By this most intelligent decision, he at one and the same time, placed his factories within easy reach of the metals needed for the making of the machines and the reapers easily available to the farmers in the Prairies. Within a very short time thousands of these were being turned out and used all over the country. The machine was later introduced into Europe by the inventor himself. It’s effectiveness was so evident and appreciated that Cyrus Hall McCormick was decorated with the Legion of Honour medal by Napoleon the third, and similarly honored by the Emperor of Austria at the Exhibition in Vienna. From all over the world came awards and recognition.

Another effect of the movement of the McCormick factories to Cincinnati and Chicago was that it speeded up considerably the development of this area into one of the largest industrial areas in the world. Another famous inventor, according to one American historian, was of Ulster-Scottish extraction. He was no other than Thomas Alva Edison whose inventions are so varied and so well-known that they require no further mention. His mother was formerly Miss Elliot whose ancestors were born in Ulster.

There were several most influential editors of leading newspapers in America who were of Ulster extraction. Indeed, as has already been stated the man who edited and printed the first paper in that country was John Dunlap from Strabane, the paper “The Pennsylvania Packet.” Others who had great influence through this medium were Horace Greeley, one of the most famous joumalists during the Civil War, his paper was the “New York Tribune.” One wonders what these distinguished editors would think of the anti-Ulster writings of some of the American newspapers in the 1970′s and 1980′s.

Then there was Charles Hammond, the pioneer editor of Ohio who became the influential writer of the “Cincinnati Gazette,” and had the firm belief that through newspaper writings the public could be educated in virtue or vice, Washington Mclean and his son John R. Mclean contributed very much to the influential “Cincinnati Enquirer,” WW. Armstrong, the editor of the “Cleveland Dealer,” Richard Smith of the “Commercial Gazette, James W. Scott displayed his outstanding literary abilities as editor of the “Chicago Times,” and of “The Herald.” Robert Bonner from Ramelton founded “The New York ledger” and Charles Halpine the “New York Citizen.”

In the wider literary field the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe may have furnished ideas for H.G. Wells and Conan Doyle. John Steinbeck’s story “East of Eden”, generally thought to be an autobiographical work, would seem to indicate that he, too, had Ulster roots. There must be few people who have not at some time been moved by such minstrel songs and sentimental ballads as “Oh Susanna”, “Old Folks at Home”, “Swanee River”, Nelly was a Lady”, or “Jeanie with the light brown hair:’ They have remaine,d popular since their words and music were introduced to the public some 140 years ago. It was from Ulster that the ancestors of the composer, Stephen C. Foster, came. Stephen, himself was bom near Pittsburg in 1826, near the Western frontier of that time.