About the book: To truly understand the roots of the struggle in early America, we must first understand how and where the struggle began. As Skinner describes in his book, the battle fought by the pioneers didn't even begin here in America. The pioneers of early America were actually immigrants from countries like Ireland, Scotland, and Germany who came to America seeking independence. However, "religious persecution was but one of the influences which shaped the course and formed the character of the Ulster Scots." (Skinner, p.5) There were also pieces of legislation put in place by their government which violated their citizens' rights. The Acts damaged the wool trade, made it impossible for Nonconformists to hold any kind of public office, and also initiated heavy taxes and higher rents for the land their fathers had used and made profitable. The Ulstermen had literally had enough of the forced repression carried out by their own government (who could blame them?), and saw America and its land as a last chance for freedom. Therefore, during the eighteenth century, thousands of Ulstermen fled to America and settled primarily in the Back Country of North Carolina. Along with the Ulstermen seeking freedom in America were the Scottish Highlanders and the Pennsylvania Dutch (Germans). All of these "refugees" from different countries approached American life with great optimism and "settled into national groups," with each group "approaching frontier life through its own native temperament." (p.47). An important figure in the pioneering of the old Southwest was the merchant. The men of these times who became traders were the men who paved the way for settlers, made peace with many Indians, and even fought intertribal wars with the Indians. During a time when the Spanish in Florida were trying to reunite Indian tribes in Spanish and French territories to fight English settlers, the trader was one man who managed to prevent this from happening. The trader, being friends with groups of Indians, was warned of such attacks by his Indian allies and was therefore able to gather warriors to defend the settlements. It was important to the trader to maintain Indian allies such as the Chickasaws, the Iroquois, and the great majority of the Creek tribe. Although the trader was able to befriend some Indian tribes, he failed to encourage this type of trade. camaraderie in all the tribes that existed in America.