In a comprehensive examination of the links between the ethnic and religious loyalties of Scotch-Irish immigrants, Fisk analyzes the process by which these two splinter branches of the Church of Scotland evolved into an important element in American Presbyterianism. The book traces the origins of post-Reformation religious turmoil in Scotland and explains the emotional attachment of the Covenanters and Seceders to their sectarian views. It then traces the migration of these two groups to Ireland, Pennsylvania and the Carolinas.