MacInnes, Allan I. “Jacobitism in Scotland: Episodic Cause or National Movement?” The Scottish Historical Review 86, no. 222 (October 2007): 225-252. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25529981.
In his article, “Jacobitism in Scotland: Episodic Cause or National Movement,” historian Allen I. MacInnes argues that the Jacobite cause within Scotland can be analyzed from a perspective that reviews Jacobitism within Scottish communities at a more micro level versus looking at Jacobite espionage and political subterfuge within the English court. He argues that Jacobitism was important to developing political systems within Scotland and established a culture of “intellectual development” which imprinted a lasting national impact on Scotland. MacInnes contends that Jacobitism was both a movement and a cause within Scotland; the cause was to reinstate James II as king of England, but the movement sustained a new political ideology and consciousness within the Scottish people long past the almost century of Jacobite activism. MacInnes references previous historiography by Jacobite scholars to provide evidence for his argument that the Jacobites were both a cause and a movement. He organizes his article by providing historical context of the Jacobites within Scotland, with an explanation of the social hierarchy of different areas of Scotland such as the highlanders’ clans and how social structure affected Scottish participation with Jacobitism. He then chronologically cites specific events that bolstered the Jacobite cause within Scotland leading up to the rebellions and battles against English forces. MacInnes utilizes both primary and secondary sources to provide evidence for his argument and relies on statistical data to provide information on increased Jacobite participation within Scotland from the early 1700’s to the late 1700’s. This source provides information on the why behind Scotland’s participation in the Jacobite cause and acts as evidence in my argument that Jacobitism created an avenue for Scottish nationalism to flourish. It also analyzes the lasting effects of Jacobitism on Scotland; MacInnes asserts that participation and conversely, those who opposed participation, created a robust political consciousness that had not existed within Scotland previously. His argument is persuasive in establishing Jacobitism as both a cause and a movement; Scotland was able to establish its desire for autonomy from England and was able to rally behind a cause that they thought would propel them to independence. MacInnes’ article provides a new perspective on Scottish involvement within the Jacobite cause which he argues established a political system and promoted new thinking towards self-determination. While some scholars classified Jacobitism as either a movement or a cause, MacInnes argues that it cannot be defined as either and has to be seen as both.
Sankey, Margaret and Daniel Szechi. “Elite Culture and the Decline of Scottish Jacobitism 1716-1745.” Past & Present no. 173 (November 2001): 90-128. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3600841.
Historians Margaret Sankey and Daniel Szechi argue that scholars have previously only focused on the importance of Scottish Jacobitism from either a political or economic perspective but have not fully analyzed “the Scottish Jacobite phenomenon” from a social standpoint. They argue specifically that the social elite within Scotland both hindered and helped the Jacobite cause and understanding the social stratification of Scotland and roles for landowning elites within the cause helps to explain the predominance of Jacobitism in Scotland. Sankey and Szechi organize their article by initially illustrating the social hierarchy of Scotland in different areas within the country; they provide a detailed analysis on the stratification of social class within the lowlands compared to the clan structure of the highlands. They then detail the connection between elite Whigs and elite Jacobites in Scotland and expound on the overlap between English Whigs and Scottish elites who took part in the Jacobite cause. A multitude of primary and secondary sources are utilized to provide context and evidence for Sankey and Szechi’s claim that Scottish society had a large impact on the participation of lower classes and influenced the Jacobites directly in Scotland. They reference previous historiography on the subject but assert that scholars did not explain in detail how existing social taxonomy and hierarchy affected Jacobitism. This source provides an explanation as to why Jacobitism was popular within Scotland from a perspective that is different from other scholarship on the subject. Sankey and Szechi convincingly provide details on how social stratification that already existed within Scotland came into play with the emergence of the Jacobite cause and directly affected the way in which Jacobitism existed for almost a century. Their article is a contrasting point of view to other claims within the field that assert economic gain, nationalism, and anti-union sentiments were the main reasons why Jacobitism flourished in Scotland. This source provides a counterpoint to conflicting ideologies from other scholars that state Jacobitism existed only for financial gain or political reasons. I will use this source to provide further evidence that Jacobitism fit seamlessly into Scottish society.
Stephen, Jeffrey. “Scottish Nationalism and Stuart Unionism: The Edinburgh Council, 1745.” Journal of British Studies 49, no. 1 (January 2010): 47-72. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27752690.
Jeffery Stephen asserts in his article, “Scottish Nationalism and Stuart Unionism: The Edinburgh Council, 1745,” that the outcome of the rebellion of 1745, thought to be an assured success for the Jacobites, was doomed due to differing ideologies and perspectives of leadership of the Grand Council, also known as the Council of War. The Grand Council, who convened in Edinburgh to make decisions for the Jacobites in 1745, Stephen argues, ultimately sunk the Jacobite ship and it did not matter that previous battles had been lost or won because the inability for the council to agree ensured their defeat by the English before they even headed out to fight them. He asserts that the diverging priorities of varying people and groups within the council made it impossible for them to agree, let alone come up with a strategy to defeat their more advanced enemy, the English forces. Stephen lays out his argument by providing historical context of events that occurred within the Jacobites prior to 1745 such as the Treat of Utrecht in 1713 and the ten years of 1720-1730 in which the Stuart cause was bankrupt, both financially and morally from lack of funding and a lack of supporters. Chronologically, Stephen then details the battles and rebellions fought by the Jacobites that led up to the “’45.” He questions whether it was British unionism or Scottish nationalism that caused a fundamental divide within the Grand Council. Stephen utilizes both primary sources from the time period as well as secondary sources on previous Jacobite scholarship to cement his argument that the Grand Council essentially condemned the Battle at Culloden with their inability to come to some sort of agreement on how the cause should move forward. This article convincingly asserts that the Jacobite movement was too internally divided to be able to support the aims of both English and Scottish participants. I will use Stephen’s argument as evidence to my argument that it was a combination of factors that caused the Jacobites to fail to establish a Stuart king on the English thrown. This article shows that a breakdown was occurring within the movement prior to Culloden even occurring.