Did Scotland Influence the US Declaration of Independence (1776) and the American Revolution?
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 2022-07-04

Did Scotland Influence the US Declaration of Independence (1776) and the American Revolution?

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What influence did Scotland have in America declaring independence on the 4th of July, 1776 from the tyrannical King of Great Britain? As it turns out, some of the most prominent names during that period were of Scottish descent or were themselves Scottish.

The man who proclaimed “give me liberty or give me death,” Patrick Henry, was of Scottish ancestry. Henry served as the Governor of Virginia at various point during his life, and his father was a Scottish immigrant from Aberdeenshire. Another notable American Founding Father of Scottish descent was Alexander Hamilton, a key figure in the formation of the US. Among many other roles and intellectual influences, Hamilton served as the US Secretary of the Treasury from 1789 to 1795. Hamilton’s father was Scottish. 

Two Scots also signed the US Declaration of Independence. The first was John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian Minister who was the only active clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. Witherspoon was born in Beith, North Ayrshire in 1723, and went on to study at the University of Edinburgh. Witherspoon was briefly imprisoned in Doune Castle during the Jacobite Rising of 1745-46, and only escaped by climbing out one of the windows (a topic I have made a video on previously). In 1768, Witherspoon and his family emigrated to New Jersey after he accepted the role as President and Head Professor of the Presbyterian College of New Jersey, known today as simply Princeton University. He went on to play a prominent role in political affairs for decades to come. 

The other Scot who signed the US Declaration of Independence was James Wilson, a legal scholar who went on to serve as the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1789 to 1798. A participant in drafting the US Constitution, Wilson was born in Carskerdo, Fife, in 1742. He studied at the Universities of St Andrews, Glasgow and Edinburgh, before moving to Philadelphia around 1765 or 1766. Soon after arriving in Philadelphia, Wilson wrote a legal opinion saying that unless Americans had representation in the British parliament, London had no right to have any authority over them. In other words, no tax without representation. Among being involved in numerous other episodes, Wilson taught a course on the new Constitution to George Washington and his Cabinet in 1789 and 1790.

Other Scots went on to influence the American experiment as the young country developed. Adam Smith is one notable example, sometimes referred to as the Father of Economics or the Father of Capitalism, who published his highly influential Wealth of Nations in 1776. Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife in 1723. 

Sources:

Scotsman, Scotland's signature role in America's independence https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/scotlands-signature-role-americas-independence-2463898 

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:19 Patrick Henry
0:36 Alexander Hamilton
1:04 John Witherspoon 
1:54 James Wilson 
3:04 Adam Smith 
3:32 Support and Donate 

#independenceday #americanrevolution #unitedstates