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For hundreds of years Scotland was in turmoil trying to be free from the
rule of England. As a matter of fact in the 1300’s the Scottish people
wrote a Declaration of Arbroath for the liberty of men. It looked as
though Scotland would have maintained the freedom from the crown, but
times were getting harder for the Scot’s, they were losing everything,
their homes and land were being burnt leaving them homeless, hopeless,
and desperate. Between the years of 715 and 1745 hundreds of Scot’s left
their mother home for the “Land of Opportunity.” Those who stayed faced
the most atrocious battle Scotland ever seen; Culloden. It left 2,000
casualties, but England took control of Scotland. Some of the survivors
of the battle set sail to America.
By the year 1776 there were at an estimate
of close to one hundred thousand Scot’s living in the thirteen colonies.
After leaving their mother land due to the turmoil, the come to America
facing the same situations, England rule. There were those who were
loyal to the crown, but the rest took up arms to fight.
The thirteen colonies were in rebellion and
were tired of being taxed to death by England. There were the Sugar Tax,
Tea Tax, and the Stamp Act all forcing the colonists to pay. The
colonists said that is enough we aren’t taking this any longer,
representatives from each state gathered and declared their
independence, hence the Declaration of Independence was signed on July
4, 1776 declaring separation from England. The battles went from 1777 to
1783. England surrendered to American in Yorktown in October of 1781.
Here is a note from Caledonian Mercury;
But just a cursory look at the men
involved in drafting and signing the declaration reveal a strong
Scottish influence.
Of the 56 signatories of the declaration
it is estimated that at the least a third were either Scots by birth or
of Scottish descent. This number, by some people’s estimates, rises to
three-quarters. Whilst it is probable that most of the signatories held
non-American ancestry, it is clear that Scottish blood, education and
ideas were strongly represented in the drawing up and signing of the
document.
The committee set up to draft the
declaration comprised five men: Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert
Livingston, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Of these five, the drafting
was entrusted mostly to Jefferson.
Jefferson was himself of Scottish
descent, tracing his lineage back to King Robert I of Scotland. But if
his claims to Scottish ancestry may be sketchy, his education amongst
Scots is not.
My question is I wonder what went through
their minds as they signed the Declaration of Independence; could it
have been?
Our mother land we have lost, but this
war we have won…….freedom! |
