PING!
"It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honors that we are fighting,
but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself."
as drafted by William "Braveheart" Wallace's comrades-in-arms and political heirs but a few short years after his Martyrdom in Freedom's name and addressed to and subsequently accepted by The Holy Catholic Church to behold the true genesis of both the immortal rallying cry of first generation Scottish-American patriot Patrick Henry: "Give me liberty or give me death" and The U.S. Declaration of Independence itself.
According to the first U.S. census conducted in 1790, although those of Scots descent or born in Scotland comprised less than 7% of the overall white population, this one small demographic group accounted for at least 21 of the 56 bold signatories to America's Declaration of Independence, her first President, his entire Cabinet, and near half of her Revolutionary War Generals!*
* Source: "The Mark of the Scots" - Duncan A. Bruce, Citadel Press, 1996, 1998
Also see my FR home page for still more Scots-American facts.
PING!
With the EU increasingly taking more control, even tinier countries are allowed to spring up since they are protected under the EU banner.
Err. I do believe this already happened some time back. See Irish Free State.
More accurate to say "further breakup of the U.K." But I guess that's a nit.
Scotland is not part of the UK because it was "conquered & occupied by a larger neighbour". The King of Scotland became King of England as well, uniting the kingdoms. Hence the term "United Kingdom".
I welcome Scotland leaving the UK, if they really want to go. It'ld be great. I'ld save 8p a pound on income tax, and England would have a solid Conservative majority. Devolution can't happen fast enough for me.
ping
In 1601 the King of Scotland became King of England by inheritance and in 1707 the Scottish Parliament voted to join England in the United Kingdom.
The existing Union between Scotland and England is voluntary and has nothing to do with conquest.
And the Scots today bear little resemblance to William Wallace, since the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish National Party are aggressively socialist and believe in coercively disarming the people.
Then, once they've separated from England, the Lowlands can liberate themselves from the Highlands, right? Or vice versa. And then each clan can claim independence, right?
"her first President, his entire Cabinet"
I don't think this is even technically true...but even if technically true, it is a huge exaggeration and very misleading.
Washington's ancestors on his father's side came over from England in the mid seventeenth century. I have never even heard it suggested that his mother was a Scot or or Scottish descent.
Jefferson was in Washington's cabinet - but his mother was born in London and his father was born in Virginia.
Hamilton was in Washington's cabinet - but Hamilton's mother was French, he was born in the West Indies. His father may well have been a Scot, but since he abandoned his son, and Hamilton's entire life was marked by him trying to overcome his illegitimacy, I don't think I would hold that up as an example.
Edmund Randolph was in Washington's cabinet - and though he was the son of a Scot, his father was a loyalist and returned to the homeland. Not exactly an American patriot. Don't think I would use that as an example, either.
Samuel Osgood was the final member of Washington's first cabinet. His father was English. Not sure where his mother was from, but to say he was a Scot or descended from a Scot is a real stretch.
Obviously John Adams (VP under Washington, not a cabinet member, but one of the most important architects of independence) descended from a long line of Englishmen. Franklin doesn't have any Scottish blood in him, either.
All that said, clearly the Scottish Enlightenment was enormously important for America and John Witherspoon was a true Scot and those are important facts. In fact, there are plenty of reasons to say why Scotland was important to American independence. That is true.
But to say that Washington and all of his cabinet were descendents of Scotland is simply false or so grossly exaggerated that has no meaning whatsoever.
Let 'em go.
The Scots would still be living in huts and sh*tting in holes if it weren't for the Brits.
I want the Scots to be independent of the brits. They are not at all brits. They should not be under the heel of the "Crown".
How did that slip past my radar? Links?
It's not right for the elite in one country to block attempts of people in another country to start businesses then to blame them for taking more tax revenues for survival.