Scots are tough hombres, to be sure.
But America’s foundation was laid by the toughest of the tough Islanders, those who wished to brave the New World, rule themselves, and ultimately rebelled from the King (Aussies are the children of the convicts of the islands).
Americans are not as tough as we once were, but I’m still hoping that our old toughness will re-merge when we are once again called to rise.
From what I have read, between 1690 and 1776 those prisoners and convicts from England were sent here to the states. A lot of Scottish Jacobites (catholics) were exiled to America as prisoners. It was our American revolution that forced the English to take their prisoners to Australia. So in essence, the American revolution set the stage for the formation of the modern Australian state. Yet another benefit of our revolution.
Best I can tell my ancestor came freely before the Jacobite rebellion. We were one of the early free Scots who came to the new world. Our entire ancient Scottish clan was later pretty much removed from Scotland by the English. They later made the tartan illegal to boot. Of course they eventually had a change of heart when they realized their mistake. Then they re-embraced the Scottish clans and celebrated their rich history. A lot of Scottish land and holdings were taken from our clan. There even was a modern move to compensate the old clans the English wronged, but it never went any where.