April is Scottish American Heritage month. And as an American with a Scottish bloodline, I thought I would do something fun and share several ways the Scots have impacted America.

So grab some shortbread, put on some Scottish music, curl up in your plaid tartan blanket, and dive into Scottish American heritage with me.

Scottish History In America

America, as a whole, has a very strong Scottish heritage. If you were to research America’s beginnings, you would find that Scots made up a strong majority of our nation’s early settlers. (In fact, the very first Scottish immigrant was aboard the Mayflower!) This was due to several factors.

Around the time that America was being settled, Scotland was in an upheaval of political and religious turmoil. The Jacobite uprisings were raging and the Scottish people were fighting to see their rightful king be restored to the throne of Scotland.

During this time, Jacobite soldiers who were captured were often sent to places like Australia and America as a punishment for their crimes against the British crown — if they weren’t executed first.

In the years following the last uprising in 1745, the British imposed severe laws and persecution on the Scots. They weren’t allowed to be in possession of weapons, their native language of Gaelic was banned, and the Highland Clans’ tartans were outlawed. Some of the Highlanders were even put to death with the sole reason being they were Highlanders.

The severe persecution caused many Scots, especially Highlanders, to flee their country in search of freedom. In fact, there are more people of Scottish Highland descent in countries around the globe than there are currently living in Scotland.

This is where America came into play heavily. Even prior to the War for Independence, America possessed more freedom than any other place on earth. Many Highlanders fled to her borders in search of it.

Because of how expensive a voyage across the ocean was, many Scottish emigrants became indentured servants in order to gain passage to America. They deemed freedom worth the price it cost them to gain it.

Today roughly 8% of Americans are of Scottish descent.

Scottish Influence In Our Founding

During our fight for Independence, Scots made up a large portion of our military force. Many had fled British persecution in Scotland only to arrive in America and face the tyrant’s sword once again. They understood that there was no other refuge to flee to. That is what spurred most of them on to fight for Independence. The Colonies would have to stand against Great Britain’s tyranny if there was ever to be a free nation on the earth.

Incredibly, there were many Founding Fathers who were of Scottish ancestry. John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, John Paul Jones, and James Madison were all of Scot heritage.

Nearly half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were among the descendants of Scots who fled to America from the cruel arms of persecution. James Wilson, a mastermind behind the American War for Independence, was Scottish born and raised. John Dunlap, who printed and distributed the Declaration of Independence, was also Scottish American.

It has also been noted by historians that there is some resemblance between the Scottish Declaration of Arbroath and the American Declaration of Independence. No doubt the Scottish heritage of many of its’ signers played a role in influencing the wording and ideology of the founding document.

Scottish Influence In Our Culture

If you have ever heard American bluegrass style music, you may have noticed that it carries a tone and flavor similar to the music of the Scots.

That is because it was indeed born from Scottish music. When the Scots began to settle in America, many of them settled in the South. They of course brought their music with them. Over time their ballads and songs mixed with little portions of American culture around them, slowly evolving into the genre we now know as American bluegrass.

The Scots even influenced the way Americans talk. For instance, have you ever wondered about the origins of the word “y’all”? This word originally came from the Scottish phrase “ye aw”. Eventually it morphed into the word “y’all” that is used by thousands of Americans today.

Another word that we can attribute to the Scots is “slogan”. It is derived from the Scottish word “sluagh-ghairm”, which was a fierce battle cry. Eventually the pronunciation changed slightly and we gained a new word in the dictionary.

So the next time y’all use a slogan, think of the American Scots who coined the term with their battle cry.

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A single blog post could never contain every single way American Scots influenced our nation. That would take a lot of time to delve into. But hopefully you all enjoyed diving into a few ways they helped create the America we know today.

What is your heritage? I would love to hear in the comments!

A. M. Watson

Hebrews 13:8