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Scottish Americans - FROM THE DOLLAR TO THE MOON
by Sarah Powell
Exploring the contribution made by Scots to the heritage and development of the USA
Chapter 1 – A tale of Scottish alchemy
There is more than a hint of magic in Scotland's land and seascape, its swirling mists and brooding mountains. A similar
magic
derives from its turbulent history, the compelling nationalism of many of its songs and much of its literature, which vividly
portray the redoubtable character and aspirations of its people. Over the centuries, this Scottish alchemy has spread far
beyond its borders... merchants, colonial administrators, refugees, exiles and other emigrants including, of course, many
fortune-seeking younger sons of the Scottish gentry, exported to distant lands around the world a potent "Scottishness"...
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Chapter 2 – Striving for independence
On a wall adjoining the Porter's Lodge of the School of Medicine at Edinburgh University can be found a plaque recalling
that, in the eighteenth century, one hundred and seventeen Americans were awarded medical degrees in Edinburgh. It also
notes that one of these, Benjamin Rush, and Dr John Witherspoon, a theologian from Edinburgh, were signatories of the
American Declaration of Independence...
What the plaque fails to mention is that men of Scottish descent enjoyed an extraordinary representation among
signatories of the Declaration of Independence. Well over a third, and by some estimations as many as three-quarters,
of the fifty-six signatories were Scots-born or had some Scots
ancestry...
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Chapter 3 – A spirit of adventure
Who has not heard of Tombstone or The Alamo, or the exploits of Daniel Boone, Wyatt Earp, Hopalong Cassidy or Davy Crockett...?
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chapter
Chapter 4 - A penchant for business... and philanthropy
Read about the contributions of some great Scottish Americans including
Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J. Paul Getty and Alexander Graham Bell.
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Chapter 5 - Trading ideas and influence
International trade has long fostered exchanges of ideas and encouraged the spread of cultural influences. Possibly the most fruitful period for such exchanges between Scotland and America was that of the Scottish Enlightenment which reached its zenith in the late eighteenth century.
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Chapter 6 - The tenth muse
What exactly is it about America that has inspired such creativity and artistry among so many of its citizens of Scottish ancestry? Could it be the sheer, breathtaking size of the country, its abundant resources and the many opportunities these present? Or is it the extraordinary diversity of landscape and climate, "the prodigious variety of scenes" that so astounded Alexis de
Tocqueville?
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Chapter 7 - That "great leap for mankind"
Of all the remarkable achievements by Americans of Scottish descent perhaps none has quite caught the popular imagination to the same extent as that of Neil Alden Armstrong, the first man on the moon. In one of the defining moments of the space race, and history, Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz"
Aldrin, who both had Scottish ancestry, realised one of man's long-held ambitions, landing from their lunar voyage on 20th July 1969.
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