|
On December 19th 1991, in
response to action initiated by the Clans & Scottish Societies of Canada,
the Ontario Legislature passed a resolution proclaiming April 6th as
Tartan Day, following the example of other Canadian provinces.
America followed suit on March
20th 1998, when Senate Resolution 155 (S.Res. 155), proposed by US Senate
Republican majority leader Trent Lott, was passed unanimously.
The resolution, with its
preamble, is as follows:
S. Res. 155
Whereas April 6 has a special
significance for all Americans, and especially those Americans of Scottish
descent, because the Declaration of Arbroath, the Scottish Declaration of
Independence, was signed on April 6, 1320 and the American Declaration of
Independence was modeled on that inspirational document;
Whereas this resolution honors
the major role that Scottish Americans played in the founding of this
Nation, such as the fact that almost half of the signers of the
Declaration of independence were of Scottish descent, the Governors in 9
of the original 13 States were of Scottish ancestry, Scottish Americans
successfully helped shape this country in its formative years and guide
this Nation through its most troubled times;
Whereas this resolution
recognizes the monumental achievements and invaluable contributions made
by Scottish Americans that have led to America's preeminence in the fields
of science, technology, medicine, government, politics, economics,
architecture, literature, media, and visual and performing arts;
Whereas this resolution commends
the more than 200 organizations throughout the United States that honor
Scottish heritage, tradition, and culture, representing the hundreds of
thousands of Americans of Scottish descent, residing in every State, who
already have made the observance of Tartan Day on April 6 a success;
Whereas these numerous
individuals, clans, societies, clubs, and fraternal organizations do not
let the great contributions of the Scottish people go unnoticed:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate designates April 6 of each year as "National
Tartan Day."
First national celebration in Canada -
1993
First national celebration in the USA -
1997
Great American Scots
Scottish Tartans Authority
Keith
Kilt School
Woodrow Wilson said of the Scots,
"Every line of strength in American history is a line
coloured with Scottish blood."
From Scotland's Tartan Day web
site:
The Scots were a valuable
addition to a developing world. Their past experience of working in the
harsh conditions of rural Scotland, combined with their hard-working
Presbyterian upbringing, made them an ideal people to help build America
in its formative years.
There were three distinctive
groups of peoples of Scottish ancestry that emigrated to America: the
Lowland Scots, the Highland Scots and the Scotch-Irish.
Religious persecution in Scotland
prompted many to leave their homeland in the early 17th Century. Early
settlements were established by these colonists in East Jersey in 1683
(now eastern and northern Jersey) and in South Carolina in 1698. Both
these early colonies failed.
Scotland's history has been a
tempestuous one, fraught with tension between England and Scotland.
Between 1715 and 1745, more than 1,400 defeated Jacobite rebels were
banished from their homeland and sent to America for their "crimes".
After the 1707 Union of the
Parliaments, trade between Scotland and America dramatically increased.
Merchants began to take advantage of the huge opportunities available in
the New World, especially in the tobacco trade. Emigration by this group
was mostly to Virginia where the tobacco trade was strongest.
The Scottish emigrants of the
18th Century were an educated group due to the Scottish Reformation, which
had stressed the need for education, allowing every Scot the ability to
read the bible.
Education has always played an
important part in Scottish society, and these Scots played a crucial role
in the early development of the New World. Most headmasters of the schools
in the new colonies south of New York were Scottish or of Scottish
ancestry. These establishments were fundamental in the education of
America's future leaders; both Thomas Jefferson's and John Rutledge's
tutors were Scottish immigrants.
Scots arriving in the New World
soon established universities, colleges and other educational
establishments such as Princeton University, which was initially named the
College of New Jersey, when founded in 1746.
During the mid-17th Century
Scottish medical establishments were second to none in the fields of
education and science. Many recipients of these teachings came to America,
where their influence can be seen to this day.
Many Americans traveled to
Scotland to gain an education in medicine. In 1775 there were 3,500 people
practicing medicine in the US, though only 350 or 400 actually held
degrees. Most of those holding degrees had been educated in Scotland.
The Scots greatest contribution
to American medicine was the belief that it was not simply the body but
the mind that must be healed. Drawing upon their knowledge of philosophy
and the humanities they expounded the need to be humane when treating
patients.
Scots were crucial in
establishing separate medical teaching institutions; previously all
medical education had been taught within the confines of medical
establishments.
Scots have played their part in
the political history of the United States. More than one hundred
governors of pre-Revolutionary colonies and post Revolutionary States were
of Scottish birth or descent.
 35 US
Supreme Court Justices have been Scots.
Of 73 Great
Americans in the Hall of Fame, 25 were of Scottish blood.
Nearly half
of the Secretaries of the US Treasury and one third of the Secretaries of
State have been of Scots origin.
Of the
fifty-six signatories of the Declaration of Independence, nine were
directly or indirectly descended from Scots.
9 out of 13
Governors of the newly created United States were Scots or of Scottish
descent.
Of fifty
judges of the Supreme Court from 1759-1882 at least fifteen were of
Scottish ancestry.
James
Pollock (1810-90), responsible for putting "In God We Trust" on the US
coinage, was of Scottish descent.
The flag of Scotland |
