The United States of Scotland

BARELY five million people live here, yet estimates of those claiming a Scottish identity range from 40 to 80 million. Whether they stayed in Scotland or left for whatever reason, being Scottish is something people clung to through the centuries. Some nationalities forsook their heritage when assimilating into new lands; the Scots never did. They successfully married integration into a new society with celebration of their native land.

Hardly a land exists without Scottish footfall and, in many, the footprint has been vital in creating the country. Scots took not just themselves and their families, their skills and talents, but their values and beliefs. Landing on foreign shores, they seldom forgot the land of their birth - and the sense of identity was passed on through the generations. The Scots have made their mark around the world.

Gone are the days when emigration was a one-way ticket with little chance of return. For many years, Scottish communities lived in isolation with no direct link to their homeland. Now Scotland is accessible to its people wherever they are. Communities scattered to every continent can now, if not reunite, remain in touch through new technology.

This book is about taking pride not just in the history of Scotland but the actions and exploits of Scottish people; recognising the history of the Scots is not simply in how they journeyed here but where they journeyed to; that their tale is not just in the Scotland they moulded but stories of other countries they helped create. It is about taking pride in our identity as much as our country; discovering our common past and considering our shared future.

There is a duty on the Parliament to reach out to our kinfolk, learn about their common past and work for a shared future. We have an opportunity to reverse the loss of talent and allow the Scottish diaspora to help guide Scotland's future path and maintain and develop Scottish values, culture and identity. The cost is minimal but the potential benefits substantial. It is time to make being Scottish an identity that traverses the world, uniting people with shared values and common culture - and to make being "Scottish" a global identity.

THE St Andrew's Society of the State of New York is arguably the most prestigious of all Scottish organisations in the United States - and possibly the world. It is a veritable Who's Who of power and influence, and at one time owned the land where the New York Stock Exchange sits.

Duncan Bruce, the 95th and current president of the society, was born in the US, but considers himself a proud Scot. "My two grandparents, Archibald Bruce and Mary McTavish Bruce, were from Argyll, one from Lochgilphead and one from Ardrishaig," he says. "They were married in 1890 in Philadelphia as soon as Mary got off the boat. Archibald had come over here and built a house as he was a carpenter. Both spoke Gaelic."

Bruce's maternal grandfather, James Grant Colley, came from Cambuslang. Bruce himself grew up near Pittsburgh, a city with Scottish connections - from Andrew Carnegie's steelworks to its many Presbyterian churches. Bruce is steeped in the Scottish diaspora and has painstakingly researched and written several books - including The Mark of the Scots and The Scottish 100 - which narrate the roles played by those born in Scotland or of Scots ethnicity in shaping not only the US, but also world events. When he started writing The Mark of the Scots, Scottish history was not placed in a modern context and the Scottish diaspora were not perceived as a contemporary community. Scotland was seen as a nation with a past but no present, and Scots who had departed were considered to have forfeited any right to a Scottish identity.

The website of the society details its birth: "On 19 November 1756, a small group of native-born Scots and Scottish Americans met in lower Manhattan to form what is now the oldest established charitable organisation in the Empire State". This was the formal successor to a Scots Society that had been formed in the city in 1744. That had followed the name and model of the Boston society and its purpose was twofold - to take care of Scots in need, and to have fun.

The core values remain sacrosanct. "We helped people get jobs," says Bruce. "If someone got off the boat with nothing in their pocket, we helped. If their partner died, we would help too."

It is not simply its vintage that marks out the society. Bruce says that, arguably, "the society has had a more distinguished membership for a longer period of time than any other small organisation in the US". That's quite a claim, but when the membership list is considered it is hard to argue. The website has a roll of honour that is a litany of American history and the influence continues to this day.

Three members signed the Declaration of Independence: Reverend John Witherspoon, a founder and president of what is now Princeton University; Philip Livingston, first president of the society and a founder of King's College (now Columbia University); and Lewis Morris. Other members have included author Washington Irving, the son of a Scottish fisherman, Andrew Carnegie and Alexander Graham Bell, and more recently Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM; Malcolm Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine; and actor Cliff Robertson. The list is remarkable.

The American Revolution was a turbulent time for the society. As Bruce says: "They couldn't meet for ten years. It was completely divided between Tories and Patriots." Some members even left as a result of independence: John Loudon McAdam, or "Tar McAdam" as he is known after the invention of the road-covering named after him, was a member who returned to Scotland following the British defeat.

Robert Livingston, the 14th president of the society, administered the oath of office to George Washington as the first president of the USA. Livingston was born in the US into a proud Scottish family whose lineage could be traced back to Lord Livingston, a guardian of Mary Queen of Scots. His daughter was one of "the Four Marys" who travelled with the young monarch when she sailed to France to marry the French Dauphin. This answers the perennial question of who the fourth Mary was in the song: "Mary Beaton, Mary Seaton, Mary Carmichael and I".

Livingston was one of five people to draft the Declaration of Independence, with Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Roger Sherman, but did not sign the declaration as he had to be at the New York Provincial Convention on 8 July 1776.

For the president of the St Andrew's Society to have administered the oath of office shows the influence that it and the Scottish community must have had, even when deeply divided by the revolution. Livingston's place in American history does not stop there. He was sent to Paris by president Jefferson to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase - and it is interesting to imagine what America might be like today if his mission had not been successful. Livingston and fellow Scottish American James Monroe agreed to purchase 828,000 square miles for $11,250,000 plus the assumption of $3,750,000 in American claims against France, a total of $15 million.

For this price - perhaps the greatest real estate deal of all time - they bought what are now the states of Louisiana, Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas, Nebraska and most of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Minnesota and Montana. They doubled the size of their country and provided for its unlimited westward expansion for less than three cents an acre.

THE 650-strong membership of the St Andrew's Society of the State of New York now leans more heavily towards Scottish Americans than American Scots. However, the success of Scottish financial services and other businesses ensures a regular batch of new Scottish-born members.

The extent of the Scottish lineage is not specified but the desire to become a member can result in strange links being promoted to justify qualification. Bruce says one applicant claimed to be descended from the King of the Picts. His approach was declined.

Activities include regular socials four or five times a year, when 50-60 people may attend, to substantially larger turnouts for Burns Night, St Andrew's Night and Tartan Day. Bruce confesses to having been sceptical as to whether Tartan Day would last, which is ironic as he was pivotal in its conception. It was in The Mark of the Scots that the comparison and connection between the Declaration of Arbroath and the Declaration of Independence was made. That was shown to Trent Lott, then the Senate majority leader, and Tartan Day was born.

Bruce is keen to promote the diaspora and has mooted the idea of a Scottish Hall of Fame. To some extent, it mirrors The Scottish 100, which details the global success and achievements of Scots.

Bruce argues passionately: "I have been studying this for a quarter century and come across many ethnic groups. I am quite confident that none can come up with a list like my 100. Between 1750 and 1950, the Scots were the most influential of all nationalities."

The names contained in his book would adorn any hall of fame: in architecture and design, Robert Adam and Charles Rennie Mackintosh; Thomas Glover and Jardine and Mathieson from business; Alexander Fleming from medicine, John Paul Jones and Douglas McArthur for the military; statesmen including Andrew Jackson, not to mention scientists such as Rutherford and Maxwell. All are Scots or of Scots identity, and all performed on a global stage.

Bruce's introduction makes it clear what he defines as a Scot: "There are many people, particularly in Scotland, who think that only people born in that country are Scots.

"Others think only people who have lived in Scotland are Scots. In the US, there is a general feeling that anyone with even a small amount of Scottish blood is still a Scot. For the most part I have limited the people in the list to those with significant amounts of Scottish ancestry."

There must surely be a place for according our successful sons and daughters the honour and respect they deserve? It is a logical extension to a Centre for the Scottish Diaspora. Not just embracing those who have left but celebrating those who succeeded.

Who we are as Scots is not just reflected in our own land but in the ideas and influence we have exerted and generated around the globe. It is time to recognise that and celebrate the achievements of our most successful sons and daughters who left their mark around the world.

FACTS AND FIGURES

4.8m

THE number of Americans who claimed Scottish ancestry in the 2000 census; another 4.3 million said they were Ulster Scots, whose forebears migrated first to Northern Ireland, then America.

75

THE number of St Andrew Societies in the US. An estimated 300-400 other Scottish groups with different names exist.

1657

THE year the oldest US society - the St Andrew Society of Boston - was set up. Many original members were sent to America after being captured following Cromwell's routing of Scottish forces at the Battle of Dunbar in 1650.

30,000

THE attendance at the biggest Highland Games in the US, at Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina.

11

THE number of American presidents who claimed Scottish descent - including Theodore Roosevelt and Ulysses S Grant.

21

THE signatories of the Declaration of Independence who were Scots or of Scots descent. Nine of the governors of the newly-created United States of America were of Scots descent.

8

THE number of places named Aberdeen and Edinburgh by Scots settlers in the US. There are also seven Glasgows and eight places called Scotland.

3

NUMBER of chairs broken at the annual dinner of the St Andrew Society of Philadelphia in 1762 by Benjamin Franklin. The oldest signatory of the Declaration of Independence was a guest at the event and also smashed Madeira and port glasses during a robust evening.

When told of the damage he had caused, Franklin suggested he come next time to see how much more damage he could do.

130

PLACES in North Carolina which begin with Mc or Mac.

1850

THE year Allan Pinkerton moved to Chicago to found the now world-famous detective agency. Born in Glasgow in 1819, he trained as a cooper and was active in radical politics, leaving Scotland to escape imprisonment. He moved into detection when he came across a gang of counterfeiters and helped to bring them to justice. He also pursued Jesse James.

79

THE number of the New York Highland Regiment, which served under president Abraham Lincoln as the nation's only kilted regiment and was recruited largely from the membership of the New York Caledonian Club. The 79th fought in many major battles, including the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. President Ulysses S Grant was an honorary member of the 79th.

1899

THE year that multimillionaire Andrew Carnegie, a member of the New York Caledonian Club, gave the opening speech on Halloween.

45

THE number of members of the St Andrew's Society of Philadelphia who, at a meeting on 1 December 1788, consumed "38 bottles of claret, eight bottles of port wine, two bowls of punch plus Welsh rabbit and bread and cheese".