Scottish American

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Scottish American

Notable Scottish Americans:
Alexander Hamilton · Lucille Ball · Douglas MacArthur
Johnny Cash · Edgar Allan Poe · Reese Witherspoon
Flag of Scotland Flag of the United States
Total population

Scottish
4,890,581 Americans
Scots-Irish
4,319,232 Americans
3.2% of the US population
estimated up to 10.4% of US population
Regions with significant populations
throughout the United States, particularly Appalachia,New England,West
Languages
American English, Scots, Scottish Gaelic
Religions
Mainly Protestant, some Catholic
Related ethnic groups
British Americans (Scots-Irish Americans, English Americans, Welsh Americans), Irish Americans

Scottish Americans or Scots Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates in Scotland. Scottish Americans are closely related to Scots-Irish Americans, descendants of Ulster-Scots, who in the US are often treated as part of a common ethnic group. The Ulster-Scots originally came from the lowlands and border country of Scotland before migrating to Ulster Province in Ireland (see Plantation of Ulster) and thence, beginning about five generations later, to North America in large numbers during the 18th century.

Contents

[edit] Number of Scottish Americans

In the 2000 Census, 4.8 million Americans reported Scottish ancestry, 1.7% of the total US population. Given Scotland's population (just over 5 million), there are almost as many Scottish Americans as there are native Scots living in their home country. Another 4.3 million reported Scots-Irish ancestry, for a total of 9.2 million Americans of Scots descent. However this number is believed to be a serious under-count, seeing as areas where people reported "American" ancestry were the places where, historically, Scottish and Scots-Irish Protestants settled in America (that is: along the North American coast and the Southeastern United States). It is believed the number of Scottish could be in the region of 20 million and Scots-Irish at 27 million. Scottish Americans descended from 19th century Scottish immigrants tend to be concentrated in the West, while others in New England are the descendants of immigrants from the Maritime Provinces of Canada, especially in the 1920s.

[edit] Scottish Americans and African Americans

There has been a long tradition of influences between Scottish and the African American community. The great influx of Scots Presbyterians into the Carolinas introduced the African slaves to Christianity and their way of worship and singing. Even today, psalm singing and gospel music are the backbone of African American churchgoers. It has been long thought by the wider African American community that American Gospel music originated in Africa and was brought to the Americas by slaves. However recent studies by Professor Willie Ruff, himself, a Black American ethno-musicologist at Yale University concludes that African American Gospel singing was in fact was introduced and encouraged by Scottish Gaelic speaking settlers from North Uist.[1] His study also and concludes that the first foreign tongue spoken by slaves in America was not English but Scottish Gaelic taught to them by Gaelic speakers who left the Western Isles because of religious persecution.[1] Traditional Scottish Gaelic psalm singing, or "precenting the line" as it is correctly known, in which the psalms are called out and the congregation sings a response, was the earliest form of congregational singing adopted by Africans in America. Professor Ruff focuses on Scottish settler influences that pre-dates all other congregational singing by African Americans in America and found, in a North Carolina newspaper dated about 1740, an advertisement offering a generous reward for the capture and return of a runaway African slave who is described as being easy to identify because he only spoke Gaelic.[2] Such cultural influences have remained until modern times, even a church in Alabama where the African American congregation worshipped in Gaelic as late as 1918, giving a clue to the extent to which the Gaels spread their culture - from North Carolina to Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi.[3]

“ We as black Americans have lived under a misconception. Our cultural roots are more Black Gaelic than Black American. Just look at the Harlem phone book, it’s more like the book for North Uist. I have been to Africa many times in search of my cultural identity, but it was in the Highlands that I found the cultural roots of black America. ”
— Professor Ruff, Conference at Yale 2007

The lasting legacy of Ruff’s research is an anthropological revelation which forces the re-evaluation of the history of two peoples.[4] Such research has heightened a re-think an interest in Scottish-African American relationship and cultural influences.

[edit] 2006 American Community Survey

[edit] Scottish Americans by state

'Scottish ancestry' is in Dark red and brown colours which indicate a higher density: highest in the east and west (see also Maps of American ancestries)
'Scottish ancestry' is in Dark red and brown colours which indicate a higher density: highest in the east and west (see also Maps of American ancestries)

The states with the most Scottish & Scots-Irish populations:

Scottish

Scots-Irish

The states with the top percentages of Scottish:

Scottish

Scots-Irish

[edit] National Tartan Day

National Tartan Day, held each year on April 6 in the United States and Canada, celebrates the historical links between Scotland and North America and the contributions Scottish Americans and Canadians have made to US and Canadian history and society. "Scottish Heritage Month" is quickly being adopted around the United States and Canada.

[edit] Highland Games

The kilt as demonstrated at the Highland games in Pleasanton, California.
The kilt as demonstrated at the Highland games in Pleasanton, California.

Scottish culture, food, and athletics are celebrated at Highland Games and Scottish Festivals throughout North America. One of the largest of these occurs yearly at Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina. However, in recent years, the games at Pleasanton, California have surpassed them in size. In addition to traditional Scottish sports such as the Caber toss and the Hammer throw, there are Whisky tastings, traditional foods such as Haggis, and traditional Scottish dance.

[edit] List of notable Scottish Americans

[edit] See also

United States Portal
Scotland Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b The line connecting Gaelic psalm singing & American Music (2007) Line Singing Conference at Yale.
  2. ^ Ben McConville (31 August 2003). Black music from Scotland? It could be the gospel truth. Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
  3. ^ Ben McConville (4 June 2005). Black America's musical links to Scotland. The Scotsman. Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
  4. ^ Chuck McCutcheon (April 21, 2007). Indian, Black Gospel and Scottish Singing Form an Unusual Musical Bridge. Washington Post. Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
  5. ^ 2006 American Community Survey

[edit] External links


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