Scotch-Irish Civics

What William Wallace and John Knox contributed to America

Introduction
Scotland has had a significant influence on American politics, as well western notions of political liberty in general. This is both because of the historic political tensions between Scotland and England, symbolized by the legendary leadership of William Wallace, as well as the result of the way the Protestant Reformation progressed in Scotland through the courage of men like John Knox.

A Short History of Scotland & Their Independent Spirit
Scotland consists of the northern third of the Island of Great Britain and was an independent, sovereign nation until 1707. But there were close ties and tensions between England and Scotland going back for centuries, including the Wars of Scottish Independence in the late 1200s, under the leadership of Andrew Moray and William Wallace. While William Wallace was captured and executed for his defiance of the English throne in 1305, his rise from a lowly family to lead the armies of common Scotsmen became an emblem for the Scottish independent spirit.

Robert the Bruce was crowned the King of Scotland in 1306, and the Scots won a decisive victory over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. The Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 is one of the first documented declarations of national independence. The Declaration was signed by 39 nobles and eight earls at Arbroath Abbey, tracing the history of the Scottish people and kings as a Christian nation, documenting the treachery and abuses of the English King Edward. The Declaration famously asserts: “It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honors that we are fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.”

The Declaration honored Robert the Bruce as their rightful king, likening him to Jewish heroes like Joshua and Judas Maccabaeus, but it also clearly recognized him as such by the “due consent and assent of us all have made him our prince and king.” In other words, the Scots were appealing to a notion of the consent of the people as early as 1306, and they asserted boldly that “if he should give up what he has begun, seeking to make us or our kingdom subject to the King of England or the English, we should exert ourselves at once to drive him out as our enemy and a subverter of his own right and ours, and make some other man who was well able to defend us our king.” This consent of the people could be revoked if the king failed to keep his obligations and defend the freedom of Scotland.

The Declaration of Arbroath was addressed to Pope John XXII and acknowledge by him, leading to an official recognition of Scotland’s independence by the English Crown. This fierce spirit of independence, rooted in personal responsibility and personal loyalty to family and clan over national or ecclesial leaders would continue to play an enormous role in the centuries to come.

In 1371, Robert II, the Lord High Steward of Scotland came to the throne beginning the House of Stewart (also spelled Stuart). In 1502, James IV of Scotland married Henry VII’s daughter Margaret Tudor as part of a treaty of peace between the two nations. However, James also contracted an alliance with France and invaded England and died in the Battle of Flodden in 1513. In 1603, King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England, Ireland, and Scotland. While James attempted to unite the nations, it was not until a century later that the union would be completed.

The Complications of a Catholic & Protestant Scotland
While Scotland was firmly Roman Catholic in the 1400s and 1500s – note that alliance with staunchly Catholic France in the early 1500s – the Catholic clergy and aristocracy was also growing notoriously apathetic and corrupt, creating a ripe ground for resentment and spiritual hunger among the people, and therefore fertile soil for the Protestant Reformation. But part of the religious struggle in Scotland included the complicated political ties with England. Old suspicions and fears stoked tensions when English reformers tried to support Scottish Protestants. Protestantism could be seen (and often was) as English sympathizing by some. Some of the early Scottish Reformers were Patrick Hamilton and George Wishart. Patrick Hamilton studied Luther’s writings and even spent time in Germany with Luther and returned in 1527 preaching the Lutheran doctrines, the first spark of the Scottish Reformation. Roman Catholic Archbishop James Beaton summoned Hamilton for trial, and he was condemned and burned at the stake.

While the Stuart kings and Roman Catholic Bishops held almost all political power, Hamilton’s death had the distinct effect of creating a lot of sympathy for the Reformation in Scotland, particularly given the fierce independence of the common Scottish families and clans. Then, when Henry VIII broke with the Pope and Scotland’s alliance with Roman Catholic France posed a threat on the norther border of England, the Duke of Norfolk invaded Scotland and slaughtered the Scottish forces at Solway Moss in 1542, the Scottish Catholic hierarchy was even more rattled. Meanwhile, Protestant Reformer George Wishart had fled Scotland in 1538 to escape punishment for heresy. He returned in 1544 after time in England and on the Continent and began preaching the Reformation in Scotland. John Knox became one of Wishart’s close friends and his personal bodyguard – famous for wielding a two-handed sword.

John Knox
Knox was born around 1514 and studied at St. Andrews under John Major, an early Protestant-leaning professor. He was an ordained priest, notary, and tutor. When Wishart’s arrest was ordered by the Cardinal of Scotland, Knox attempted to defend Wishart, but Wishart forbade him from using violence. On March 1, 1546 Wishart was strangled and burned at the stake, and while some of the more rowdy Reformers stormed the St. Andrews castle and killed the Cardinal in retribution, Knox took refuge in the castle and after a long siege, the castle was retaken and Knox was sentenced to the galleys, where he serve until his release in 1549. After spending some time as a chaplain in the Church of England, he returned to Scotland in 1559, where he spent the remainder of his life trying to lead Scotland toward Reformation.

In 1558, just prior to his return he published what became his most famous work The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, aimed at the Roman Catholic English Queen Bloody Mary. However, before it came to press, Mary died and Elizabeth came to the throne. The story is that Elizabeth was deeply offended and never forgave Knox. While Knox was not a purist presbyterian (he would have worked with Bishops that were accountable to presbyteries), he is still considered the founder and father of Presbyterianism – churches ruled by elders elected by the people – a sort of ecclesial republican form of government, once more echoing those deep Scottish impulses of fierce independence and consent of the governed.

Conclusion
Many Scotch Protestants moved to the Ulster region of Ireland beginning around 1609 when several Catholic nobles fled Ireland and King James I sought to establish a firm Protestant foothold in the country, and encouraged immigration. Between 1609 and 1690, an estimated 100,000 Scottish Presbyterians settled in the Ulster region of Ireland.

However, by the early 1700’s the established Anglican church of Ireland was becoming increasingly restrictive for Presbyterians, and many of the Ulster Scots-Irish began emigrating to the American Colonies, often settling in the Appalachian region of the country.

These fiercely independent and presbyterian versions of Protestantism made a lasting impact on the founding of America. When King George of England heard about the American Declaration of Independence, he called it the “Presbyterian Revolt” not just because of church polity differences but because it was the old specter of the fierce Scottish independence streak. Just as they had threatened with Robert the Bruce, they actually did with George III.

The American Declaration of Independence also echoes some of the same themes from the Declaration of Arbroath, from some four hundred years previous, with themes like the consent of the governed and the right to throw off bands of tyranny. This Scotch-Irish legacy has continued to impact America through presidents like Andrew Jackson and Teddy Roosevelt down to the work of recent Senator James Webb, who has chronicled much of this history in his engaging work Born Fighting.