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Post Clearances - Influence Abroad - America

American Influence


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Many locations in America were nostalgically named after the places the Scottish immigrants had left behind. There are eight Aberdeens, eight Edinburghs, seven Glasgows and eight places, simply known as Scotland, in the United States today.

Many members of the great clans named the places in which they settled in honour of their clan names. Today there are areas named Campbell, Cameron, Crawford and Douglas, throughout the US.

The common Scottish surname suffix Mac or Mc can be seen at the start of many area names; in North Carolina alone there are 130 such places.

There are many societies in America, such as the St Andrew's Society - named after the patron saint of Scotland, that attempt to retain aspects of Scottish culture and heritage. Throughout America and Canada there are over 300 St Andrew's Societies, Caledonian Clubs and other Scottish societies.

Popular Scottish sport, such as golf and curling, were imported to America by the Scottish immigrants.

Central to life at the time of mass immigration to the United States was the Kirk (Scottish word for the church). When the Scots moved to America, they brought their religion of Presbyterianism with them. Today the Presbyterian Church has over 3million members and, is one of the largest mainstream Protestant churches in the US.

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.


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 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.

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 travelled 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.

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.

These five advertisements are for Mac-D Emperor grapes, grown in California; Edinburgh's grapefruit and oranges, grown in Texas; Scotty's best Washington pears; and Lochinvar oranges, again grown in California. They were collected by Murray and Barbara Grigor between 1979 and 1981, and used in their Edinburgh Festival exhibition 'Scotch Myths: an exploration of Scotchness' in 1981.

Immigrants retained their pride in their Scottish heritage. These advertisements are examples of that, as well as of the fact that a 'Scottish' connection was considered to be a selling point.