Speaker - Will Aitken 'Can we Scots claim 4 July in the US is all down to us?'

Tue, Jul 4th 2017 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm


"What you might not know about the 4th of July" was the title of Kilrymont Rotarian Will Aitken's entertaining talk about US Independence Day.
Will gave a brief outline of the history of the United States with the initial 13 east coast colonies and their rebellion against British rule and the imposition of tea/tobacco taxes.
Following the Boston Tea Party affair in 1773, the war of independence was declared in 1776.
The conflict ended in 1783 and the formal US Constitution followed.
Will said the constitution written by Thomas Jefferson and five other statesmen was in fact not legally binding. He also revealed that the final version contained had several changes from Jefferson's draft, most notably deleting all mention of slavery.
Will also told of some Scottish influence, with some historians saying the constitution was based on the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath. Notable Scots at the time included the Rev John Witherspoon and also James Wilson from St Andrews, who helped write some of the legal points.
Will's presentation also included 25 things you didn't know about America.
Will started his talk by producing some delicious home-made decorated cup cakes for fellow members to taste and it ended with a rendition of the national anthem The Star-Spangled Banner.
Simon Baldwin proposed thanks

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