How important is the Declaration of Arbroath..

[Lallans]

I'm going to throw in my three cents worth on the Scots in the Revolution question.

Ulster Scots were originally transplanted to Northern Ireland, sometimes willingly, sometimes not, from the England-Scotland Border area where they had spent the previous centuries in one of the most violent places on earth. After they were planted in Ulster, the non-Anglicans who would not convert were persecuted as dissenters (more of them were killed by the King and later by Cromwell than were the native Irish). Aside from that, also being economically exploited in Ulster they left for America in large numbers in the early 1700s, where they became known as 'the Scots Irish' (actually "Scotch Irish," but that term is passe.) So yes, they were and are QUITE different from the Scots who remained in Scotland- those folks saw their king become King of England and remained loyal to the monarchy. The Scots Irish were not accepted or treated much better in America, being generally placed or driven onto the frontier, originally to fight the Indians, so when the American Revolution started, the British reaped that whirlwind... and the Scots Irish were by that time very skilled in, and culturally attuned to, conflict. By most accounts they seem to have been the deciding factor in the Revolution if only by dint of heavy lifting. This is not to say that all Scots Irish took up the Revolutionary cause- in my family some did but many remained neutral or uninvolved because of isolation- and in what became the North Eastern USA, some of them even appreciated the British military efforts during the Seven Years (aka French-Indian) Wars, having been raided any number of times by French-led Indian bands. My area of Canada, along the border with Vermont and New Hampshire, was officially settled by immigrant Scots Highlanders, Lowlanders, and also Scots Irish, all of whom purchased cheap land from British Loyalists. And, a number of Scots Irish were already present, often thinking they were in the USA. In fact, so many Scots Irish eventually showed up that they were required to take a loyalty oath to the Crown in hopes of precluding a US takeover, which doesn't seem to have bothered many of them.