First Minister Alex Salmond
Scotland and America: Lessons from the Land of Jefferson
University of Virginia
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
_______________________________
It is an honour as First Minister of Scotland to be able to address you here at the University of Virginia - a University founded by Thomas Jefferson very nearly two centuries ago.
First allow me to thank the University and particularly Dr Garson and Sandy Gilliam for their kind invitation - both prime examples of the fabled Virginia gentleman. And let me welcome Bill Leighty - an excellent servant of Virginia, and a friend and adviser of the Scottish Government.
I am here in the United States to celebrate the first ever Scotland Week - a week of events all across North America to celebrate Scotland's cultural and economic success and our academic achievements.
And we are saying that for Scots in the United States, in Canada, and across the globe, celebrating your Scottish connections is as much about the future as it is about the past. Indeed there is a very special opportunity for international Scots to visit the old country as next year we are celebrating the year of the homecoming on the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns.
Another anniversary we are celebrating this week is the 10th anniversary of the US Senate's Tartan Day Resolution, which honours the many shared connections between Scotland and America.
In marking Tartan Day on April 6, the Senate recognise the Declaration of Arbroath - sealed on that date in 1320 - and its connection with the American Declaration of Independence. It is true that Scots wrote of the importance of life and liberty all those centuries ago, and in this year of the 10th anniversary of the Senate's Tartan Day Resolution, I can think of no better place to visit than the University of Virginia, founded by Jefferson. Jefferson's ability to articulate the principles of liberty, the sovereignty of the individual, the equality of men and restraint of executive power helped define a new era.
Just before I flew out to America I had the opportunity to view the Declaration of Arbroath - one of the most, if not the most, famous documents in Scotland's history - a document which the Senate resolution confirms as one of the positive ties that binds our two countries when they passed the Tartan Day resolution in 1998.
I speak with you today as the head of the Scottish Government. However, the nation of Scotland is for the time being at least - a member of the United Kingdom rather than a fully independent country.
As Mr Jefferson might have expected, I will focus on this vital question of the fundamental rights of nations and peoples during my remarks.
Today, here in Mr Jefferson's splendid Dome Room I want to stimulate discussion about the links between Scotland and the United States.
To discuss the intellectual legacy of Thomas Jefferson - and the relevance of his ideas to the modern Scottish nation.
And finally, to discuss Scotland's place in the world - and the extent of the desire of our nation, in the best Jeffersonian tradition, to take full responsibility for our destiny, and to join the community of nations in the twenty-first century.
So first, let us look at the deep ties between our two countries - and the strong bonds of culture and family.
The strength and depth of the bonds between Scotland and America - and the exchange of ideas, of people, of values, of technology - show that this truly is a strong partnership.
And, although Scotland is a small nation and America is large, it has always been, and remains a partnership of friends and equals.
It was President Woodrow Wilson, who said that "every line of strength in American history is a line colored with Scottish blood".
And more recently the esteemed Virginia Senator, Jim Webb, has written a superb book on this subject. He called it 'Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America'.
And I agree with Senator Webb when he says that Scotland's contribution to the United States has always been more about the power of ideas and values, and the drive to improve society, than our weight of numbers.
On a previous lecture tour I was told by a member of the audience that there were four million Scots-Americans. By the last lecture, the number suggested by the audience had risen to 20 million. That lecture tour lasted only a week - I often wonder what the final figure would have been if I had kept going!
But in fact surveys suggest 27 million Americans claim Scottish ancestry, although census date indicates that around ten million have a Scottish line of descent.
It is a wonderful compliment to Scotland that millions of Americans who are not of direct Scottish descent nonetheless claim an affinity with our nation. They are very welcome.
And I believe that it is the enduring and positive relationship between our countries - and the nature of the Scottish contribution to America, in business, in government, in philanthropy, in culture - that explains this Scottish resonance.
Many of the foremost figures in American business have had Scottish roots. Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller -were modestly successful.
As was John Paul Getty, whose ancestors fled Scotland after the Battle of Culloden in 1746 - a distinction he held in common with Elvis Presley.
And for a contemporary example from business we can cite Bill Gates - a proud Scot on his mother's side.
These individuals, and Jim Webb's book cites many more, helped to shape the modern U.S. economy, building industrial giants that have provided jobs and wealth across America.
But many of these individuals were also guided by a higher purpose - philanthropy and the welfare of future generations.
Andrew Carnegie himself said, "the man who dies rich dies disgraced".
And to pick just one aspect, Carnegie's legacy has provided 1700 public libraries across the United States - and more than 800 across the globe.
This reminds us to another theme - and one which has always been at the heart of the Scottish spirit - civic education.
With the 1696 Education Act, passed in the old Scots Parliament, Scotland became the first nation on earth to provide universal public education. A genuine civic education - to enhance the mind, the values and the spirit of all our citizens.
Jefferson himself fully shared this positive view of the power of education which is why he created this wonderful University- the first in America to separate religious doctrine from teaching - but still an institution where ethics are fundamental.
Jefferson himself received what might be described as traditional Scottish education. He was taught first by the Reverend William Douglas, the man of whom it was said cursed Thomas Jefferson - the Minister for France based in Paris for four years after the revolution - to a lifetime of speaking French with a pronounced Scottish accent.
At seventeen Jefferson began his studies at the College of William and Mary, founded by James Blair, where he was taught mathematics and philosophy by William Small, a Scots émigré and the son of a Presbyterian minister. Jefferson credited Small as one of his major intellectual influences.
Let me consider a final important linkage between Scotland and America. It is another crucial channel of influence: politics. The noblest profession of all - even it its practitioners currently rate in public esteem marginally above real estate agents and journalists.
Scots and Scots-Irish have sustained a remarkable level of presence at the very highest levels of the United States Government throughout the history of the republic. Jim Webb puts the number of Scots Presidents at 12, indeed if either Senator Obama or Senator McCain succeeds in winning the presidency that figure will move to a lucky 13.
Trust me - your country could not have been in safer hands.
From the very foundation of your republic. Of those who signed the Declaration of Independence, at least one third and arguably up to three quarters of the signatories were of Scots descent.
And since then, there has been a Scot sitting in the Oval Office for much - if not most - of the time.
I will go on shortly to talk directly about the ideas of Thomas Jefferson and their echoes back to Scotland. But let me first summarise my argument here.
I have said that today the United States has many millions of Scots. And that for all their numbers, the impact of Scots on America - on your society, on your economy, on your politics and your culture - has been greater still.
And in a very real sense, the values that were at the core of the Scottish nation - and which Scottish migrants brought to these shores - have been helped to provide the founding values for your democracy.
The rights of the individual and the common man.
The primacy of education.
The transformational power of enterprise.
An unswerving commitment to civic duty.
And these are the core Scottish values that helped to shape the character of the American revolution and the character of the American nation.
But let me be clear - these values did not by themselves define modern America.
They did not yet provide America with a unifying philosophy - a permanent means of building and organising a free and fair society.
It is in that respect that the great alchemist, Thomas Jefferson, and his peers - George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison and many others - are the true fathers of the United States of America.
It is they after all who, in an age when the Scottish Parliament had capitulated into an incorporating Union with London, instead had the courage to challenge autocratic rule.
To assert the basic rights of America and its people through the Declaration of Independence.
To codify these rights with clarity and power in the Constitution of the United States.
And then, just as important, subsequently to govern and to act in full respect and reverence of America's founding principles - according individual liberty paramount importance not only in a legal document but in the conduct of everyday life.
Scots also live in a free and open society - one where individuals have clearly defined rights and responsibilities. But Scotland has yet to resolve as a nation what collective decision we want to make about our constitutional status. Where you chose independence, we have yet to follow.
But if we follow your lead, and I have no doubt that we can and we will. In that historic journey we would have no better guide than Thomas Jefferson.
Thomas Jefferson, and all of the Founding Fathers, were aware that in creating American democracy, they were also elaborating basic and enduring principles to guide all nations. This was a deliberately universal doctrine.
Ideas and principles of democracy that are global in their power and application - which resonate with the people of Scotland as much as they do with established and aspiring democracies across the world.
Indeed, Abraham Lincoln himself said that "The principles of Jefferson are the axioms of a free society."
So let me focus on three of his founding principles.
First, from which all else follows, the people are sovereign. Or as Jefferson put it, "it is the people, to whom all authority belongs".
This is a maxim that America's citizens are still familiar but perhaps they take it for granted.
And indeed, it is a principle with which many peoples including those of the United Kingdom, would find it difficult to disagree.
But it is our willingness to accept the full implications of this principle - that the people are sovereign - which is the true test of our commitment to democracy.
This is a test that even today some in the United Kingdom are not able to pass.
There are supporters of the present Union both in Scotland and elsewhere in the United Kingdom who are unwilling to even consider the question of Scottish independence. And most extraordinarily of all, there are politicians who consider that it is they and not the people of Scotland who should arbitrate and determine the nature of further constitutional change in Scotland.
We need not pause for long to consider what Thomas Jefferson would have made of this state of affairs.
Because even the briefest consideration of the second founding principle on which I wish to draw puts the answer plainly.
Jefferson wrote that: "Every nation has a right to govern itself internally under what forms it pleases, and to change these forms at its own will."
This is the basis on which the United States first asserted its right to self-government. It remains one of your fundamental democratic principles. And it is the guiding principle for the debate on Scotland's future - a national conversation involving all the people of Scotland.
Thus, when the people of Scotland consider their place in the world and debate our constitutional future, the proper means to exercise this sovereignty is through a referendum.
The vast majority of people in Scotland wish a referendum. That is their right.
My wish is for an independent Scotland. Others disagree.
I respect that divergence as the very stuff of politics - the clash of ideas and concepts and principles. But what I absolutely demand is that the decision is made not by Parliament alone but rather with the clear direction of the people expressed in a referendum.
I think I know which side of the argument Thomas Jefferson would have supported.
For Jefferson enshrined a vital third constitutional principle. He demanded that having settled on a constitution, the people of a nation remain free for all time to amend it and to renew their form of government.
This is a permanent right, irrespective of whether a nation's circumstances - whether internal or external - change.
And in Scotland, as we consider our nation's future, we must consider two profound changes in the nature and utility of political independence - not just in our nation but globally.
The first of these changes is discussed by Professor Tom Nairn, and others like him, who see the emergence of a 'New Deal' at the heart of globalisation.
I argued yesterday in a lecture at Harvard University, that the first half of the last century and perhaps later, smaller independent nations faced two major challenges - guaranteeing their security and gaining access to markets.
However since then a new, open and more benign international environment has emerged.
And in this positive environment, the disadvantages of independence for smaller nations disappeared, and they are now exercising their natural strengths. Flexibility. Speed of decision-making. Defined national interests. And a clear economic strategy.
In short, the implicit rules of the global system have changed. And in this new era, small independent nations will continue to thrive.
The second profound change - which affects the meaning of independence - is the pooling of sovereignty at international and global level.
The European Union is a positive example - and one which has permanently changed the nature of Scottish membership of the United Kingdom. Indeed it fatally weakened the pro-Union case.
An independent Scotland would remain a committed member of the European Union.
And we would be active and positive at other levels of governance, not least in the United Nations.
Because while each of these bodies requires the sharing of sovereignty, there are large and visible benefits to collective international action.
And among the nations of the British Islands, whether members of the Union or independent, there will always be friendship, respect, trust and partnership.
For example, the British-Irish Council - brings together all the heads of government of the British Isles - provides an excellent forum for cross-border partnership.
When we met in Dublin earlier this year we agreed to extend cooperation on several issues of shared concern, including justice, energy and climate change.
And I know that this close and constructive partnership, which unites all the nations of our isles, will provide the basis for sustained cooperation and achievement.
Taken together these examples all show that the nature of political independence has changed. They show that today, although the sovereignty of each nation has only one home, it has many houses.
That the place of Scotland - like any independent nation - is changing in the modern world.
And that this is the time for the people of Scotland to consider our nation's future and
I have proposed three of the most important lessons for Scotland in terms of principle - of content - in the work of Thomas Jefferson.
But there are also vital lessons for Scotland in the conduct of Jefferson's politics - in how to think about political issues, in how to conduct debate and in how to defend the rights of a nation.
Jefferson was patient, honest and deeply thoughtful. For a politician, he was shy, and by all accounts no great orator. As President, he even suspended the tradition of a spoken State of the Union Address - an innovation which was worthy of repetition by some presidencies over the last two centuries.
But in debate and discussion - over years and decades - Jefferson was fearless and tireless. He spoke truth to power, just as plainly to King George III as to his own political rivals. Jefferson was relentless in the pursuit of democratic principles. And he was unabashed in his ambition for the United States of America and all of its people.
We in Scotland - our politicians and our people - can draw inspiration from the conduct of Jefferson.
Because a people that has reflected on its principles, is consistent in its aims, and is resolute in its principles, is an irresistible force.
A people that comes together as a nation - not based on where we were born, but on the values and the ambitions we share - can be force of good and a force of right. Not just in our own nation but across the world.
That is why my Government is committed to building an independent Scotland. Because we believe that the moral and practical case is overwhelming.
Today, within the present constitutional settlement, we do our utmost to improve the lives of the people of Scotland. And we know that, tomorrow, with full responsibility for our destiny, we can make Scotland an even better nation. Our people more free, more prosperous and more secure.
That is our vision. And it is the same vision that Thomas Jefferson showed America in the Declaration of Independence.
A Declaration that was steeped in the principles of the Enlightenment - an intellectual revolution that Scots did so much to shape.
And some scholars also argue that Jefferson and the other founders of the republic themselves drew a much earlier inspiration - the Declaration of Arbroath, which encapsulated the resolve of Scotland's 'community of the realm' in 1320.
That after all was the inspiration ten years ago for Tartan Day and Scotland Week was a Senate resolution asserting that the Declaration of Independence was 'modelled' on the Arbroath Declaration.
However, Arbroath was not only a ringing declaration of the fundamental rights and integrity of an independent Scotland, but arguably Europe's first statement of a contractual relationship between government and governed.
When the community of the realm articulated the view that they would back the monarch to defend their rights, but would remove him if he failed to do so, they embarked on a road which led to America four and a half centuries later where the Arbroath Declaration was echoed with equal clarity and force.
And it is that echo which we hear today in Scotland - in the twenty-first century, as we consider our nation's future.
It is to America that we can look to see the power of independence and the importance of democratic principles.
It is to Thomas Jefferson that we can we look for guidance on the principles and conduct of our national debate.
And it is the words of Thomas Jefferson that will inspire us - today and in the years ahead: "We are a people capable of self-government, and worthy of it."