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American / Ulster Connections The Declaration of Independence on 4th July 1776 involved eight Irishmen of which five were of Ulster roots. As stated by George Washington -- "If defeated everywhere else I will make my last stand for liberty among the Scotch-Irish of my native Virginia." Colonel A.K. McClure, the Philadelphia writer commented - "It was the Scotch-Irish people of the colonies that made the Declaration of Independence of 1776." The Mecklenburg Declaration was signed at Charlotte, North Carolina on May 20th 1775 by twenty-seven leading citizens - eighteen of these were Ulster-Scots Presbyterians. Charles Thomson born near Maghera, Co. Londonderry in 1729 was Secretary to the Continental Congress for 15 years from 1774 - 1789. John Dunlap who printed the first copies of the Declaration of Independence was born in Strabane, County Tyrone. Colonel John Nixon who gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia Square on July 8th was the grandson of Ulster Settlers. President William McKinley whose great grandfather James McKinley left County Antrim in 1743 said - "Representatives of the Scotch-Irish are among the brightest in American History. They have shone in every great epoch of national life. So long as there is a struggle for human liberty, so long as patriotism has a place in the American heart, that long will the name and fame of our ancestors be preserved and enshrined." The following American Presidents claim Ulster Roots - Andrew Jackson (1829-37) - Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim. James Knox Polk (1845-49) - Lifford, Co. Donegal. James Buchanan (1857-61) - Omagh, Co. Tyrone. Andrew Johnson (1865-69) - Larne, Co. Antrim. Ulysses Simpson Grant (1869-77) - Dergenagh, Ballygawley, Co. Tyrone. Chester Alan Arthur (1881-85) - Cullybackey, Co. Antrim. Grover Cleveland (1885-89) - Co. Antrim. Benjamin Harrison (1889-93) - Ulster-Scots settlement - Mercersburg, PA. William McKinley (1897-1901) - Conagher, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09) - Larne, Co. Antrim. Woodrow Wilson (1913-21) - Dergelt, Strabane, Co. Tyrone. Harry Truman (1945-53) - Scots-Irish descendant. Richard Millhouse Nixon (1969-74) - Co. Antrim James Earl Carter (1977-81) - Co. Antrim. George Bush (1989-93) - Co. Antrim. William Jefferson Clinton (1993-2001) - Co. Fermanagh. George W. Bush (2001 - ) - Co. Antrim. President of Texas - Sam Houston (1840s) was an East Antrim Presbyterian David (Davy) Crockett - Alamo (1836) family came from the Donegal - Londonderry Border. Note :- The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, East Tennessee and Western Pennsylvania has the highest concentration of people claiming Ulster-Scots roots. There are eighteen towns in the United States called "BELFAST", seven called "Derry", nine called "Antrim" and sixteen called "Tyrone". The United States Consulate General Office in Belfast is one of the oldest (206 years) world-wide. Belfast City is twinned with Nashville - part of the Atlantic Bridges initiative. Other famous Ulster - Scots Americans. Robert Worth Bingham (Kentucky Politician & Newspaper Proprieter) - family from Crossgar, Co. Down. William Randolph Hearst (Publisher & Newspaper Magnate) - family from Ballybay, Co. Monaghan. James Clark McReynolds (Attorney General) - family from Killyman, Co. Tyrone. Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) - direct Ulster family background. Cyrus Hall McCormick (Farm Machinery Inventor) - Co. Tyone Presbyterian family. Thomas Andrew Mellon (Industrial Commercial Empire) - born at Omagh Co. Tyrone