20
U.S. Presidents
of Ulster ancestry — from Andrew Jackson to George W. Bush.
The Ulster American Presidents Foundation
Together, an opportunity to build the next chapter of a great transatlantic partnership.
Four centuries of shared story. Twenty Presidents. One of the world's most remarkable — and least leveraged — transatlantic partnerships. The invitation now is to activate it, together.
History gives us credibility.
Partnership gives us purpose.
The future gives us opportunity.
Bigger Than History
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The Presidents are the gateway.
Ulster-American pioneers built the relationship.
Our generation has the opportunity to realise its full potential.
This is bigger than heritage. Bigger than genealogy. Bigger than tourism. It is one of the world's great transatlantic partnerships — and the next chapter is ours to write together.
Munich Security Conference · February 2026
“That proud, hearty clan from the hills of Ulster.”
“Our frontiers were shaped by Scots-Irish — that proud, hearty clan from the hills of Ulster that gave us Davy Crockett and Mark Twain and Teddy Roosevelt and Neil Armstrong.”
— Marco Rubio · U.S. Secretary of State
Before the great and good of Europe, America's chief diplomat named the Ulster pioneers among the makers of the Western world. The relationship is already recognised at the highest level. The question is what we build with it next.
Official video · U.S. Department of State
A Shared Founding · A Shared Frontier
Twenty Presidents. Four centuries. One relationship.
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The document at the heart of American independence was written, printed and proclaimed by sons of Ulster. The frontier beyond was opened by their kin. Twenty Presidents carried the story into the White House. And the relationship keeps being written — in classrooms, boardrooms, laboratories and harbours — today.
1776
Penned & Printed
by Charles Thomson of Maghera and John Dunlap of Strabane.
400+
Years & Counting
from the first Plantation crossings to a partnership still being written.
One Chapter of a Longer Story
Penned by an Ulsterman.
Printed by another.
Proclaimed by the son of a third.
Many contend that the original Declaration of Independence was penned by Charles Thomson of Maghera. What is beyond dispute is that on 4 July 1776, the first official copy was authenticated by only two signatures: John Hancock (family roots in County Down) and Charles Thomson.
It was printed by John Dunlap of Strabane, and first read in public by Colonel John Nixon, the son of Ulster emigrants. One founding moment — and only one chapter of a much longer transatlantic story.
Read the full story
The original Declaration of Independence broadside, printed on the night of July 4, 1776.
Beyond 1776
The pioneers built the relationship.
Long before the Republic was born, Ulster ploughs were already turning the Carolina soil. Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, John Stark, Stonewall Jackson, Cyrus McCormick, Mark Twain and — four centuries on — Neil Armstrong: each carries the spirit of Ulster within their story. The frontier they opened is the frontier we now inherit.
Meet the pioneersTwenty Presidents · The Gateway
An Ulster Line in the White House
7
Andrew Jackson
Boneybefore, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim
11
James Knox Polk
Lifford, Co. Donegal
15
James Buchanan
Omagh, Co. Tyrone
17
Andrew Johnson
Mounthill, Larne, Co. Antrim
18
Ulysses S. Grant
Ballygawley, Co. Tyrone
21
Chester Alan Arthur
Cullybackey, Co. Antrim
22
Grover Cleveland
Co. Antrim
23
Benjamin Harrison
Co. Antrim
The Invitation
Building the Future Together
One integrated platform. Six interconnected fields of opportunity. Whether you come from Boeing or Belfast Harbour, Citi or Kainos, Queen's University or National Museums NI, NI Screen or Tourism NI — this is a table you belong at.
Business Development
Investment, trade, market access and commercial collaboration between two economies that have shaped one another for four centuries.
Innovation
Aerospace, cyber, fintech, advanced manufacturing and life sciences — connecting the Province's innovators with American capital, customers and partners.
Education
Student exchange, joint programmes and research collaboration linking universities, colleges and civic institutions on both sides of the Atlantic.
Research
Shared discovery across science, engineering, the humanities and public policy — turning transatlantic curiosity into transatlantic capability.
Culture & Tourism
A Province-wide Presidential and Pioneer story, brought to life through museums, trails, immersive experiences, film, television and digital storytelling.
Communities
Person-to-person, city-to-city and diaspora-to-homeland connections that carry the relationship into the next generation.
Alongside aerospace, cyber, fintech and life sciences, the creative economy — film, television, gaming, music, virtual production and digital storytelling — sits at the heart of what we build next.
Shared Civic Infrastructure
A Collaborative Platform — Not Another Institution.
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The Foundation exists to connect people, places, institutions and ideas across the Atlantic. It does not replace existing organisations. It creates shared civic infrastructure through which their existing strengths become more visible, more connected and more valuable.
A helpful illustration
Just as PRONI safeguards the archives, National Museums NI safeguards the collections and Belfast Harbour safeguards a working port — the Foundation safeguards, and activates, the relationship itself.
Why it matters
Because the Ulster-American relationship is itself a piece of civic infrastructure — one that business, universities, museums, government, ports and communities all draw on. Stewarding it, keeping it in good working order, and opening it to the next generation is work worth doing together.
Founding Partners
An invitation to co-author the next chapter.
We are inviting a group of Founding Partners — corporations, universities, cultural institutions, ports, civic organisations and communities on both sides of the Atlantic — to help shape the Foundation from the outset. This is not a request for support. It is an invitation to build something together.
Imagine What Comes Next
A PROVINCE AS A PLATFORM
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Cities connected across the Atlantic
Immersive storytelling and discovery zones
Business forums and investment corridors
University and research partnerships
A creative-industries transatlantic pipeline
Museums, trails and travelling installations
Airport and harbour arrival experiences
Concierge storytelling in hotels and civic spaces
A living platform for future generations
The evidence that Ulster made a historic contribution to America already exists.
Our task is different. It is to write, together, the next chapter of the Ulster-American story — and in doing so to turn a commemorative moment into an enduring transatlantic partnership.
Imagine helping to build this.