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Fourth of July 1776 is one of the most important moments in the history of America - the day when the first of the signatories put their names to the Declaration of Independence.

In the eyes of the British Parliament, the declaration was an act of treason, yet for the founding fathers it was the justification for revolution, the overthrow of what they saw as a tyrannical government, and a promise of liberty and equality.

Through interviews with leading US historians, this episode, framed by the discussions of the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia in the lead up the signing of the declaration, traces how Ulster-Scots immigrants - aka the Scotch-Irish - shaped the path to this defining moment. It reveals how the ideas and lived experience of Scotch-Irish farmers, philosophers and religious leaders fuelled the revolutionary movement in the colonies and found their way into the words and ideals of the declaration.

We also explore the influence of Francis Hutcheson, from Saintfield in County Down, in shaping the philosophical and religious ideas that lit the spark of the revolutionary movement in the colonies. His theory of the right of resistance influenced revolutionary leaders such as Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the declaration.

The Scotch-Irish were also at the heart of key moments in the road to independence, such as the Boston Tea Party, organised by the Sons of Liberty, a radical resistance movement of which Scotch-Irish physician Thomas Young was a leading member.

Once it was agreed by the Continental Congress, John Dunlap, from Strabane in County Tyrone, printed the first copy of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.