Alandmark documentary detailing the life and times of Founding Father, Charles Thomson, a remarkable Ulster-Scot, from the townland of Gorteade near Maghera. He was the secretary of America’s first Congress and played a central role in creating the United States. As the only permanent office holder in a fragile new country, he virtually ran the administration for over a decade before conferring on George Washington the new job of President in 1789.
The career of this extraordinary Ulster-Scot is traced by Bruce Clark, a veteran foreign news reporter for the Economist and the Financial Times, who like Thomson, grew up in Gorteade townland and still calls it home. In course of the film, Bruce travels to America to follow in Thomson’s footsteps and unravel his gripping story.
The film features contributions from family members, historians and politicians, and it takes viewers on an incredible journey. It leads from Charles Thomson’s birthplace near Maghera, to the place where he first set foot in the New World, to the historical monuments of Philadelphia and ultimately to the present-day seats of American power in Washington DC, including Capitol Hill and the White House.