Daughters of the American Revolution

This article is about the women's organization. For the Grant Wood painting, see Daughters of Revolution.
DAR Constitution Hall, Washington, DC

The organization Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in United States' struggle for independence.[1] A non-profit group, they work to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. The DAR has chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in the District of Columbia. DAR chapters have been founded in Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and the United Kingdom. As of 2012, over 850,000 women have been able to trace their lineage to join this organization. Although it is referred to as the DAR, the official name of this organization is the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR).

The organization's membership is limited to direct lineal descendants of soldiers or others of the Revolutionary period who aided the cause of independence; applicants must have reached 18 years of age and are reviewed at the chapter level for admission. In the late 20th century the society's membership totaled approximately 180,000, with some 3,000 local chapters throughout the United States and in several other countries.[2] Its motto is "God, Home, and Country."

Since the late 20th century, the DAR has expanded its circle of those who are considered to have aided the Revolution, recognizing more ways that people served, including women. It has also recognized minority contributions, publishing a book and making it available online: Forgotten Patriots: African American and American Indian Patriots in the Revolutionary War,, an extensive resource with the names of thousands of minority patriots, to enable family and historical research. Its Genealogical Research System (GRS) provides access online to an extensive database, and it is digitizing family Bibles to collect more information for research. In 2007, the DAR posthumously honored Mary Hemings Bell as a patriot; she was a former slave of Thomas Jefferson when he was governor of Virginia, and was among those taken prisoner of war. Her female descendants are eligible for DAR membership.

Founding

The Founders of the Daughters of the American Revolution sculpture honors the four founders of the DAR.

In 1889 the centennial of President George Washington's inauguration was celebrated, and Americans looked for additional ways to recognize their past. Out of the renewed interest in United States history, numerous patriotic and preservation societies were founded. On July 13, 1890, after the Sons of the American Revolution refused to allow women to join their group, Mary Smith Lockwood published the story of patriot Hannah White Arnett in the Washington Post, asking, "Where will the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution place Hannah Arnett?" [3] On July 21 of that year, William O. McDowell, a great-grandson of Hannah White Arnett, published an article in the Washington Post offering to help form a society to be known as the Daughters of the American Revolution.[3] The first meeting of the society was held August 9, 1890.[3]

The first DAR chapter was organized on October 11, 1890, at the Strathmore Arms, the home of Mary Smith Lockwood, one of the DAR's four co-founders. Other founders were Eugenia Washington, a great-grandniece of George Washington, Ellen Hardin Walworth, and Mary Desha. They had also held organizational meetings in August 1890.[4] Other attendees in October were Sons of the American Revolution members Registrar General Dr. George Brown Goode, Secretary General A. Howard Clark, William O. McDowell (SAR member #1), Wilson L. Gill (secretary at the inaugural meeting), and 18 other people.

The First Lady, Caroline Lavina Scott Harrison, wife of President Benjamin Harrison, lent her prestige to the founding of DAR, and served as its first President General. Having initiated a renovation of the White House, she was interested in historic preservation. She helped establish the goals of DAR, which was incorporated by congressional charter in 1896.

In this same period, such organizations as the Colonial Dames of America, the Mary Washington Memorial Society, Preservation of the Virginia Antiquities, United Daughters of the Confederacy, and Sons of Confederate Veterans were also founded. This was in addition to numerous fraternal and civic organizations flourishing in this period.

Historic programs

The DAR chapters raised funds to initiate a number of historic preservation and patriotic endeavors. They began a practice of installing markers at the graves of Revolutionary War veterans to indicate their service, and adding small flags at their gravesites on Memorial Day.

Other activities included commissioning and installing monuments to battles and other sites related to the War. The DAR recognized women patriots' contributions as well as those of soldiers. For instance, they installed a monument at the site of a spring where Polly Hawkins Craig and other women got water to use against flaming arrows, in the defense of Bryan Station (present-day Lexington, Kentucky).

In addition to installing markers and monuments, DAR chapters have purchased, preserved and operated historic houses and other sites associated with the war. See "DAR Historic Sites and Database" for a map and database of DAR sites.

Current membership and programs

Eligibility

Membership in the DAR today is open to all women, regardless of race or religion, who can prove lineal bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving United States independence.[1] The National Society DAR is the final arbiter of the acceptability of the documentation of all applications for membership.

Qualifying participation in achieving independence includes the following:

[5] http://www.dar.org/

Education outreach

The DAR contributes more than $1 million annually to support six schools that provide for a variety of special student needs.[6] Supported schools:

In addition, the DAR provides $70,000 to $100,000 in scholarships and funds to American Indian youth at Chemawa Indian School, Salem, Oregon; Bacone College, Muskogee, Oklahoma; and the Indian Youth of America Summer Camp Program.[7]

Promoting patriotism

DAR members participate in a variety of veteran and citizenship-oriented projects, including:

American history essay contest

Each year, the DAR conducts a national American history essay contest among students in grades 5 through 8. A different topic is selected each year. Essays are judged "for historical accuracy, adherence to topic, organization of materials, interest, originality, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and neatness." The contest is conducted locally by the DAR chapters. Chapter winners compete against each other by region and nationally; national winners receive a monetary award.[8]

Scholarships

The DAR awards $150,000 per year in scholarships to high school graduates, and music, law, nursing, and medical school students. Only two of the 20 scholarships offered are restricted to DAR members or their descendants.[9]

Literacy promotion

In 1989, the DAR established the NSDAR Literacy Promotion Committee, which coordinates the efforts of DAR volunteers to promote child and adult literacy. Volunteers teach English, tutor reading, prepare students for GED examinations, raise funds for literacy programs, and participate in many other ways.[10]

Past events of DAR

Today's DAR

There are nearly 180,000 members of the DAR, serving in approximately 3,000 chapters across the nation and in several foreign countries. More than 940,000 women have joined the organization since its founding 125 years ago. “Interest in membership is at all-time highs due to both the ability to share genealogical information through the internet and the fact that we offer today’s busy woman a meaningful opportunity to express her love of country and to complete the joyful responsibilities of citizenship,” said National Society DAR President General Lynn Forney Young.

Coinciding with the 125th anniversary celebration, the organization issued a challenge to complete 10 million hours of service to America. DAR members from coast to coast will also participate in the National DAR Day of Service on October 11, 2015. This one day of nationwide service is just an example of the work that Daughters have been completing for 125 years in communities across the nation. DAR members provided more than 3.5 million hours of community service across the world in 2013.

Exhibits and library at DAR Headquarters

The DAR maintains an extensive genealogical library at its headquarters in Washington, DC and provides guides for individuals doing family research. Its bookstore presents the latest scholarship on United States and women's history.

Temporary exhibits in the galleries have featured women's arts and crafts, including items from the DAR's valuable quilt and embroidery collections. Exhibit curators provide a social and historical context for girls' and women's arts in such exhibits, for instance, explaining practices of mourning reflected in certain kinds of embroidery samplers, as well as ideals expressed about the new republic. Permanent exhibits include American furniture, silver and furnishings.


Performers at Constitution Hall

Washington, D.C., had segregated facilities as of 1932 under laws established by a Southern-dominated Congress, which administered the city at the time. The DAR adopted a rule excluding African-American musicians from performing at Constitution Hall in response to complaints by some members against "mixed seating," as both blacks and whites were attracted to concerts of black artists.[13]

In 1936, Sol Hurok, the manager of noted singer Marian Anderson, an African-American contralto, tried to book her at the DAR Constitution Hall. Owing to the "white performers only" policy, the DAR refused the booking. As the issue became public, Anderson performed at a Washington-area black high school instead. The First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt invited her to the White House to perform especially for her and President Roosevelt. During this time, Anderson came under considerable pressure from the NAACP not to perform for segregated audiences.[14]

In 1939, Hurok, along with the NAACP and Howard University, petitioned the DAR to make an exception to the "white performers only" policy for Anderson, which the organization declined. Hurok tried to find a local high school for a performance, but the only suitable venue was an auditorium at a white high school (the public schools were segregated). The school board refused to allow Anderson to perform there.[14]

In response, Eleanor Roosevelt immediately resigned her membership in the DAR.[13] The organization later apologized to Anderson and welcomed her to Constitution Hall on a number of occasions, starting in 1942 with a benefit concert for war relief during World War II.[15]

The DAR did not officially reverse its "white performers only" policy until 1952, which was years before the city integrated its public facilities.[16] In 1945, African-American jazz singer Hazel Scott (then the wife of New York Democratic congressmen Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.) was excluded from performing at Constitution Hall.

In October 1945, the DAR invited First Lady Bess Truman to a tea at the hall, which she accepted. Congressman Powell protested and asked Truman not to attend the tea; she chose to go, but said that she opposed discrimination (as did her husband). The White House received letters asking Bess Truman to resign from the DAR; she declined to do so. Other letters supported her having attended the tea.[17][18]

In 1964, Anderson chose Constitution Hall as the place to launch her farewell American tour.[19] In 1992, at the opening night ceremonies of the DAR annual convention, the DAR awarded Marian Anderson the Centennial Medallion, which honors women who gave outstanding service to the nation. Due to health reasons, Anderson was unable to attend, so the medallion and certificate were delivered to her at her home. On January 27, 2005, the DAR co-hosted the first "day of issue" dedication ceremony with the U.S. Postal Service, at which the Marian Anderson commemorative stamp was introduced and Anderson's family was honored.[20]

First African-American member of DAR

In October 1977, Karen Batchelor Farmer (now Karen Batchelor) of Detroit, Michigan was admitted as the first known African-American member of the DAR.[21] Batchelor started her genealogical research in 1976 as a young mother who wanted to commemorate the American bicentennial year in a way that had special meaning for her family. Within 26 months, she had traced her family history back to the American Revolution—a completely unexpected result. Batchelor traced her ancestry to a patriot, William Hood, who served in the colonial militia in Pennsylvania during the Revolution in the defense of Fort Freeland.[22]

With the help of the late James Dent Walker, head of Genealogical Services at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., Batchelor was contacted by the Ezra Parker Chapter in Royal Oak, Michigan, who invited her to join their chapter; she officially became DAR member #623,128. In December 1977, Batchelor's admission as the first known African-American member of DAR sparked international interest after it was featured in a story on page one of the New York Times.[23] She was invited to appear on Good Morning America, where she was interviewed by the regular guest host John Lindsay, former mayor of New York.

Batchelor co-founded the Fred Hart Williams Genealogical Society in 1979, an organization in Detroit for African-American family research. She continues to research her own family history and inspire others to do the same.

Ferguson controversy

In March 1984, a controversy arose when Lena Lorraine Santos Ferguson said she had been denied membership in a Washington, D.C. chapter of the DAR because she was black.[24] The reporter Ronald Kessler quoted Ferguson's two white sponsors, Margaret M. Johnston and Elizabeth E. Thompson, as saying that although Ferguson met the lineage requirements and could trace her ancestry to Jonah Gay, fellow DAR members told them that Ferguson was not wanted because she was black.[24]

Sarah M. King, the President General of the DAR, told Kessler that the DAR's chapters have autonomy in determining members. Asked if she thought this acceptable, she said, "If you give a dinner party, and someone insisted on coming and you didn't want them, what would you do?" King continued,

"Being black is not the only reason why some people have not been accepted into chapters. There are other reasons: divorce, spite, neighbors' dislike. I would say being black is very far down the line ... There are a lot of people who are troublemakers. You wouldn't want them in there because they could cause some problems."[24]

After her comments were reported, the D.C. City Council threatened to revoke the DAR's real estate tax exemption. King said that Ferguson should have been admitted, and her application to join the DAR was handled "inappropriately". Representing Ferguson pro bono, lawyers from the Washington law firm of Hogan & Hartson began working with King to develop positive ways to ensure that blacks would not be discriminated against when applying for membership. The DAR changed its bylaws to bar discrimination "on the basis of race or creed". King announced a resolution to recognize "the heroic contributions of black patriots in the American Revolution".[24]

As a result of the Washington Post story, Ferguson, a retired school secretary, was admitted to the DAR chapter. "I wanted to honor my mother and father as well as my black and white heritage," Ferguson said after being admitted. "And I want to encourage other black women to embrace their own rich history, because we're all Americans."[24] She became chairwoman and founder of the D.C. DAR Scholarship Committee. She died in March 2004 at the age of 75.

Focus on racial diversity

Since the mid-1980s, the organization has supported a project to identify the names of African Americans, Native Americans, and individuals of mixed race who were patriots of the American Revolution, expanding their recognition beyond soldiers.[25] In 2008, DAR published 978-1-892237-10-1.pdf Forgotten Patriots: African American and American Indian Patriots in the Revolutionary War.[25] This is available for free online, as is a supplement published in 2012.

In 2007, the DAR posthumously honored Mary Hemings Bell, a former slave of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, as a "Patriot of the Revolution." During the war, Hemings and other household slaves had been taken by Jefferson to the state capital Richmond to work for him after he was elected governor of Virginia. When the British invaded the city, they took Hemings and the other slaves at the governor's house as prisoners; Hemings and the other slaves were later released. (The American government officials had already escaped to Monticello and Charlottesville.)

After the war, Hemings gained informal freedom when her common-law husband, Thomas Bell, a white merchant from Charlottesville, purchased her and their two mixed-race children from Jefferson. She was forced to leave her two older children, Joseph Fossett and Betsy Hemmings (as she spelled it), enslaved at Monticello. After Bell's death, Mary and their two children inherited his estate. She kept in touch with her large extended family, still enslaved at Monticello, and aided her children there. When Jefferson's slaves were sold after his death in 1826 to settle his debts, she purchased family members to help keep families intact.[26] Since Hemings Bell has been honored as a Patriot, all of her female descendants qualify for membership in the DAR.[27]

In June 2012, Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly and Dr. Olivia Cousins became charter members of a chapter with numerous African-American members, in Queens, New York;[28] five of the 13 charter members are African American. Kelly, who organized the diverse chapter, was installed as the Charter Regent and Dr. Cousins as a chapter officer. Two of Dr. Cousins' sisters, Collette Cousins, who lives in Durham, North Carolina, and Michelle Wherry, who lives in Lewis Center, Ohio, pledged to travel to Queens for the monthly chapter meetings.

Notable DAR members

Past members
Daughters of the American Revolution monument to the Battle of Fort Washington, erected in 1910. The approach deck of the George Washington Bridge, New York City was built above it.
Living members

Honors

A memorial to the Daughters of the American Revolution's four founders, at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., was dedicated on April 17, 1929. It was sculpted by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, a DAR member. [34][35]

References in popular culture and other media

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 preserving historical properties and artifacts and promoting patriotism within their communities. "Become a Member" Check |url= value (help). Daughters of the American Revolution.
  2. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution. (2013). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from
  3. 1 2 3 Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  4. ↑ National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution 1991, p. 22.
  5. ↑ Their common bond is their lineal descent from patriots of the American Revolution – any woman, regardless of race, religion or ethnic background, who can prove this lineage is eligible to join. They are women who care about fostering good citizenship, want to honor their ancestors, are devoted to educating our youth, and want to preserve our past for future generations Many enjoy: learning about American history, researching genealogy, coordinating local community service projects, sharing in family DAR traditions, and participating in commemorative events DAR members provided more than 3.5 million hours of community service across the world in 2013.
  6. ↑ "DAR Supported Schools". DAR. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  7. ↑ "Work of the Society: DAR Schools". DAR. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  8. ↑ "American History Essay". DAR. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  9. ↑ "Scholarships". DAR. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  10. ↑ "Literacy Promotion". DAR. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  11. ↑ "NSDAR Web page".
  12. ↑ http://www.dar.org/
  13. 1 2 "Exhibit: Eleanor Roosevelt Letter". NARA. 1939-02-26. Retrieved 2006-10-08.
  14. 1 2 "Marian Anderson at the MET: The 50th Anniversary, Early Career". The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Inc. 2005. Retrieved 2006-10-08.
  15. ↑ "D.A.R. NOW INVITES MARIAN ANDERSON; Singer, Barred From Capital Hall in 1939, Is Asked to Give First of War Aid Concerts". New York Times. 1942-09-30. pp. Obits. pp. 25. Retrieved 2006-10-08.
  16. ↑ Kennedy Center, "Biography of Marian Anderson".
  17. ↑ "D.A.R. Refuses Auditorium to Hazel Scott; Constitution Hall for 'White Artists Only'", New York Times, 12 October 1945, accessed 5 August 2012
  18. ↑ Sale, Sara L. Bess Wallace Truman: Harry's White House "Boss", University Press of Kansas, 2010. ISBN 9780700617418
  19. ↑ "Marian Anderson at the MET: The 50th Anniversary, Late Life". The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Inc. 2005. Retrieved 2006-10-08.
  20. ↑ "Legendary Singer Marian Anderson Returns to Constitution Hall On U.S. Postage Stamp" (Press release). United States Postal Service. 2005-01-04. Retrieved 2006-10-08.
  21. ↑ "Karen Farmer", American Libraries 39 (February 1978), p. 70; Negro Almanac, pp. 73,1431; Who's Who among Africans, 14th ed., p. 405.
  22. ↑ Northumberland County in the American Revolution, 1976, pp. 156, 171.
  23. ↑ Stevens, William K. (1977-12-28). "A Detroit Black Woman's Roots Lead to a Welcome in the D.A.R.; Black Woman's Roots Lead to a Welcome in D.A.R". The New York Times.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 Kessler, Ronald (1984-03-12). "Black Unable to Join Local DAR". Washington Post. p. 1.
  25. 1 2 "Forgotten Patriots". Daughters of the American Revolution.
  26. ↑ Annette Gordon-Reed, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, New York: W. W. Norton & Co., pp. 410, 484
  27. ↑ American Spirit Magazine, Daughters of the American Revolution, January–February 2009, p. 4
  28. ↑ Maslin Nir, Sarah (2012-07-03). "For Daughters of the American Revolution, a New Chapter". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 "Dazzling Daughters, 1890–2004". Americana Collection exhibit. DAR. Retrieved 2006-10-08.
  30. ↑ Hunter, Ann Arnold, A Century of Service: The Story of the DAR, p. 63
  31. ↑ http://onlineathens.com/stories/110307/living_20071103031.shtml#.VV_qIM6GGyU. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  32. ↑ "The Four Founders". Daughters of the American Revolution.
  33. ↑ Meet Our Deans
  34. ↑ "Founders Memorial". Daughters of the American Revolution. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  35. ↑ "Daughters of the American Revolution, Founders statue at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney located in James M. Goode's Foggy Bottom area". Retrieved 15 November 2014.

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Archives and Records Administration.

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