Daughters of the American Revolution

The Daughters of the American Revolution, or DAR, is a lineage-based membership organization for the descendents of those who aided the fight for American independence. Organized in 1890, the society is dedicated to historic preservation, education, and the promotion of national patriotism. DAR educational divisions are often involved in raising funds for local scholarships and educational awards, and works to preserve various historical properties and artifacts that foster patriotism. DAR maintains chapters in all fifty of the United States as well as in the District of Columbia. There are also DAR chapters within Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Famous members have included Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Eleanor Roosevelt and Grandma Moses.

History

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Daughters of the American Revolution Monument to the Battle of Fort Washington, New York City. Erected in 1910.

The Daughters of the American Revolution was founded on October 11th, 1890 by Eugenia Washington, Mary Desha, Mary Lockwood and Ellen Hardin, all self-supporting single women devoted to the preservation of American independence. The organization was formed after the Sons of the American Revolution refused entry to women. DAR’s founding mothers responded by establishing a female chapter on the October 11th anniversary of the discovery of America. In the first year more than 800 women joined the organization. The women’s first project undertaken was to assist in the completion of the Mary Washington Monument, the mother of U.S. President George Washington. DAR contributions accounted for almost ¾ of the entire project funding.

The society was recognized by a Congressional Charter on December 2nd, 1896. By 1909 construction was completed on the first of the society’s three buildings, Washington’s D.C.’s Memorial Continental Hall. In 1910 DAR began work to stimulate national patriotism by aiding immigrants in becoming legal citizens, later publishing the DAR Manual for Citizenship. Throughout the 1920’s the Daughters also maintained a controversial but strict opposition to the American pacifist movement which followed World War I; the organization would also maintain a public anticommunist position throughout the Cold War. By 1923 construction was complete on the DAR administration building and by 1929 the renowned Constitution Hall was unveiled. In 1941 the society unveiled an extensive collection of historic manuscripts and imprints from the colonial and revolutionary periods entitled the Americana Collection. In 1973 Memorial Continental Hall was designated a national historic landmark, followed by Constitution Hall in 1985.

By the late 20th century, DAR membership totaled more than 180,000 with more than 3,000 local chapters marking it the largest women’s patriotic hereditary society in existence. Since it founding the organization has assisted in the preservation of various historic landmarks including the memorial of Jamestown, the marking of early pioneer trails and the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. The society has also preserved and collected more than 33,000 decorative and fine arts objects housed in the DAR Museum in Washington, D.C.

Organization

Membership

Membership in the Daughters of the Revolution is open to women at least eighteen years of age who can prove lineal bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving United States independence. Acceptable ancestors can include signers of the United States Declaration of Independence, military veterans of the American Revolutionary War, including French or Spanish soldiers who aided the American cause, civil servants of state governments or members of the Continental Congress. Acceptable ancestors may also include signers of the Oaths of Allegiance, participants in the Boston Tea Party, and any doctors, nurses, ministers and petitioners who aided the revolutionary cause. The DAR does not discriminate based on race or religion, and welcomes all women with a traceable blood line to revolutionary ancestors. An adopted daughter of a revolutionary descendant does not qualify through an adoptive parent but only through the bloodline of a birth parent.

Marian Anderson Controversy

DAR Constitution Hall

Although the DAR now forbids discrimination in membership based on race or creed, some members held segregationist views when this was still public policy in the United States. In 1932 the DAR adopted a rule excluding African-American artists from the stage at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., built in 1929 by the DAR, following protests over "mixed seating"; blacks and whites seated together at concerts of black artists. In 1936, Sol Hurok, manager of African-American contralto Marian Anderson since 1935, attempted to book Anderson at Constitution Hall. Due to the "white performers only" policy, the booking was refused. Instead, Anderson performed at a Washington area black high school, and was also invited by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to perform for her and President Roosevelt. Eleanor had publicly resigned from the DAR when she heard that Marian Anderson was banned. During this time, Anderson came under considerable pressure from the NAACP to not perform for segregated audiences.

In 1939, Hurok, along with the NAACP and Howard University, petitioned the DAR to make an exception to the "white performers only" policy for a new booking, which was rejected by the DAR. Hurok attempted to find a local high school for the performance, but the only suitable venue was an auditorium at a white high school. The school board, which was indirectly under the authority of the President, refused to allow Anderson to perform there. Eleanor Roosevelt immediately resigned her membership with the DAR, and sent the following letter to the society:

Dear Mrs. Henry M. Robert, Jr.:

I am afraid that I have never been a very useful member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. I know it will make very little difference to you whether I resign, or whether I continue to be a member of your organization.

However, I am in complete disagreement with the attitude taken in refusing Constitution Hall to a great artist. You have set an example which seems to me unfortunate, and feel obliged to send in to you my resignation. You had an opportunity to lead in an enlightened way and it seems to me that your organization has failed.

I realize that many people will not agree with me, but feeling as I do this seems to me the only proper procedure to follow.

Very sincerely yours,

DAR president Mrs. Henry M. Robert, Jr., sent the First Lady the following reply:

My dear Mrs. Roosevelt,
Your letter of resignation reaches me in Colorado upon my return from the far West. I greatly regret that you found this action necessary. Our society is engaged in the education for citizenshipRobert, Henry M. Response Letter, 1939 (jpg). Retrieved 2006-10-08.</ref>and the humanitarian service in which we know you to be vitally interested.
I am indeed sorry not to have been in Washington at this time. Perhaps I might have been able to remove some of the misunderstanding and to have presented to you personally the attitude of the society.
With best wishes always.
Very sincerely,

Hurok and the NAACP again appealed to the DAR, and were again rejected.

Later, the DAR apologized and welcomed Ms. Anderson to Constitution Hall on a number of occasions soon after 1939, including a benefit concert for war relief in 1942. Ms. Anderson chose Constitution Hall as the place where she would launch her farewell American tour in 1964. On January 27, 2005, the DAR co-hosted the first day of issue dedication ceremony of the Marian Anderson commemorative stamp with the U.S. Postal Service and Ms. Anderson's family.

DAR Today

Constitution Hall

Constitution Hall is a concert hall in Washington, D.C. It was built in 1929 by the Daughters of the American Revolution, which still owns the theater and holds its annual members convention inside.

The hall was designed by architect John Russell Pope and is located at 1776 D St. NW, just east of the Department of the Interior, between the American Red Cross and the Organization of American States, across from the Ellipse in front of the White House. The hall seats 3,974 people, with 2,494 on risers and 1,480 on the floor. Additional seating is located in 52 boxes separating the floor from the risers.

It is used for concerts (including military bands), touring Broadway shows, family shows, high school graduations, and the Washington edition of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. It was the location where Eddie Murphy Delirious was filmed in 1983. It was also the location where "Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat" was filmed in 2002. For several decades prior to the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1971, Constitution Hall was home base of the National Symphony Orchestra and the city's principal venue for touring classical musicians. Sold-out film lectures of the National Geographic Society were also held for many decades, three times a week until about 1990 when they were moved instead to the National Geographic theater. In an often-told historical incident, the Hall's management once told distinguished African-American singer Marian Anderson her requested performance date for the Hall was already booked, causing first lady Eleanor Roosevelt instead to offer her a spot to sing at the Lincoln Memorial.

Every U.S. president since Calvin Coolidge has attended at least one event at the theater.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Britannica Encyclopedia. Daughters of the American Revolution. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2006. Answers.com 29 May. 2007.
• Encyclopedia of American History. Daughters of the American Revolution. Answers Corporation, 2006. Answers.com 29 May. 2007.
• The Columbia Encyclopedia. Daughters of the American Revolution. Columbia University Press, 2003. Answers.com 29 May. 2007.
• Otte, Mary. A Brief History of the DAR. The Daughters of the American Revolution, Sasebo Chapter. Retrieved 29 May, 2007.

External Links

• Daughters of the American Revolution Official Website.
• Daughters of the American Revolution Americanrevolution.com
• Daughters of the American Revolution Open Directory Project.

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