BRATTLEBORO — Constitution Week is a great time to reflect on the principles our country was founded on, according to the Brattleboro Chapter Regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Carolyn Handy.
She added that the DAR began the observance in 1955, when the service organization petitioned the U.S. Congress to dedicate September 17–23 of each year to the commemoration of Constitution Week. On Aug. 2, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into public law.
The DAR states that the celebration's goals are threefold: to encourage the study of the historical events that led to the framing of the Constitution in September 1787; to remind the public that the Constitution is the basis of America's great heritage and the foundation for its way of life; and to emphasize the government's responsibility to protect, defend, and preserve the U.S. Constitution.
"We are so proud DAR led the way in making Constitution Week an official commemoration, and our members enthusiastically promote the celebration annually in communities across the country by erecting community displays, sponsoring municipal proclamations, ringing bells, and staging programs to raise awareness of the Constitution's tenets and importance," said DAR President General Pamela Rouse Wright in a news release. "We encourage all citizens to join us in celebrating this powerful document that is so important to American history and to reflect on the impact the Constitution has had on the lives of American citizens past and present."
Handy says that by fostering knowledge of, and appreciation for, the Constitution and the inalienable rights it affords to all Americans, the DAR helps to keep alive the memory of the men and women who secured our nation's foundational liberties.
On Sept. 8, the Brattleboro Chapter participated in a re-dedication service of a lost patriot's grave in West Halifax. Stephen Otis, a soldier who fought in both the American Revolution and the French and Indian Wars, and his wife, Lucy Chandler Otis, a Mayflower descendant, were both honored in a service that also included the Brattleboro American Legion, a pastor, a bugler, a bagpiper, an Abenaki tribal leader, the Halifax Historical Society, a stone carver, and a descendant, Carol Otis.
The Brattleboro Chapter members' involvement in the re-dedication was both a patriotic and historical event, Handy said. DAR members promote historic preservation, education and patriotism via commemorative events, scholarships and educational initiatives, citizenship programs, service to veterans, meaningful community service, and more.
One of the largest patriotic women's organizations in the world, says Handy, the DAR has 190,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters across the country and several foreign countries. For additional information about the DAR and its relevant mission, visit dar.org.
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