dar essay contest due date

Daughters of the American Revolution's 2024 essay contest winners announced

T he Joseph McDowell Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution presented four American History awards during the January meeting at the Champion Hills Clubhouse. Each student received a DAR bronze medal, a $200 check and a certificate for their winning essay.

The topic was “Stars and Stripes Forever.” Essay writers were asked to imagine they were a newspaper reporter for The Philadelphia Times on May 14, 1897. The newspaper editor asked them to attend and report on the first public performance of John Philip Sousa’s new march, “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

The students were to tell about Sousa’s life and the story behind the song, reporting their thoughts about the music and how the audience reacted to what was seen and heard that day.

The winners were Lia Martinonis, fifth-grade, Bruce Drysdale Elementary; Susannah Dannals, sixth-grade, Hendersonville Middle School; Zia Cartrett, seventh-grade, Classical Scholars; and Zoe Ihde, eighth-grade, Classical Scholars. Ninety-one students entered the contest.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Daughters of the American Revolution's 2024 essay contest winners announced

DAR announces essay contests

The Lt. George Farragut Chapter and the new Pleasantview Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution are seeking entries for two American history essay contests for local students in grades five through 12.

Both contests are open to students in public, private or parochial schools and to homeschoolers. 

"This is a wonderful opportunity for students to exercise their creativity and writing skills while honing their research skills,” said Susan Snodderley, who chairs the committee sponsoring the contests for the Lt. George Farragut Chapter.

The American History Essay Contest is open to students in grades five through eight. This year’s essay topic touches a musical note familiar to almost everyone. On May 14, 1897, John Philip Sousa, the great American composer and conductor known for American military marches, played his new march, “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” This song would become the national march of the United States Dec. 11, 1987. Students participating in this contest are asked to imagine it is 1897 and they are a newspaper reporter for the Philadelphia Times. Their newspaper editor has asked them to write an article about the song being performed that day. The article needs to talk about Sousa’s life and the story behind the song. It is the first performance of the song, so the article needs to include thoughts about the music and how the audience reacts to what is seen and heard that day. Each DAR chapter may award one winner in each grade who will advance to the state-level competition. 

The Patriots of the American Revolution Essay Contest is open to students in grades nine through 12. Students are to write about someone — famous or unknown — who influenced the course of the American Revolution and the founding of a new nation. The winning essay for each DAR chapter will advance to the state-level competition.

Entries must be submitted by Dec. 15.

For complete details and guidelines, Post Falls students are encouraged to contact Connie McGee at the Pleasantview Chapter at [email protected]. All others should contact Susan Snodderley at [email protected]

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DAR announces American History Essay Contest

Students enrolled in fifth through eighth grades are invited to enter the 2023-2024 American History Essay Contest sponsored by the Barrington-based Signal Hill Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). The contest reflects the organization's values of historic preservation, education, and patriotism by inviting students to think and write creatively about historic U.S. events, specifically those related to the American Revolution.

This year's essay topic is as follows:

On May 14, 1897, John Phillip Sousa played his new march, "The Stars and Stripes Forever." This song would become the national march of the United States on Dec. 11, 1987. Imagine it is 1897, and you are a newspaper reporter for The Philadelphia Times. Your newspaper editor has asked you to write an article about the song being performed that day. Your article needs to tell us about Sousa's life and the story behind the song. It is the first performance of the song, so make sure your article includes your thoughts about the music and how the audience reacts to what is seen and heard that day.

Depending on the student's age group, essays may be 300 to 1,000 words. All grade five, six, seven and eight students in a public, private or parochial school, or those who are home schooled, are eligible to participate. One essay at each grade level will be selected as the Signal Hill Chapter winner. All winners will be recognized at a DAR Youth Awards event, hosted by the Signal Hill Chapter in early 2024. Winners will go forward in competition with the potential for a national award. Essays must be submitted by Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.

For information about the essay contest and its requirements, contact Signal Hill Historian Kat Nosal, via email at [email protected].

The Signal Hill Chapter, NSDAR, was chartered 50 years ago in Barrington, in 1972. NSDAR is a volunteer women's service organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Due to fund-raising efforts throughout the year, the chapter contributes financially to several 501 (c) (3) organizations whose missions support that of NSDAR.

NSDAR provides more than $1.5 million in scholarships annually. It is the largest group of participants in support of Wreaths Across America. Through its various programs and initiatives, NSDAR strives to increase the awareness of men and women who achieved American independence, including those of diverse backgrounds.

Since its founding in 1890, over one million women have joined both nationally and around the world. Membership in NSDAR is open to any woman, aged 18 and over, who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution.

For information about the Barrington-based chapter, visit: signalhilldar.com .

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American History Essay Changes

By janet westbrook posted 05-12-2023 11:31 am.

During an exciting first year of the Wright Administration, the American History Committee has looked for ways to improve the essay contests.   The biggest change is that essays will now be submitted electronically at each level beginning with the Chapter and so on all the way to National . Changes have been made to all essay contests forms and will be updated by July 1. The American History Essay Contest for grades 5 – 8 will now have a submission form as the title page, a new judging rubric, and a list of resources replacing the more formal bibliography. Completing the submission form will ensure no student will be disqualified based on the former title page. Students will also be able to submit an entry directly to a DAR chapter if their class or school is not participating. Chapters are encouraged to reach out beyond the schools to include their community libraries, YMCA, and other youth organizations. Our hope is this will increase chapter and student participation.

Related Content

American history essay and patriots of the american revolution essay contest winners.

Christy Hiatt Hiatt 07-07-2023 03:23 PM

Do we have any updates for the History Contest yet? We are a newer chapter hosting our fist contest and I'm having a hard time finding informaton, guidelines, judging criteria, etc. The pamphlet I found said to reach out to the chapter for more details so I appreciate anything that this Community can share.

Janet Calabrese 06-16-2023 07:24 AM

Hi Stephanie,

Hopefully they will be announcing all of the changes at Continental Congress. The new forms and process will not be available online until afterwards.

Stephanie Keaty 06-15-2023 08:34 PM

hi Janet - Will these changes be announced at Continental Congress? 

Janet Calabrese 06-15-2023 08:40 AM

I like the idea of being able to submit electronically. However, I am holding off on the whole rubric thing until I see what it is. Last year National used a rubric judging sheet for Good Citizens which was an absolute nightmare. My judges hated it. If the rubric for America History is anything like the one used for Good Citizens we are going to have a difficult time finding judges for either.

Karen Kreitzberger Polett 06-07-2023 08:58 AM

How will our Chapters guard against AI generated essays? 

Karen Bradley 05-13-2023 04:59 AM

This is fabulous…a wonderful change! I am a former national vice chair in charge of the contest and former national chair and know how many essays get caught for these types of things. Hopefully, this will make it simpler and will encourage more students to enter. 

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Bruce Drysdale 5th-grade student advances to national finals in DAR's essay contest

Bruce Drysdale fifth grader Lia Martinonis has advanced to the national finals in the Daughters of the American Revolution 2024 Essay Contest, and each time her essay has advanced, her family has celebrated with a cake.

She is anxiously hoping for more cake. Martinonis is one of eight fifth-grade finalists in the nation, and so far, she's won three awards for her essay — one at the local level, one at the state level and the latest for the Southeastern Division.

"I am unbelievably proud. I have felt both shocked and pleased each time I learned that I had won," she said.

And there's prize money involved: $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place and $250 for third place. The winners will be recognized at the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Continental Congress, which is being held June 26-30 in Washington, D.C.

The topic for the contest was “Stars and Stripes Forever.” Essay writers were asked to imagine they were a newspaper reporter for The Philadelphia Times on May 14, 1897, and the newspaper's editor asked them to attend and report on the first public performance of John Philip Sousa’s new march, “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” The students were to tell about Sousa’s life and the story behind the song.

Lia was with her family on April 20 in Durham to receive the state award, her mother, Andrea, said.

"This essay contest has been an incredible experience for Lia. My daughter aspires to be a writer when she grows up," Andrea Martinonis said. "This opportunity has given her the confidence to pursue that dream. Lia researched the essay subject, learned about American history, honed her writing skills, and read her speech to a large audience at the initial award ceremony. 

"As an educator, I couldn't be more pleased that DAR sponsors this contest, encouraging students to write essays and learn about our nation's past. As a parent, I am thrilled that my daughter chooses to spend her free time reading and writing and that her interests and skills are being recognized."

More: North Henderson student one of four grand prize winners in national essay contest

Lia said her teacher, April Summey, assigned the essay contest to her class.

"I remember being frustrated when drafting my essay, but now I am so glad my hard work paid off. I still cannot believe this is all happening," Lia Martinonis said.  

This part of her essay describes Sousa talking about composing his new march:

"...Sousa said that he composed the song in his head on his return to America as he grieved the death of his beloved band manager, David Blakely. Sousa said, “In a kind of dreamy way, I used to think over old days at Washington when I was leader of the Marine Band…when we played at all public functions, and I could see the Stars and Stripes flying from the flagstaff.” He also stated, “And that flag of ours became glorified… And to my imagination it seemed to be the biggest, grandest flag in the world, and I could not get back under it quick enough.”

More: Apple Valley Middle student one of four grand prize winners in national contest

Summey called Lia a phenomenal, gifted student who "always goes above and beyond."

"She thrives on a challenge and is an avid learner. Her contagious curiosity shines brightly as she lights up upon acquiring new knowledge," Summey said. "Every year, my fifth grade students work on the DAR essay. They are given a prompt and required to read multiple primary and secondary sources about the topic in order to prepare. I am very passionate about the contest, because it helps students learn history and get excited about it." 

Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at [email protected]. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.

Patriots of the American Revolution DAR High School Essay Contest – The Inaugural Year

This year, the NSDAR launched the “ Patriots of the American Revolution DAR High School Essay Contest ,” open to students in grades 9 through 12. The contest asked students to reflect on the men and women, both famous and unknown, who figured in the events of the American Revolution (1773 – 1783), and they were encouraged to choose individuals to write about who captured their imagination and interest, whether they were well-known Founding Fathers or everyday men, women, or children.

Nearly 2200 students across the nation wrote essays on a wide variety of Revolutionary figures. The Southeast Division was particularly active, with almost 800 students from the Southeast participating. Chapters, states, and divisions recruited outstanding and distinguished judges from many different areas of expertise, a number of whom commented how impressed they were at the quality of the essays, and often noted that they themselves had learned something new about these revolutionary figures. The contest encouraged students to research their subjects and to explore archives with primary sources, both online and in person. Students stepped up to the challenge, using diaries, Revolutionary-era newspapers, letters, and legal records to create detailed pictures of their chosen figures.

The winners are:

First place: Joseph Coppinger, Northeast Division winner (from West Simsbury, CT, and sponsored by Abigail Phelps Chapter), writing on Peter Salem, “an emancipated slave who chose to support the colonies in their fight for independence,” who was “born enslaved, but who died a free man and an American Patriot.”

Second place: Zachary Henry, South Central Division winner (from Waco, TX, and sponsored by Henry Downs Chapter), writing on Benedict Arnold, who, “though reviled to no end by the American people for his treachery, was in fact one of the Continental Army’s most able and daring generals.”

Third place: Diya Kadadi, Southwest Division winner (from Sunnyvale, CA, and sponsored by Santa Clara Chapter), writing on Mercy Otis Warren, “a patriot of the American Revolution and a trailblazer for women’s rights.”

The three national winners will receive a pin, a certificate, and a monetary award ($1000 for first place, $500 for second place, and $250 for third place), and the first place winner will be recognized at the Education Awards Night on Thursday during Continental Congress.

This essay contest has been a wonderful opportunity to engage students during the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, and the Society is grateful to the many Daughters and more than 200 chapters who made the launch of this essay contest such a success.

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DAR announces winners of American History essay contest

The Libertad Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is proud to announce the winners of our 2023 American history essay contest.  

Many students in grades 5-8 competed, and the topic was about John Philip Sousa. It is evident that the students worked diligently researching this topic, as it was very difficult to choose one winner from each grade.  

The winners this year are Parker Davis, a fifth grader from Devers Elementary, Hutton Evans, a sixth grader from Liberty Middle School, Mason Matlock, a seventh grader from Liberty Middle School, and Jackson Harris, an eighth grader from Liberty Middle School.  

Congratulations to these 4 young men!  They will be recognized at DAR’s April 2024 meeting where they will each read their essays.

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