Those
of you who were raised on the west coast may not be as aware of the
higher forms of society that exist in this country. But those of us
who grew up on the east coast and, in particular, the Commonwealth of
Virginia, are certainly aware of organizations, bodies, clubs,
societies, what have you, that are for people who are of better
breeding than the lower classes.
First
among these elite societies is the Daughters of the American
Revolution which is an organization of the women who are descended
from those who fought on the side of liberty in the American
Revolution. To the best of my knowledge no men can be a member of
this club and I am uncertain about the status of transgendered people
but I doubt that they are eligible. I guess you can always apply.
Eligibility
is a big deal to these women, and to be a member, you have to
demonstrate “service” of an ancestor, and show a clear line of
descent to that person. To that end, and to be of assistance to
those who would join this worthy society, they have prepared a guide
to establishing service for purposes of joining the DAR.
What
surprised me, but perhaps should not have, is that the guide contains
a wealth of information about the American Revolution and who fought
when. Its worth a glance and I have included a few representative
pages here.
The
guide goes by the provocative name of “Is That Service Right?”
and is available via Google Docs at the following URL:
I
have three stories/comments about the DAR which I think are amusing.
1.
When FDR addressed the national society of the DAR he began his
speech with “Fellow Immigrants....”. This of course annoyed the
hell out of people.
2.
Strom Thurmond was the senator from the state of S. Carolina for many
years, first as a Democrat and then as a Republican, changing
allegiance in response to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In other
words, a well-known Southern racist. What everyone in DC knew, and
most people in the South as well, is that Strom had fathered a child
by his family's young black maid when he was a young man. He always
supported the woman and her daughter and appearances were maintained
until Strom passed away, at which time his daughter went public. In
order to avoid embarrassing her father she waited until he had passed
away before she applied for membership to the DAR. I never heard
whether she became a member.
3.
Until recently, I did not realize how many black Americans fought in
the American Revolution. But quite a few did. I wonder how the
DAR deals with this, because, in case you had not guessed, the DAR is
very definitely one of those famous racist clubs that only admits
whites and looks down on blacks, jews, and other types. This must be quite a problem for them.
Strom
Thurmond
and
his lovely daughter, Essie Mae
Funny you should mention transwomen, since I'm trans myself and the descendant of a Revolutionary War soldier, Bailey Rawson (1760-1848). I've found no answers either way as to whether I'd be accepted, but I'm leaning toward "no".
ReplyDeleteDid I mention Transwomen? If you say so, I probably should have. My guess is that you will need a sponsor, just guessing, who informally eases the passage to the membership you seek. Not everyone in these organizations are scum, I think. I hope not. Good luck, go for it, and it will probably take a while.
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