Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is an organization of women directly descended from people who helped establish United States independence. Women who are 18 and older and who can prove such descent are eligible for membership. The DAR’s chief goal is to teach and promote good citizenship among American citizens and among immigrants to the United States. Its programs promote appreciation of the past, patriotic service in the present, and educational training for the future. The DAR helps preserve shrines that keep alive the memory of people who won American independence. It encourages the study of American history and maintains relics and records of early America.
The DAR owns two schools in remote Appalachian Mountain areas—a day school in Alabama and a boarding and day school in South Carolina. It also provides significant aid to three other schools and a college. The DAR sponsors the Junior American Citizens Committee for schoolchildren, provides scholarships for American Indians, and runs an annual Good Citizens contest in U.S. high schools. The organization publishes a magazine called American Spirit.
The DAR’s official name is the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. The DAR was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1890. It was chartered by Congress in 1896 and must make a report to Congress each year.
Headquarters of the DAR consist of three adjoining buildings in Washington, D.C. Memorial Continental Hall houses one of the largest genealogical libraries in the United States. The building also contains over 30 period rooms furnished in historic American styles. The Administration Building houses the society’s business offices and part of its museum. Constitution Hall is an auditorium where the society holds its annual Continental Congress, and where many of Washington’s cultural events are held.
