The Sacramento Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is pleased to announce the 2009-2010 American History Essay Contest. This year’s topic is “Describe how you felt on May 10, 1869, when the golden spike was driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, to celebrate the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad.
Pretend you are either a settler planning to use the train to travel to your new home in the West, an Irish or Chinese worker who helped build the line or a Native American whose way of life was greatly affected by the railroad.”
The contest is open to 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students in public, private, or parochial school or those who are home schooled. Essays for 5th graders must be between 300 and 600 words. Essays for 6th, 7th and 8th graders must be between 600 and 1000 words. The deadline for essays is December 1, 2009.
Judging is based on historical accuracy, adherence to topic, organization of material, interest, originality, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and neatness. One essay from each grade level will be selected as the chapter winner and forwarded to the state American History Chairman for state competition. The chapter winner will receive a $50.00 savings bond, a bronze medal and a certificate.
Complete rules are available on the Sacramento Chapter DAR’s website.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote patriotism, preserve American history, and support better education for our nation’s children. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With more than 165,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world’s largest and most active service organizations.
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