America Celebrates U.S. Constitution

James Waldrop Chapter DAR Promotes Constitution Week Awareness in Fayette County

Friday, September 17, 2010, begins the national celebration of Constitution Week. The weeklong commemoration of America’s most important document is one of our country’s least known official observances. Our Constitution stands as a testament to the tenacity of Americans throughout history to maintain their liberties and freedom, and to ensure those unalienable rights to every American.

The tradition of celebrating the Constitution was started many years ago by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). In 1955, the Daughters petitioned Congress to set aside September 17-23 annually to be dedicated for the observance of Constitution Week. The resolution was later adopted by the U.S. Congress and signed into Public Law #915 on August 2, 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The aims of the celebration are to (1) emphasize citizens’ responsibilities for protecting and defending the Constitution, preserving it for posterity;  (2) inform the people that the Constitution is the basis for America’s great heritage and the foundation for our way of life; and (3) encourage the study of the historical events which led to the framing of the Constitution in September 1787.

The United States of America functions as a Republic under the Constitution, which is the oldest document still in active use that outlines the self-government of a people. This landmark idea that men had the inalienable right as individuals to be free and live their lives under their own governance was the impetus of the American Revolution.  Today, the Constitution stands as an icon of freedom for people around the world.

"We must remember and teach that those who wrote the Constitution believed that no government can create freedom, but that government must guard freedom rather than encroach upon the freedoms of its people" stated Merry Ann T. Wright, President General of the DAR. "The Constitution by itself cannot guarantee liberty. A nation’s people can remain free only by being responsible citizens who are willing to learn about the rights of each arm of government and require that each is accountable for its own function. Therefore, Constitution Week is the perfect opportunity to read and study this great document which is the safeguard of our American liberties.  We encourage all citizens across the country to take time this week to guard that which is committed to us by our forefathers... our freedom."

DAR has served America for 120 years as its foremost cheerleader.  In 1928, the Daughters began work on a building as a memorial to the Constitution. John Russell Pope, architect of the Jefferson Memorial, was commissioned to design the performing arts center, known as DAR Constitution Hall. Today, DAR Constitution Hall is the only structure erected in tribute to the Constitution of the United States of America. 

Known as the largest women’s patriotic organization in the world, DAR has over 165,000 members with approximately 3,000 chapters in all 50 states and 11 foreign countries. The DAR has long promoted patriotism through commemorative celebrations, memorials, scholarships and activities for children, and programs for new immigrants.

The James Waldrop Chapter DAR in Fayetteville, Georgia, has spoken to over 1300 students in the Fayette County Schools on the history of the Constitution over the last three years.  For more information on the James Waldrop Chapter DAR, contact jameswaldrop.fayettevillega@yahoo.com.



-----
Community News You Can Use
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter:  @GAFrontPage

Local Rosies Honored as Women in History by Fayetteville DAR

Pictured (l-r) are James Waldrop Chapter DAR American History Chairman Phyllis King with Fayette County Rosies Sybil Hill, Dot Miller and Betty Dodds.

The James Waldrop Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution in Fayetteville recently honored three Fayette County women with the Woman in American History Award 2009.

During World War II, six million women joined the workforce , shattering myths of a woman's place and paving the way for future generations to become viable workers in the job market.

They were collectively called "Rosie, the Riveter" but performed many jobs. Three million women were Red Cross volunteers and Civil Defense workers. Two million were clerical workers, and one million were hired by the federal government.

In the 1943 issue of Newsweek magazine, those jobs were listed as work in shipyards, lumber mills, steel mills, and foundries. These women were the first generation to break out of the mold as homemakers as they became mechanics, boilermakers, and operated streetcars, buses, cranes, and tractors. They served as police officers, taxi drivers, lawyers, and journalists. They ran farms, planted crops, tended animals, and sewed uniforms.

The efforts of these women's wartime production included 296,429 airplanes, 102,351 tanks, 372,431 artillery pieces, 47 tons of artillery ammunition, 87,620 warships, 44 billion rounds of small arms ammunition, not to mention countless numbers of documents and material.

Even though considered ordinary, they pulled together to perform an extraordinary service to their country and America's full might was realized during a time of great need.

Betty Dodds had just moved to Fargo, North Dakota, in 1944 after graduating from High School, when she received a letter from the Federal Government asking her to come for an interview with the Office of Price Administration. At the tender age of 18, she went to work typing letters in answer to questions about quotas, pricing and rationing. She recalls the noise of many typists as they worked and the huge volumes of catalogued restrictions used to find the answers to questions.

After graduation in 1944, Sybil Hill of Mansfield, Georgia, moved to Atlanta to seek work. She found work in a defense plant on Sawtell Ave. across from the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. While at the defense plant she riveted and bucked the rivets in PBY plane wings. She was small and could climb inside the wing to buck the rivet more easily than some women. She remembers making $27-28 dollars a week in comparison to $17-18 a week in other jobs.

Dot Miller grew up in College Park, Georgia, and at age 19 went to work for the Immigration and Naturalization Service at 101 Marietta St. in Atlanta, Georgia. Her job was to fast track the citizenship applications of foreign born service men who wanted to go overseas to fight for the USA. If these immigrants had been captured fighting for the USA, their acts would have been considered treasonous to other countries and would be executed.

The contributions of these women and all the women who left the shelter of staying at home full time to serve their country were the beginnings of the woman's movement in America. No longer were women satisfied to sit at home. These women proved to themselves and the world that they, too, could have a positive impact in the workplace.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter: @GAFrontPage

Remembering The Battle of Guilford Courthouse

This step back into history with this Commemorative Moment is brought to you by the James Waldrop Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution in Fayetteville, GA.

The Battle of Guilford Courthouse

The Battle of Guilford Courthouse took place on 15 March 1781, 228 years ago, at the site of modern-day Greensboro, North Carolina.

It was a rather strange event, in which the British won the battle, but only by deliberately shelling and killing many of their own troops. It was also strange in that, even though it was a victory for Lord Cornwallis, he felt compelled right afterwards to abandon the Carolinas to the Patriots.

It was an American defeat that marked the last gasp for the British in the war.

The American commander, General Nathaniel Greene, had been running from Cornwallis to give his little army time to rest and refit in Virginia. In March of 1781, he thought it was time to cross back into North Carolina and give his lordship a fight.

The two armies met at Guilford Courthouse. The battle went back and forth, but finally, the Americans and British were all mixed up in hand to hand combat, and it appeared that the American Patriots were about to get the better of the fight. Desperate, Lord Cornwallis ordered his artillery to open fire on the tangle of men with grapeshot, which, of course, would cut down friend and foe alike. It worked, and the Americans broke off the fight, but many British soldiers were cut down by “friendly fire” from their own side. General Greene pulled out his army, leaving the field to Cornwallis, but saving his own force to fight another day, which they did. They went on to re-conquer the south from the British.

Cornwallis, meanwhile, found himself with a victory, but in the middle of hostile country, with very few supplies left. It was the beginning of the end for him and the British. He decided to abandon the Carolinas and move from Guilford Courthouse to rest and refit at a little Virginia seaport named Yorktown. The rest, as they say, is history.

References: George Washington’s War by Robert Leckie
The Road to Guilford Courthouse by John Buchanan

By Susan Sloan
James Waldrop Chapter DAR
Fayetteville, GA

View of a Nation's Flag

A thoughtful mind, when it sees a Nation's flag, sees not the flag only, but the Nation itself; and whatever may be its symbols, its insignia, he reads chiefly in the flag the Government, the principles, the truths, the history which belongs to the Nation that sets it forth.
-Henry Ward Beecher

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

The Chrysler Foundation Donates $100,000 to the National Infantry Foundation for National Capital Campaign

PRNewswire/ -- The Chrysler Foundation announced today that it donated $100,000 to the National Infantry Foundation, Inc., in support of its capital campaign to construct the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center at Patriot Park in Columbus, Ga.

"The Chrysler Foundation is proud to support the National Infantry Foundation as it works to commemorate the extensive history of the Infantry," said Bob Nardelli, Chairman and CEO - Chrysler LLC. "Chrysler has a proud history of supporting the U.S. military, and we are pleased to support this project as part of our 'Honoring Those Who Serve' initiative. This museum and memorial will stand as a reminder of the courage and sacrifice of the Infantry, which has enabled us to enjoy the freedom, the opportunities and the comforts of living in this great nation."

The project is located on a 200-acre site that links Columbus, Ga., and Fort Benning, the Home of the Infantry. It features a 180,000-square-foot museum, six galleries that represent different eras in the Infantry's history, a 2,500-seat stadium for weekly graduations of Infantry Basic Trainees and a 3-D IMAX(R) theatre.

We're proud to have this level of support from one of the nation's leading automotive companies," National Infantry Foundation President MG (Ret.) Jerry White said. "Chrysler and the Infantry have been partners throughout our long history. They have been an essential part of the successes we have enjoyed on battlefields around the world. With this gift they still stand by us today."

The gift continues the Foundation's commitment to our nation's military as part of Chrysler LLC's "Honoring Those Who Serve" military support initiative. Previous recipients of gifts from The Chrysler Foundation include The Gen. Douglas MacArthur Foundation, Operation Gratitude and the Freedom Calls Foundation.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page