The Sons of the American Revolution honors our Revolutionary War patriot ancestors by promoting patriotism, serving our communities and educating and inspiring future generations about the founding principles of our Country.
SAR is the largest male lineage organization in the United States and consists of 50 state-level societies with more than 590 local chapters, several international societies (including Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and an International Society), and over 37,000 members. Prominent SAR members include sixteen U.S. presidents, U.S. senators and representatives, local business and community leaders, as well as foreign dignitaries such as Sir Winston Churchill, and Kings Juan Carlos I and Felipe VI of Spain.
SAR members have also answered their country’s call in every major American conflict beginning with the battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, and continuing to the present day, including Operation Desert Storm, Bosnia, and the recent actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. SAR members have received the highest awards America can bestow, including the Medal of Honor.
- Remembering Our Past….By honoring those who served or assisted the colonies during the Revolutionary War.
- Promoting Core Values….By protecting our Constitution and perpetuating American ideals and traditions.
- Shaping Young Minds….By educating our youth about the Constitution and those who developed the American ideals and traditions.
“The American Revolution was about both the pen and the sword. The SAR provides a place where I can explore the ideas that motivated my New England Yankee ancestors and think about how those ideas continue to shape a country that has made a home for my German and Norwegian emigrant ancestors and all the other people who make up our nation.” – David Schrader (MA)
“While I have enjoyed learning about my Patriot ancestors and honoring their service, I have also enjoyed the many new friendships I have made and I have a much keener interest in history in general and the Revolution in particular.” – Alan Douglass Fitch, Jr.
Being an SAR member involves you in your local and national community with telling the story of the Founding Fathers and the creation of the United States of America. It connects you to the history of the American Revolution by a direct means in tracing your lineage. It allows you to connect with others that also share that same type of connection.
National Level – We work with other organizations in furthering the understanding of the American Revolution such as: The Smithsonian Institution and King’s College London Partnership and Georgian Papers Programme
State and Local Levels – Our members give speeches and presentations at various SAR and/or civic events in our communities. Additionally, Patriot graves are marked by local chapters at the request of descendants.
- We will work tirelessly to inspire the community with the principles on which our nation was founded. Many chapters and state-level societies have color guards that wear Revolutionary War uniforms and participate in civic and patriotic events and observances such as the Fourth of July, Veterans Day, Armed Forces Day, Flag Day, Patriots Day, Bill of Rights Day, Yorktown Day, Constitution Day, and important battles of the Revolutionary War. Each year the SAR National Congress passes resolutions to stimulate personal and national action based on these principles.
- We strive to maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom. In 1994, the SAR formed a Task Force to Preserve U.S. History to help focus public attention on profound problems in some proposed national standards for teaching pre-college U.S. history.
- We will work to carry out the promises expressed in the Preamble to the Constitution.
- We shall provide recognition for public service. The state-level societies and chapters of the SAR present thousands of awards each year to law enforcement officers, public safety officers, and other citizens who exemplify the best civic traditions of our nation. This includes young men and women who are leaders in our communities: high-ranking high school students of history, Eagle Scouts, JROTC and ROTC cadets, and midshipmen.
- This organization shall strive to honor, respect, and support the sacrifices of our veterans, especially those confined to residential and hospital facilities provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- We commemorate and provide memorials for the people and events of the American Revolution.
- We shall preserve records relating to the events leading up to and during the American Revolution. The SAR was a major force behind the construction of the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and the collection of historic documents therein.
- We support genealogical research and presentations (books, articles, and presentations) related to the history and people of the period from 1750 until 1800. The National SAR Magazine publishes authoritative descriptions of historical events in a quality magazine of archival value. Our Revolutionary War Graves Committee published information on some 54,000 grave sites of patriots in the SAR Revolutionary War Graves Register, published in 1993. More names have been collected and the entire 140,000 names and locations have now been published. The Patriot Index Committee is publishing information on 732,000 patriots and their descendants.
- We enthusiastically sponsor youth awards programs, including essay and oration contests for students, based on historical and patriotic themes.
- We distribute history curriculum and educational media resources across the country.
- We inform the community about the events and philosophical bases of the American Revolution and the Constitution. Important events and persons of the Revolutionary period are portrayed for students and the public at large.
- We help people locate and evaluate genealogical records. The SAR’s state-level society and chapter registrars have excellent resources and the SAR Genealogical Research Library is a major national repository of genealogical information.
