Regent Elizabeth Holmes welcomed the members of the SAR, DAR and the guests. The Pledge of Allegiance was given to the flag followed by the American’s Creed.
Holmes read an article stating that the tradition of celebrating the Constitution was started many years ago by the Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1955, the Daughters petitioned Congress to set aside Sept. 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 Aug. 2, 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
DAR has served America for 119 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.
Holmes introduced Mr. Kasey King, retired Texas Ranger, as the speaker on the Constitution. He gave an interesting account of the Pledge of Allegiance and how it began. He also gave highlights on the Amendments and the Bill of Rights.
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an oath of loyalty to the Republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Francis Bellamy in 1892.
An early version of the salute, adopted in 1882, was known as the Bellamy salute. It was made with a person standing at attention, heels together, toes out at 45 degrees like military attention and at the end of the salute to the flag, the person saluted the flag with a stiff arm salute. It eventually evolved to palm downward because of the similarity between the Bellamy salute and the Nazi salute. President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted the hand-over-the-heart gesture as the salute to be rendered by civilians during the Pledge of Allegiance and the National anthem of the United States. This was done when Congress officially adopted the Flag code on June 22,1942.
The pledge has been modified four times with the most recent change adding the words “under God” in 1954. It is also interesting to note that the man to first initiate the addition of “under God” to the Pledge was Louis A. Bowman (1872-1959). The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution gave him an Award of Merit as the originator of this idea. He spent his adult life in the Chicago area and was a Chaplain of the Illinois Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Bowman stated that the words came from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Mr. King noted that much can be found on the Internet about the Pledge.
Mr. King defined the Constitution as a gathering of philosophies of doctrines that make up whatever the situation or whatever the event is. In a country that Constitution is a basic fundamental on which that country is based. The Constitution is what makes our country the United States of America.
We have the creeds, pledges to the flag and etc. The flag does not really bind us together as a nation; what tells us we are a nation is the Constitution.
The Constitution was signed and adopted in 1787, however, nine states would not sign the Constitution because they believed it gave too much power to the government. Therefore, the Bill of Rights was attached to the Constitution of the United States.
Mr. King went over some of the articles of the Constitution and there was discussion and comments on some of the articles.
Chaplain Charlie Brown gave the benediction and the meeting was adjourned.
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