Patriots of the American Revolution DAR High School Essay Contest – The Inaugural Year

This year, the NSDAR launched the “Patriots of the American Revolution DAR High School Essay Contest,” open to students in grades 9 through 12. The contest asked students to reflect on the men and women, both famous and unknown, who figured in the events of the American Revolution (1773 – 1783), and they were encouraged to choose individuals to write about who captured their imagination and interest, whether they were well-known Founding Fathers or everyday men, women, or children.

Nearly 2200 students across the nation wrote essays on a wide variety of Revolutionary figures. The Southeast Division was particularly active, with almost 800 students from the Southeast participating. Chapters, states, and divisions recruited outstanding and distinguished judges from many different areas of expertise, a number of whom commented how impressed they were at the quality of the essays, and often noted that they themselves had learned something new about these revolutionary figures. The contest encouraged students to research their subjects and to explore archives with primary sources, both online and in person. Students stepped up to the challenge, using diaries, Revolutionary-era newspapers, letters, and legal records to create detailed pictures of their chosen figures.

The winners are:

First place: Joseph Coppinger, Northeast Division winner (from West Simsbury, CT, and sponsored by Abigail Phelps Chapter), writing on Peter Salem, “an emancipated slave who chose to support the colonies in their fight for independence,” who was “born enslaved, but who died a free man and an American Patriot.”

Third place: Diya Kadadi, Southwest Division winner (from Sunnyvale, CA, and sponsored by Santa Clara Chapter), writing on Mercy Otis Warren, “a patriot of the American Revolution and a trailblazer for women’s rights.”

The three national winners will receive a pin, a certificate, and a monetary award ($1000 for first place, $500 for second place, and $250 for third place), and the first place winner will be recognized at the Education Awards Night on Thursday during Continental Congress.

This essay contest has been a wonderful opportunity to engage students during the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, and the Society is grateful to the many Daughters and more than 200 chapters who made the launch of this essay contest such a success.