The SAR MAGAZINE is the official quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution published quarterly.
Issue link: http://sar.epubxp.com/i/258013
WINTER 2013-14 17 The 225th Anniversary of our First President The SAR Foundation is proud to offer our 2014 lapel pin in commemoration of the 225th Anniversary of the Inauguration of George Washington as our fi rst President on April 30, 1789. This lapel pin is the fi fth in a series that have been offered in recognition of a donation of $100 or more to the SAR Foundation. These and other donations will be used to help renovate the headquarters of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution on West Main Street in Louisville. The SAR Foundation, Inc. will also be housed there. The SAR Center for Advancing America's Heritage is the means by which the SAR conducts educational outreach. When the SAR headquarters is completed, the SAR Center will be better able to provide educational programs – on-site and throughout the country as more programs are developed. Sworn in by Robert Livingston, the Chancellor of New York, Washington became the fi rst President of the United States following the ratifi cation of the Constitution. The inaugural ceremony took place at noon on April 30, 1789 at Federal Hall in New York City, where the fi rst United States Congress was meeting. Washington took the oath of offi ce on the second-fl oor balcony, in view of throngs of people gathered on the streets. Chancellor Livingston proclaimed, "Long live George Washington, President of the United States!" which was followed by cheers from the crowd and a 13-gun salute. For additional information about the SAR Foundation, please visit www.sarfoundation. org. Donations may be made on-line or mailed to the SAR Foundation, 1000 South Fourth Street, Louisville, KY 40203. We appreciate your continued support, which will allow us to complete the construction of the SAR CenterÕs new home. In a longer view for your legacy, please fi t the purposes of the SAR Foundation in support of the SAR Center for Advancing AmericaÕs Heritage into your estate plans and include it as a bequest into your will or trust. Please call our offi ce for any assistance required at 502-315-1777. The SAR Foundation is recognized by the IRS as a 501 (c) (3) non-profi t organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. the land and remove the Indians, the British Indian Department under Sir William Johnson negotiated with various tribes of Native Americans, so that by the time of Lord Dunmore's War, the Shawnees were diplomatically isolated from most other American Indians. British diplomacy was conducted without any coordination with Americans, nor for the benefit of Americans, but for the benefit of the king and his favorites. "Let's consider even further the historical context of the Battle of Point Pleasant. Only one month before, the First Continental Congress had met in Philadelphia. The Boston Tea Party had occurred only 10 months before, and the Boston Massacre was only four years earlier. Within the previous decade, the British Parliament had passed the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts and the Coercive Acts. "Tensions between the British and the Americans were high, and the relationship was becoming more strained every day. By October of 1774, the storm clouds of revolution had already begun to gather. Dunmore could hear the rumblings of rebellion. Many Virginians suspected Dunmore had intentionally arrived late at Point Pleasant so as to isolate the Virginia militia under Andrew Lewis. Did Dunmore really want the Shawnees to destroy the Virginians before the British regulars arrived? Many Virginians would later wonder whether Dunmore had hoped to eliminate the militia so that if revolution took root here, he could crush it more easily. "Only six months after the Battle of Point Pleasant, the shot heard round the world would be fired on Lexington green. Fourteen months after Point Pleasant, Dunmore would be driven out of Virginia by some of the same militiamen who fought under him here. Before he was driven out of Virginia, Dunmore would court Native Americans to become British allies— including some of the same Indian tribes the Virginia militia had defeated at Point Pleasant. "Whether we regard the Battle of Point Pleasant as a battle of Lord Dunmore's War, or as a battle of the American Revolution, what it seems to underscore is that British interests and American interests were not aligned, that they were becoming increasingly misaligned, even at cross-purposes, and that the gulf between Britain and its American subjects was becoming wider than the Atlantic Ocean. "Today we honor the men who fought and died here. These men may not have known they were fighting for American independence, but they were determined to accept nothing less than their freedom." WINTER_14_sar5-17 copy.indd 17 2/4/14 11:08 AM