The Frederick Van Patten Chapter would like to take today to thank all of our armed branches for their service.

On October 10th, the Frederick Van Patten Chapter was able to conduct a socially distanced meeting. The members were quite excited to see each other and to honor Augusta AR mayor, Jeff Collins, with a community service award for his dedication and hard work to his community.

After conducting the normal business that needed attention, the Frederick Van Patten chapter were privilege to a detailed account of revolutionary soldiers by a local educator, Hannah. She did a wonderful job of detailing the day to day of a soldier, and issues that were most likely encountered among the fight for freedom.

Arkansas and the 19th Amendment

Arkansas ratified the 19th Amendment:

July 28, 1919

Women first organized and collectively fought for suffrage at the national level in July of 1848. Suffragists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott convened a meeting of over 300 people in Seneca Falls, New York. In the following decades, women marched, protested, lobbied, and even went to jail. By the 1870s, women pressured Congress to vote on an amendment that would recognize their suffrage rights. This amendment was sometimes know as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment and became the 19th Amendment.

The amendment reads:

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”

Although progress on the federal amendment stalled, women also campaigned for changes to state suffrage requirements to win the vote. The women’s suffrage movement in Arkansas gained traction after the Civil War. Women in the state also wrote newspaper articles explaining the importance of a woman’s right to vote. In the 1880s and 1890s, Arkansas women created their own suffrage groups, including the Arkansas Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) and the Political Equality League (PEL). Unfortunately, women’s suffrage groups in Arkansas often only supported the white woman’s right to vote.African American women formed their own organizations and clubs.

African American women were often excluded from the suffrage organizations of white women. They fought for their suffrage in other ways by helping to advance civil rights for African American women and men. While the government recognized black men’s right to vote in 1870, many southern states prevented them from going to the polls. African American women fought for their suffrage rights and for those of black men by working with organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

After decades of arguments for and against women’s suffrage, the US Congress finally passed the 19th Amendment in June 1919. After Congress approved the Amendment, at least 36 states needed to vote in favor of it for it to become law. This process is called ratification.

At the time, there was strong support for the 19th Amendment in Arkansas. This was due in part to visits from national suffrage leaders like Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt. The Arkansas legislature met on July 28, 1919 to vote on the amendment. Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of women’s suffrage and Arkansas became the 12th state to ratify the amendment. By August of 1920, 36 states ratified the 19th Amendment. The right to vote could not longer be denied or abridged based on sex.

information and pictures provided by https://www.nps.gov/articles/arkansas-and-the-19th-amendment.htm

While we celebrate the 4th of July, let us remember our ancestors that fought for our freedom, and those men and women who continue the fight.

We hope that you are able to join us as we watch Congress online for the first time! Please find the links below.

If you are a current member, we encourage you to download the DAR Congress app to see what programs will be available as well as shops and various information for Continental Congress.

We would like to send a congratulations to the class of 2020. Your senior year, whether it be of high school or college, did not go as planned and many “last moments” were not experienced. While this is a disappointment, we know that you are resilient, strong, and capable of adapting to change. We wish you all the luck in your future endeavors!

In particular, we would like to send a congratulations to the young ladies who were recipients of the Chapter’s scholarship. Congratulations on your achievement and best wishes in your studies!

Locally~

PFC Oscar S. Benton served in the 816th Pioneer Infantry in World War 1. He’s buried in the middle of a thicket a few miles outside of Strong, AR. The 816th Pioneer Infantry was an all African American Infantry Unit during World War 1. That’s all I could find out about the man. He went to war for this country when he didn’t have the same rights as over half the country that he was defending. I haven’t been able to find anything about Oscar S. Benton. But I don’t want anyone to forget his service. Thank you for your service, PFC Oscar S. Benton.—Jesse Elam

More information was later found at https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/bmd_death/?name=Oscar_Benton&event=_Ga&birth=_strong-union-arkansas-usa_29402&fbclid=IwAR23BtVe1SzA7MmwtGEZu148oEmwty6uavgUMiR3C22sTLovTjQNgXvNqRo

First conceived by President Harry S. Truman, Armed Forces Day was established in 1949. The creation of a single day celebration for all five branches of the United States military made sense due to its recent unification under the Department of Defense. This year we added a sixth branch, the United States Space Force, and yesterday we celebrated the unveiling of the #SpaceForce flag. Let’s come together today and remember we are all in this together and we’re committed to our service of this great nation.

Thank you to Peterson AFB 21st Wing Space Facebook Page for the picture and information.

We want to give a big THANK YOU to off duty firemen, Drake Wilson of Central Station-Searcy and Mark Dennison of Station 3 who installed a donated U.S. flag for a Blue Star Mother. A Blue Star Mother is one who has a son or daughter who is serving or has been honorably discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States while a Gold Star Mother is one who has lost a son or daughter in service.

Thank you to these gentlemen for taking the time to help.

Greetings! We hope that you are staying safe in such a scary time. We would like to take a moment to salute those who are working hard through all of this. So many people, from those in healthcare, to first responders, to truck drivers, store workers, gas station attendants, we see you and we thank you.

As for the rest of you. You have probably gone through your puzzles, crosswords, and that to-do list you’ve been postponing since 2018. Well I hope this breaks up your monotony! Here is a little DAR quiz created just for you! Most of the information can be found on the website, so you do not have to be a member to take it. We hope you enjoy it!

http://www.quiz-maker.com/QSMIWND