Eagle Scout Scholarship
Arthur M. & Berdena King Eagle Scout Contest
The Seattle Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) invites all Eagle Scouts interested in the American Revolution to participate in the Arthur M. & Berdena King Eagle Scout Contest. The contest is open to all Eagle Scouts who are currently registered in an active unit and, except as provided in the paragraph below, have not reached their nineteenth birthday during the year of application. The year that the Eagle rank was awarded is not restricted.
*Temporary Transition Rules Extension – Any youth who registered as a member of Scouts BSA between February 1, 2019, and December 1, 2019 and was granted an extension by the National Council BSA to complete the Eagle Scout rank requirements after they have turned 18 years of age, will have 365 days from the date their Eagle Scout application was validated by the National Advancement Program Team to enter the contest. A copy of the approved extension must be attached to the contest application. College plans do not have to be completed in order to receive the awards.
Three cash/scholarship awards are given: National First Place Winner receives $10,000; Runner-up receives $6,000; and 2nd Runner-up receives $4,000. The First Place Winner will be asked to appear at the SAR Annual Congress, typically held in July, to be recognized and receive the award. The awards may be taken as either a cash award, or as a scholarship to an educational institution. An Eagle Scout may apply for the contest in more than one year if they meet the age requirements, but no more than $10,000 total will be awarded to any one Eagle Scout. Prizes and recognition may also be awarded at the SAR Chapter and State Society level. Each Eagle Scout must complete an application form, a four-generation ancestor chart, and a 500-word patriotic themed essay.
The competition is conducted in three phases: the local Chapter level, State Society level, and National level. The competition is usually entered at the Chapter level, though in some cases, the competition may be entered at the State Society level. Applicants may not enter at the National level. Contest entrants need complete only one application for the SAR Chapter level competition. The application of the Chapter level winner is forwarded to be used in State Society and National level competitions by the SAR as appropriate.
A complete set of rules, along with the application for both the applicant and the sponsoring SAR members, can be found below, or at SAR.org. Please be aware that the local application deadline dates may vary, so interested applicants should reach out to the Seattle Chapter Eagle Scout contact for further details.
2020 Chapter Winner
Thaddeus Driscoll
Troop 222
Thunderbird District
Thaddeus's winning essay
E Pluribus Unum: From Varied Roots to Global Impact
In 1776 the final draft of the Declaration of Independence was signed, in the eyes of the founders, this officially separated the thirteen colonies from the British Empire. At Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, five men worked tirelessly for a month to create the starting document for our new nation. Written into this were ideals that reverberated throughout the world. The Committee of Five were men of diverse backgrounds who came together and wrote the ideals of the revolution, in the Declaration of Independence (US 1776) it was agreed upon that the unalienable rights of, “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” were being ignored by the monarch, King George III and it was time for independence.
John Adams the delegate from Massachusetts, brought the committee together. Adams was come from a family farm in Massachusetts. He worked to become a lawyer. As a political activist, he was the major proponent of the Declaration’s adoption. Thomas Jefferson referred to Adams, “He was the pillar of its support on the floor of Congress, it’s ablest advocate and defender against the multifarious assaults it encountered.” (Jefferson).
Thomas Jefferson the well-liked representative from Virginia was the primary author of the piece. He came from a wealthy Virginian background and was well known for his skills with a pen. (Armitage 27)
Benjamin Franklin the representative from Pennsylvania, was of urban working-class roots and was an acclaimed man of science as an inventor, writer, editor, and provost speaker of unity in the colonies and separation from Britain. (Snyder 99)
Roger Sherman of Connecticut, became a colonial leader from a rural area. He had no formal higher education but using only self-taught methods passed the bar exam and held multiple judiciary positions. (Hall 9)
Finally, Robert Livingston, representative of New York came from wealthy families in the city. Soon after his higher education at King’s College, he worked in governmental positions such as Recorder and Chancellor of New York.
These five men of different backgrounds united in one committee in 1776. Although they came from varying economic, geographical, and cultural origins, the need for a major structure of a new government bonded them together. After a month of drafting, the final words were scribed and presented to the Second Continental Congress, July 2, 1776. The forefront of the document was the idea that “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” are entitlements of every man. Listed in this document were the reasoning of why these were not upheld by Britain.
Being a major exclamation of both human rights and the formation of states, when this declaration was signed official, the pen stroke reverberated around the world as others heard and saw it as a catalyst for change. The simultaneously French Revolution soon released their Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen that took influence. Since many other revolutions have taken influence from the documents influence information of state and listing of human rights, including many other countries under the boot of colonial powers. (Armitage 157)
Altogether the Declaration of Independence worked as a uniting piece of legislation that brought together people of diverse backgrounds looking to better their setting and was a catalyst of people with the same thinking around the world.
(Word Count: 500 excluding “a”, “the”, and citations)
Work Cited:
Jefferson, Thomas, To William P. Gardner, The Works of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 11 (Correspondence and Papers 1808-1816) [1905], Feb. 19, 1813
Jefferson, Thomas, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, Declaration of Independence, July 2, 1776
Armitage, David, The Declaration of Independence: A Global History, Harvard University Press, 2007
Snyder, Joyce, The Truth About Benjamin Franklin, Writer’s Club Press, 2001
Hall, Mark David, Roger Sherman and the Creation of the American Republic, Oxford University Press, 2013