36 U.S.C.
United States Code, 1994 Edition
Title 36 - PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES AND OBSERVANCES
CHAPTER 1C - SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov

CHAPTER 1C—SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Sec.
20a.
Corporation created.
20b.
Purposes and objects of corporation.
20c.
Powers of corporation; restriction.
20d.
Trustees.
20e.
First meeting.
20f.
Charter.
20g.
Reservation of right to amend or repeal chapter.

        

§20a. Corporation created

Francis Henry Appleton, of Massachusetts; Lucius P. Deming, of Connecticut; William Seward Webb, of Vermont; Horace Porter, of New York; Joseph C. Breckinridge, of Washington, District of Columbia; Franklin Murphy, of New Jersey; Walter S. Logan, of New York; Edwin Warfield, of Maryland; Edwin S. Greeley, of Connecticut; James D. Hancock, of Pennsylvania; Morris B. Beardsley, of Connecticut; John C. Lewis, of Kentucky; Henry Stockbridge, of Maryland; Nelson A. McClary, of Illinois; A. Howard Clark, of Washington, District of Columbia; Isaac W. Birdseye, of Connecticut; William K. Wickes, of New York; J. W. Atwood, of Ohio; J. W. Whiting, of Alabama; Ricardo E. Miner, of Arizona; Joseph M. Hill, of Arkansas; Alexander G. Eells, of California; Clarkson N. Guyer, of Colorado; Jonathan Trumbull, of Connecticut; Thomas F. Bayard, of Delaware; William H. Bayly, of Washington, District of Columbia; William S. Keyser, of Florida; Charles M. Cook, of Hawaii; Inman H. Fowler, of Indiana; Eugene Secor, of Iowa; John M. Meade, of Kansas; Peter F. Pescud, of Louisiana; Waldo Pettengill, of Maine; James D. Iglehart, of Maryland; Moses G. Parker, of Massachusetts; Rufus W. Clark, of Michigan; James C. Haynes, of Minnesota; Ashley Cabell, of Missouri; Ogden A. Southmayd, of Montana; Amos Field, of Nebraska; Daniel C. Roberts, of New Hampshire; J. Franklin Fort, of New Jersey; William A. Marble, of New York; Isaac F. Mack, of Ohio; Henry H. Edwards, of Oklahoma; Thomas M. Anderson, of Oregon; William L. Jones, of Pennsylvania; John E. Studely, of Rhode Island; Theodore G. Carter, of South Dakota; J. A. Cartwright, of Tennessee; I. M. Standifer, of Texas; Fred A. Hale, of Utah; Henry D. Holton, of Vermont; Lunsford L. Lewis, of Virginia; Cornelius H. Hanford, of Washington; J. Franklin Pierce, of Wisconsin; Truman G. Avery, of New York; William W. J. Warren, of New York; Henry V. A. Joslin, of Rhode Island; John Paul Earnest, of Washington, District of Columbia; A. S. Hubbard, of California, and all such other persons as may from time to time be associated with them, and their successors, are hereby constituted a body corporate and politic, in the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, by the name of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

(June 9, 1906, ch. 3065, §1, 34 Stat. 227.)

§20b. Purposes and objects of corporation

The purposes and objects of corporation are declared to be patriotic, historical, and educational, and shall include those intended or designed to perpetuate the memory of the men who, by their services or sacrifices during the war of the American Revolution, achieved the independence of the American people; to unite and promote fellowship among their descendants; to inspire them and the community at large with a more profound reverence for the principles of the Government founded by our forefathers; to encourage historical research in relation to the American Revolution; to acquire and preserve the records of the individual services of the patriots of the war, as well as documents, relics, and landmarks; to mark the scenes of the Revolution by appropriate memorials; to celebrate the anniversaries of the prominent events of the war and of the Revolutionary period; to foster true patriotism; to maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom, and to carry out the purposes expressed in the preamble to the Constitution of our country and the injunctions of Washington in his farewell address to the American people.

(June 9, 1906, ch. 3065, §2, 34 Stat. 227.)

§20c. Powers of corporation; restriction

The corporation shall have power to receive, purchase, hold, sell, and convey real and personal estate, so far only as may be necessary or convenient for its lawful purposes; to sue and be sued, complain and defend in any court; to adopt a common seal, and to alter the same at pleasure; to make and adopt a constitution, by-laws, rules, and regulations for admission, government, suspension, and expulsion of its members, and from time to time to alter and repeal such constitution, by-laws, rules, and regulations, and to adopt others in their places; to provide for the election of its officers and to define their duties; to provide for State societies or chapters with rules for their conduct, and to regulate and provide for the management, safe-keeping, and protection of its property and funds: Provided always, That such constitution, by-laws, rules, and regulations be not inconsistent with the laws of the United States or any of the States thereof.

(June 9, 1906, ch. 3065, §3, 34 Stat. 228; Sept. 8, 1961, Pub. L. 87–214, 75 Stat. 489.)

Amendments

1961—Pub. L. 87–214 struck out “to an amount not exceeding at any one time in the aggregate $500,000” after “convenient for its lawful purposes”.

§20d. Trustees

The property and affairs of said corporation shall be managed by not less than forty trustees, who shall be elected annually at such time as shall be fixed by the by-laws, and at least one trustee shall be elected annually from a list of nominees to be made by each of the State societies and submitted in this society at least thirty days before the annual meeting, in accordance with the general provisions regulating such nominations as may be adopted by this society.

(June 9, 1906, ch. 3065, §4, 34 Stat. 228; Feb. 6, 1925, ch. 142, 43 Stat. 808.)

Amendments

1925—Act Feb. 6, 1925, struck out “more than sixty nor” before “less than forty trustees”.

§20e. First meeting

The first meeting of this corporation shall be held on a call issued by any fifteen of the above-named corporators by a written notice signed by them, stating the time and place of meeting, addressed to each of the corporators personally named herein and deposited in the post-office at least five days before the day of meeting.

(June 9, 1906, ch. 3065, §5, 34 Stat. 228.)

§20f. Charter

This charter shall take effect upon its being accepted by a majority vote of the corporators named herein who shall be present at said meeting, or at any other meeting specially called for that purpose; and notice of such acceptance shall be given by said corporation by causing a certificate to that effect signed by its president and secretary to be filed in the office of the Secretary of State.

(June 9, 1906, ch. 3065, §6, 34 Stat. 228.)

§20g. Reservation of right to amend or repeal chapter

Congress reserves the right to alter, amend, or repeal this chapter.

(June 9, 1906, ch. 3065, §7, 34 Stat. 228.)