Florida Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
George and Stella Knight Historical Essay Contest
The Sons of the American Revolution is pleased to sponsor this essay contest for high school students. Here’s a brief summary. Use the links at the left to learn more.
Topic: Write about an event, person, philosophy, or ideal associated with the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, or the framing of the United States Constitution.
Or
Put your Civics or American Government course to good use and choose a topic that relates to Magna Carta and its influence on the Revolution or one or more of the Founding Fathers to commemoratethe 800th anniversary.
The 2014-2015 Contest:
Deadline: Send a written copy or email your essay by January 31, 2015 to your local SAR Chapter. Prizes:
First Place: $700
Second Place: $200
Third Place: $100
In addition the winning essay from this contest will be sent to the National contest. That contest accepts only 1 entry per state and the prizes are significant. So once you get to that level your chances of being successful can be high.
Contact the State Chairman, Mr. John Stewart, at 1965uva@gmail.com for additional information not found in these pages.
Who can enter?
This contest is open to all students residing in Florida who are United States citizens or legal aliens and who:
- are attending public, parochial, or private high schools (including accredited home schools).
- will be in their freshmen, sophomore, junior or senior grade of study during the contest year.
- did not win the first place prize at the state level in the previous year.
How to enter the contest:
Follow these 3 steps to enter:
1. Read the rules for the contest on the NSSAR website. Make sure you are eligible to enter and understand the requirements.
2. Write your essay (pay attention to the four parts reviewed by the NSSAR rules)
3. First check with the SAR Chapter in your area to find out if they are conducting a Chapter level contest, or will sponsor you as their winner. If so, send your essay to them within their time deadline.. 4. Send your essay by December 31, 2014 to:
Sons of the American Revolution Knight Essay Contest
1121 32nd Ave. N.
St. Petersburg, FL 33704
Or email the essay to:
1965uva@gmail.com in Microsoft Word format and marked "Knight Essay Entry."
Note: In some areas chapters of the Sons of the American Revolution will be conducting local contests. If you receive information indicating you should enter the local contest, please follow those directions. Otherwise, submit your essay as indicated here.
Additional Information: The State winner is contacted in March and awarded prizes at the Spring Board of Management Meeting. Check this website at that time. The State winner is entered into the National Contest. The National Winner is announced in June.
Judging Criteria and Rules Interpretations: The essay will be judged on historical accuracy, clarity of thought, organization and proven topic, grammar and spelling, and documentation. Participants in this contest agree that the interpretation of rules and the decisions of the NSSAR, the FLSSAR and its judges shall govern without reservation.
Publication Permission: Participants in this contest agree that their essays may be published in the publications and websites of the Florida Society, and National Society.
Prizes:
National Society:
(Please note: The National prize amounts are subject to change.)
First Place: $2,000 a winning recognition certificate and medal; $500 toward travel expenses and one night hotel for the winner and chaparone at the SAR Annual Congress (site changes annually)
Second Place: $1,000.00
Third Place: $500.00
Florida State Society:
First Place: $700.00
Second Place: $200.00
Third Place: $100.00
The Knight Essay Contest was originally named in honor of SAR Compatriot President Calvin Coolidge who won an SAR essay contest while a student at Amherst College. The contest was reestablished in 1988 by Compatriot McCarthy DeMere. In 1995, the contest was renamed the “George S. and Stella M. Knight Essay Contest” in honor of their generous gift to the National Society to support this contest. The contest is designed to give High School students an opportunity to explore the early events that shaped American Revolutionary History.
The Florida Society has conducted a contest nearly every year since the National program was established. In recent years, the state committee has taken steps to improve the contest, concentrating on making it easier for students to enter. The committee is open to suggestions for improving the contest. Use the “Contact Us” link at the left for this purpose.
Previous Winners:
We congratulate these individuals for their excellent essays.
2013-2014 Sarah McKeage
2012-2013 John G. Farese
2011-2012 Linda Meier
2010-2011 Brooke Wade
2009-2010 Alexander Tasi
2008-2009: Morgan Finkelstein
2007-2008: Lauryn Walter
2006-2007: Jason Byer
2005-2006: Erik King
2004-2005: Kathlen O'Neal
2003-2004: Ian Malinowski
2002-2003: Claire Horan
2001-2002: Shannon Rose Enterline
2000-2001: Mamie Wise
1999-2000: J. Matthew Lowe
1998-1999: Anastasia Boutsis
1997-1998: Jennifer Tutak
1996-1997: Rita Martin
1995-1996: David Rodrigues
Getting Started:
Sometimes the hardest part in getting started is coming up with a topic for your essay. Perhaps the easiest approach is to pick some aspect of the American Revolution you found particularly interesting when you studied it in school.
There are any number of very interesting characters in the drama of our revolution. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and John Adams come immediately to mind, but you might find that an essay written about a lesser known individual might be more interesting to you and, hopefully, more interesting to the judges.
Events also are appropriate so any battle of the revolution is up for consideration. An analysis of the success or failure of tactics and strategies can make for a good essay thesis. But the revolution was more than battles. John Adam’s defense of the British soldiers charged in the Boston Massacre is just one example.
If you like to “think the big thoughts” you might pursue a thesis on the ideals of the revolution. For some students this approach would be difficult but perhaps you enjoy philosophy and can articulate this type of topic well.
So, give it some thought. Talk to your history teacher and parents. Do some brainstorming. Then outline your essay before you write your first draft.
The rest is basically research and writing. We’ll be offering some thoughts about this aspect later this fall. MLA Documentation: The essay and bibliography must be documented in accordance with the Modern Language Association publication, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (see www.mla.org) or Kate L. Turabian's publication "A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Thesis and Dissertations."
If you need assistance with the proper formatting of your essay and the bibliography here are two suggestions that might help:
1. Your high school English teacher: He/she may help you with formatting and likely be able to make some suggestions that will improve the writing and content of your essay. It is always a good idea to have someone proof read your work.
2. Run a web search on “MLA Documentation”. You’ll put many fine website that give all the information you’ll need for your essay. Here’s one that we thought was helpful: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/
Contact Us:
Thanks for your interest in our contest. If you have additional questions, or suggestions by which we can improve the contest, please contact us using one of the methods below.
Via Post:
Sons of the American Revolution Knight Essay Contest
1121 32nd Ave. N.
St. Petersburg, FL 33704
Via email:
1965uva@gmail.com
