We are wholly comprised of volunteers who are dedicated to teaching every American rifle and pistol marksmanship skills, interwoven with history from the American Revolution. Through Project Appleseed, the Revolutionary War Veterans Association is committed to teaching two things: rifle and pistol marksmanship, and our early American heritage. We do this in recognition that the skill and knowledge
of what our founding fathers left to us is eroding in modern America and without deliberate action, they will be lost to ignorance and apathy. We believe there is a direct relationship between understanding our country's founding and civic virtue. As Americans’ knowledge of founding principles has declined, so too has our involvement in this government “of, by and for The People”. Instead, our citizens seem content to leave governmental decisions and knowledge to elected officials, while assuming these officials' abilities and agendas are working on their behalf. We believe that if this trend continues, our country will be left with an expansive gulf between the populace and the government. Anticipating that our nation would one day find itself in its current plight, John Adams warned:
"Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present Generation to preserve your Freedom! If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven, that I ever took half the Pains to preserve it." Our forebears committed their lives to eight years of war so their sacrifices would never require repeating. They would endow us, their posterity, with a republic from which our freedoms would be given, enduring for life. In 2009, the American Revolution Center, a non-profit civic organization, conducted a survey of basic adult knowledge of the American Revolution. Eighty-three percent of surveyed adults scored an average of forty-four percent - a failing score. However, a glimmer of hope exists. This same survey revealed that nine in ten Americans agreed that it is important to know the history and principles forged during America's War for Independence. Does this reflect a muted cry for help? Americans seem to grasp the imperative of learning our nation's founding history, yet seem unable to act. Perhaps the beckoning comfort of couch and television offer an escape to relax in civic complacency. Project Appleseed events are designed to directly counter the average American's living room respite from reality and offer a solution to our nation's paralysis. These two-day, family-friendly clinics encourage civic virtue through the stories of our nation's founding and by cultivating the skills of persistence, focus, and determination required for good marksmanship. Learning about our heritage while developing marksmanship skills creates the appreciation, expectation, and confidence needed to rekindle our civic responsibilities. Through our program, attendees are driven to succeed through perseverance, and subsequently challenged to apply this perseverance and newfound appreciation of our Founders' gifts toward daily involvement in local, state or national government. Referring to the difference between the Revolution, and our War for Independence, John Adams would also write:
"The Revolution was affected before the War commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations. This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people, was the real American Revolution." These ideals were the foundation of this nation, and are instrumental in returning our nation to its former glory. The intention of our founding fathers was obvious; the "Revolution" was to live on in perpetuity. Through Project Appleseed, we strive to remind our fellow Americans of these "revolutionary" ideals, ensuring that the American Revolution lives on to be cared for and appreciated by our posterity.
