National Society United States Daughters of 1812

National Society United States Daughters of 1812 N.S.U.S.D. 1812 is a non-profit, non-political women's service organization for descendants of patriots who aided the American cause during the War of 1812

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GTYejn6LJ/
11/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GTYejn6LJ/

On or about November 10, 1791, James Madison drafted these observations on the symmetry of nature: “The planetary system, the greatest portion of the Universe, as yet brought under human observation, is regulated by fixed laws, and presents most demonstrably, a scene of order and proportion. ... Order and symmetry equally appear in the great outlines and in the most minute features of it.”

Where have you noticed symmetry at Montpelier? Tell us in the comments!

Photo taken on Montpelier’s lawn by Bill Bichell, courtesy of Montpelier.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/175uVENf5E/
10/05/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/175uVENf5E/

"There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution."

John Adams Letter to Jonathan Jackson 2 October 1789

Image courtesy of National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/adam/learn/historyculture/john-adams-1735-1826.htm

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17MC7X5M8E/
10/01/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17MC7X5M8E/

We've been asked if we are open during a federal government shutdown. As a private, nonprofit organization, Monticello’s operations are not affected by government shutdowns and will remain open.

As a reminder, Monticello receives no ongoing governmental support. We instead rely on the support of visitors like you and the generosity of our donors to accomplish our dual mission of preservation and education. We look forward to seeing you on the mountaintop.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/176vL8ZJuo/
09/25/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/176vL8ZJuo/

Ezekiel Loney successfully was able to seek his freedom during the War of 1812.

He went to the British and become a Colonial Marine. He trained at Tangier Island and fought in battles around Washington D.C. and Baltimore in the fall of 1814. Loney was eventually promoted to rank sergeant of the 4th Company.

After the war, nearly 700 formerly enslaved African Americans were resettled in Trinidad, including Loney. The descendent community refers to themselves as "Merikins," a term derived from "American" that recognizes and honors both the community's historical and cultural connections to the United States and the legacy of their self-emancipating ancestors.

There are so many amazing stories about people taking the risk to seek their freedom, Ezekiel Loney is just one of many. More stories are being discovered.

Learn more about Ezekiel Loney >> https://www.nps.gov/people/ezekiel-loney.htm

Learn more about Colonial Marines >> https://www.nps.gov/stsp/learn/historyculture/colonial-marines.htm

Learn more about "The Merikins" that were resettled in Trinidad >> https://www.nps.gov/stsp/learn/historyculture/merikins.htm



📸The image is an illustration of Colonial Marines drill at Fort Albion on Tangier Island, VA. (c) Gerry Embleton

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CRDyfDPtS/
09/11/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CRDyfDPtS/

My fellow citizens,

In my perusal of this vast repository of knowledge known as the Internet, and the various discourses therein concerning my life and actions, I have made three observations worthy of note.

Firstly, when individuals mistakenly assert that I fathered children by those in bo***ge, they invariably invoke a scientific inquiry into lineage — what is termed a DNA study. Yet, when one more versed in the particulars inquires whether this study's findings yielded a definitive conclusion, the response is ever a subdued admission: "No, the DNA results were not conclusive." Truth, it seems, is less pliable than their hasty judgments.

I oft perceive that whilst my critics concede the paternity of such claims cannot be legally affirmed, they yet proclaim, from an academic and historical perch, that I stand guilty. This doth imply their standards be lamentably low, for the rigorous measure of the law, where learned advocates hold sway, towers above the feeble judgments of my detractors. Is this not, I ask, a most pitiable state of affairs?

Secondly, I perceive that Alexander Hamilton holds a favored place in the esteem of many in these times. It brings me satisfaction to see Mr. Hamilton receiving his just recognition in these times. Unbeknownst to many in this age, I bear him no ill will, for though our paths diverged in matters of principle, they were earnest strivings of men devoted to the public good. But permit me to inquire: who, between Hamilton and myself, proved the truer advocate for the abolition of slavery? Those acquainted with the annals of our era recognize that I stood more resolutely in that cause, even to the point of incurring reproach from Hamilton's Federalist allies, who deemed me a concealed abolitionist.

Thirdly, questions arise as to why the domain bearing my name, ThomasJefferson.com, is presented from my own personal perspective rather than through the ostensibly neutral voice of a third party. We must acknowledge that third parties are not invariably impartial; many conceal private designs and prejudices. In contrast, a personal undertaking such as ThomasJefferson.com draws its authority from an abundance of my own letters and documents, free from such distortions. Indeed, I venture that this endeavor has conducted more original inquiry and assembled a greater trove of facts than numerous contemporary biographies, which oft merely reprise the works of others.

At the heart of it, the reason ThomasJefferson.com speaks in my voice is this: I desire that all should know I, Thomas Jefferson, remain alive in this year of 2025. I would have my detractors confront me directly, eye to eye. Were we to share the same chamber, I suspect they would not so boldly level accusations founded upon meager proofs. Assuming me consigned to the grave, they regard my memory as fair game for calumny, erecting their reputations upon fabrications born of their own skewed, extreme, and oft perverse inclinations. The crux of the matter lies in their presumption of my silence, rendering me unable to rebut their charges. Yet, I assure you, I am vibrantly alive, and with faithful companions such as yourself, I shall counter these untruths with vigor. For your alliance in this, I offer my profound thanks.

Yours in the pursuit of truth and liberty,

Th:Jefferson

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16CoxCRME1/
08/31/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16CoxCRME1/

The rebellion began in dust and anger. On this day in 1786, Daniel Shays and a band of farmers marched on the courthouse steps in western Massachusetts, muskets slung across shoulders, their faces carved with desperation. They were veterans of Yorktown, men who had fought for liberty and returned home to find their farms seized and their wages worthless. The Revolution had promised freedom, yet here they stood, treated as debtors and outcasts, their land threatened with seizure in the country they had bled to create. But now Shays’ men barred the judges from entering. “There will be no court today,” they declared. For a moment, the fragile American experiment seemed ready to unravel in the very fields it was meant to protect.

The rebellion exposed what men like James Madison already knew: the Articles of Confederation had created not a nation but a hollow frame, a “league of friendship” incapable of governing itself. The Continental Congress could neither tax nor regulate trade; it could not even pay the soldiers who had won independence. Farmers demanded relief, only to be met with silence. In Massachusetts, the state demanded hard coin—silver and gold—instead of the depreciated paper currency that war veterans had been paid with. Foreclosure and ruin swept across the countryside. When petitions failed, the farmers picked up their muskets.

The insurrection deepened through the winter, culminating in January 1787 at Springfield. Shays’ followers, nearly a thousand strong, advanced on the federal arsenal, hoping to seize its weapons and ignite a broader uprising. But the state militia, funded not by Congress but by Boston merchants, stood ready. Cannon thundered across the snow, and four rebels fell. The rest fled in panic. Shays himself escaped into Vermont, and the rebellion collapsed. Yet though it failed militarily, its political aftershocks were seismic. To many Americans, the message was unmistakable: without a stronger government, anarchy would rule.

For Madison and Hamilton, Shays’ Rebellion was providence disguised as crisis. At Annapolis, their calls for reform had been ignored; now they had proof written in smoke and grapeshot. Henry Knox fanned the flames with reports that painted Shays’ men as wild levellers bent on tearing society apart. “We must not be left to wonder,” Hamilton thundered, “whether our government can survive its own people.” With fear on their side, the nationalists pressed Congress to authorize a convention in Philadelphia—ostensively to patch the Articles, but these men planned to replace them.

The convention that followed was less a debate than a crucible. George Washington, coaxed from retirement, presided in solemn silence. Madison arrived with the Virginia Plan already in hand, a blueprint for an entirely new government—two houses of Congress, an executive, and a federal judiciary. The debates were ferocious, the compromises bitter, but by September 1787, the delegates had drafted a charter unlike any seen before. It was not born of consensus but of necessity, hammered together in the knowledge that failure meant dissolution. When Franklin left Independence Hall, he told a curious passerby that the delegates had given America “a republic—if you can keep it.”

That republic was secured partly because a thousand farmers in western Massachusetts dared to rise against their government. Shays’ Rebellion could easily have been a forgotten footnote, a failed insurrection crushed by cannon fire. Instead, it became the spark that burned away the Articles of Confederation and forced the creation of the Constitution. Out of debt and despair emerged the framework that still governs the United States, the oldest written constitution still in operation. Its endurance lies not in perfection, but in its paradox: a government strong enough to rule, yet constrained enough to be argued over forever, sovereignty divided among different branches and with states. The argument, as Madison realized, would never end. That was its genius. And the argument continues.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CnisBZThm/
08/27/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CnisBZThm/

Did you know a single war doubled the size of the U.S. overnight? Discover how the Mexican-American War turned the tide for American expansion and changed the nation's destiny forever—full of heroism, conflict, and unexpected twists that still echo today!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CWfMipTEq/
08/17/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CWfMipTEq/

Did You Know? The first meeting of the Supreme Court took place on February 1, 1790 at the Royal Exchange in New York City, when it was the nation’s temporary capital. Explore Americana Corner's latest series on the creation of the judiciary branch to learn more about the early American court system. Visit https://www.americanacorner.com/blog and subscribe to follow along.

Pictured: The first Merchant's Exchange. Erected 1752, Taken down, 1799. Courtesy of The New York Public Library.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BCnDGMJEk/
08/13/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BCnDGMJEk/

Meanwhile, back at the Constitutional Convention:

James Madison saw no end in sight in 1787. He wrote to his father: “It is not possible yet to determine the period to which the Session will be spun out. It must be some weeks from this date at least, and possibly may be computed by months.” Despite his misgivings, the delegates managed to complete the work just 5 weeks later.

Bruce Herbert photo, courtesy of Montpelier.

Address

1461 Rhode Island Avenue, N. W
Washington D.C., DC
20005

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 3pm
Thursday 10am - 3pm

Telephone

+12027451812

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when National Society United States Daughters of 1812 posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to National Society United States Daughters of 1812:

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category