The Charge
The charge is outlined in Article Two - Objects of the Constitution of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution:
“. . . to foster true patriotism; to maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom and to carry out the purposes expressed in the preamble of the Constitution of our country and the injunctions on Washington in his Farwell address to the American people. “
Preamble of the U.S. Constitution:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
George Washington’s Farewell Address: (Summary from the U.S. Senate)
“In this letter to “Friends and Citizens,” Washington warned that the forces of geographical sectionalism, political factionalism, and interference by foreign powers in the nation's domestic affairs threatened the stability of the Republic. He urged Americans to subordinate sectional jealousies to common national interests.”
No U.S. Senate tradition has been more steadfastly maintained than the annual reading of President George Washington’s 1796 Farewell Address. The Senate tradition began on February 22, 1862, as a morale-boosting gesture during the darkest days of the Civil War.