115 years ago today, a movement that once symbolized all that was good about America began with the founding of the Boy Scouts of America.
But what started as a call to teach young men self-reliance, duty, and honor has spiraled into a cautionary tale of how wokeness can unravel even the most beloved institutions.
From soaring membership to devastating bankruptcy and a recent rebrand to “Scouting America,” the BSA’s dramatic fall from grace serves as a stark warning for what happens when values are compromised.
The Foundation of the Boy Scouts of America
In 1907, a former British Army Officer, Sir Robert Baden-Powell began the Scout movement in England. His desire was to teach young boys duty to God, family, and community. He emphasized self-reliance as boys grew into young men, and taught the skills needed to survive outdoors.
The techniques Powell used in the military inspired him to write the manual, Scouting for Boys, which became a worldwide foundational document for scouting.
In 1909, American newspaper man William D. Boyce was aided by a lad while seeking his hotel on a London street. The young man who provided the good turn refused a tip from Boyce, explaining he was a Boy Scout. Boyce was intrigued by the concept, sought information about the organization, and obtained a copy of Scouting for Boys. Four months later, February 8, 1910, he founded the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).
With the support of prominent advocates like Theodore Roosevelt, the organization grew quickly, and by 1915 it had over 200,000 members. By the mid-1920’s, they hit the one million member mark.
The Boy Scouts became a pillar of American society and came to symbolize all that was good about America. “Scout’s Honor” was among the highest assurance one could give of their integrity of intentions.
Scouting formed relationships with the country’s prominent religions, businesses, and civic groups. They became a favorite place for endowments, and gifts by the wealthy.
A prime example was the 1938 gift of a ranch and wilderness owned by Tulsa oil tycoon Waite Phillips. Waite was one of the key figures behind the creation of the Phillips Petroleum Company, which later became part of Phillips 66. Located near Cimarron, New Mexico, in a range of the Rocky Mountains, the gift would eventually total 140,177 acres (219 square miles) and became known as the Philmont Scout Ranch. It is still the world’s largest youth camp.
Engrained in Americana
The Boy Scouts became so engrained in American culture that they were a favorite subject of American painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell. Over a span of 47 years, Rockwell produced iconic covers for the immensely popular weekly magazine the Saturday Evening Post, and on many occasions, the covers featured the Boy Scouts.
Rockwell’s paintings depicted various scouting activities and reflected both the core values and spirit of scouting. For over 30 years, Rockwell produced illustrations that were used in the scouting magazine Boys’ Life and their yearly calendar.
Scouting’s highest award, that of Eagle Scout, has been achieved by some of our nation’s greatest leaders in politics, religion, the military, business, and even Hollywood.
Prominent Eagle Scouts have included such names as Neil Armstrong, Sam Walton, Mike Rowe, Clive Cussler, Elon Musk, and even Steven Spielberg.
Scouting in America reached its peak membership of 6.5 million members in 1972. This was during a period of significant growth in the organization.
But in recent decades, there has been a precipitous decline in membership, public image, and influence.
A once-great American institution derailed by wokeness
Initial moves toward political correctness by scouting leadership began in the 1990s when various area councils were pressured to remove Confederate Generals’ images from the patches worn on their shoulders. The Robert E. Lee Council, and the Stonewall Jackson Council, both from Virginia, were among those affected.
Eventually, all Councils with any connection in their names to the Southern side of the Civil War were forced to change their Council names. The Lee Council was renamed the Heart of Virginia Council, as an example.
Not satisfied, scouting national leadership began a pressure campaign that resulted in the removal of all Confederate battle flags from Council patches throughout the deep south.
The national leadership of the Boy Scouts then set-upon a destructive course that lost touch with the values that made scouting great.
The organization’s governing board held dozens of corporate CEOs who brought with them the politically correct (woke) values of the businesses they guided.
The scouts would be plagued by a number of membership controversies.
In 2013, the board voted to allow gay youth into their ranks.
In 2015, the board voted to allow gay men to become adult leaders.
In 2017, the Board voted to allow transgender boys to become members. The same year girls were allowed into the organization.
These changes would all produce significant blow-back. Many of these decisions created a wedge between the Scouts and the many churches that sponsored troops.
In 2018, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) announced it would sever ties with the Boy Scouts. They were the largest sponsor of scout troops in the country, and had 420,000 boys and leaders involved in scouting. When they left, 20% of the total Boy Scout membership went with them.
And in 2018, the Girl Scouts of the USA filed a lawsuit against the BSA for their policy of allowing girls as members. The Girl Scouts argued that this move was an attempt by the Boy Scouts to “steal” their brand and their established membership base by recruiting girls.
Ultimately, in February 2020, the Boy Scouts declared bankruptcy because of sexual abuse claims. In 2022, the BSA agreed to a $2.46 billion settlement to compensate survivors of sexual abuse while engaged in scouting. Some 82,500 valid claims were identified after a thorough vetting process by the Scouting Settlement Trust, the body set up by the court to oversee claims.
To help pay the settlement and emerge from bankruptcy, the BSA sold office buildings, art collections, oil, gas, and mineral leases, and local councils across the country sold scout camps and properties.
Even the venerated Philmont Scout Ranch had a mortgage taken out on it.
Today in History – the Boy Scouts are no more
Today, February 8, 2025, the Boy Scouts officially rebranded their name to “Scouting America”, dropping the word “Boy” from their name. The move is intended to celebrate their inclusiveness.
Meanwhile, alternatives for boys have emerged. The faith-based organization Trail Life, with its troops centered in many Christian churches, is in its 11th year. It has a membership of over 60,000 boys in 1,000 troops found in all 50 states. Former scout leaders, upset with the direction of the BSA, started the organization.
The LDS Church has also started their own form of scouting.
The Boy Scouts of America have not learned anything through this process. They are now engaged in a process of examining traditions and practices that critics say misappropriate Native American culture. An example would be the scouting fraternity, The Order of the Arrow.
The tragic implosion of the Boy Scouts has led to membership of just over 1 million youth today.
It is “Exhibit A” that wokeness destroys everything it touches.
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