Daughters Of The American Revolution Doubles Down On Letting Men Infiltrate Its Ranks Against Members’ Wishes

Men are allowed to continue infiltrating the ranks of the oldest female-only genealogical society in the nation after its national chapter voted to reject an amendment proposal that would have limited membership to women.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) sent a letter to one of its Texas-based chapters on Saturday claiming a proposed amendment that would reinforce the organization’s female-only admission requirements was rejected by the DAR board.

The proposal from the Martha Laird Chapter in Mt. Pleasant, Texas and close to a dozen endorsing chapters not only sought to define woman as “a biological female at conception, having only naturally occurring X chromosomes, exclusive of Y chromosomes, and certified as female or girl on the original birth certificate” but also require society applicants to submit a “chromosomal DNA test” or “a notarized, sworn statement affirming the birth certificate submitted is an unaltered, unamended original document indicating female or girl.”

Leaders in the Martha Laird Chapter submitted the proposal in January after they received confirmation from the Center for American Liberty that the DAR “is likely an expressive association” that “would have a strong First Amendment defense” if it was sued for only admitting women. They hoped that the proposal could make it through the DAR’s internal bylaw procedure and satisfy the national chapter’s fears about losing its nonprofit status over allegations of discrimination enough to receive a national vote at the organization’s 2025 summer Continental Congress.

The DAR’s National Board of Management, however, claimed the proposed bylaw amendment was “not … suitable subject matter for inclusion in the bylaws and not to be in the best interests of the National Society,” and refused to forward it to the Continental Congress.

In its statement to members, the NBM downplayed the movement to preserve the society’s women-only history by noting the chapters that initiated the proposal represent 738 members or “less than one-half of one percent” of the DAR’s total membership.

Martha Laird Chapter Recording Secretary Laura McDonald told The Federalist that the NBM’s decision to shut down the conversation left her chapter “disappointed but not discouraged.”

“The rejection by the National Board of Management of our proposal to define a woman in our bylaws sadly confirms what we knew along – that leadership is taking a political stance which is not based on fears of the loss of 501(c)(3) nonprofit status,” McDonald told The Federalist.

Center for American Liberty also released a statement condemning DAR leadership for choosing to “bow to political pressures, despite the strong legal protections in place.”

“It’s ridiculous that we’re having to talk about this, having to fight so hard to keep our women’s society free of men,” McDonald said.

Resignation or Restoration?

The DAR was created in 1890 because the 1889 Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) voted to exclude women from their patriotic organization. To this day, SAR firmly limits its membership to males. The DAR, on the other hand, officially amended its policies with “additional non-discrimination language” in 2023 which opened the door to include transgender members.

An internal DAR document initially sent out in October 2024 and obtained by The Federalist goes so far as to claim that “a transgender woman is not a man” and is “also not a man simply dressed as a woman.” The FAQ also appears to dissuade local chapters from using discretion when awarding membership if that will violate the male-accommodating bylaws.

Since the 2023 shift, more than a dozen DAR chapters across the U.S. have followed the society’s internal policy process in an attempt to change the bylaws to reflect its standing as a female-only organization. Those attempts, however, failed at the feet of the national chapter which refuses to budge on its concessions for confused men in costumes.

National DAR’s repeated rejection of the organization’s core tenet that applicants be women who “prove lineal, bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence,” prompted an exodus of thousands of loyal DAR members. Between July 1, 2023, shortly after the DAR promoted its “inclusive” and “welcoming” approach to male membership, and October 9, 2024, 6,469 total women departed from the DAR, according to internal records.

Members like McDonald, however, have stayed with the hopes that they can preserve the DAR’s mission.

“We members who make up the society, the bread and butter, the ones who just care about serving the community, honoring veterans, Wreaths Across America, why should we cede this historic institution to these women who have an agenda ultimately destroying it?” McDonald said. “It’s a cultural battle. I feel very compelled to fight, to preserve and restore this American institution. I think we should be a beacon to give some clarity during this time of confusion.”

DAR is explicitly a “non-political” organization. The organization’s fierce commitment to ignoring its members who wish to preserve the integrity of the society and its female-centric founding, McDonald said, has not discouraged her chapter from taking action.

“We don’t want to disparage the DAR. We don’t want to tear it down. We want we love it. We want to preserve it and restore it. But we’re in a really strange predicament of having to call out our leaders,” she said.

The Martha Laird members are expected to vote at their next meeting in March on a new proposal that McDonald says she believes will “accommodate the concerns the NBOM addressed in their rejection letter.”

“We have a chance to restore the DAR and it’s worth saving. I look at the DAR like it’s a little microcosm of America. It’s definitely something that’s worthy of saving and not just giving up,” McDonald said.

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Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.

The Federalist