Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is an organization for boys between the ages of 7 and 18, and for both young men and women between the ages of 14 and 21, based in the United States of America, with some presence in other countries. BSA is part of the global Scouting movement and national member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. More than 110 million boys have passed through the organization.

Early history

Establishment

The Boy Scouts of America was inspired by and modeled on the Boy Scouts, established by Robert Baden-Powell in Britain in 1907. It also borrowed ideas from Sir Ernest Thompson Seton, the YMCA, and a number of other "Scouting" organizations for boys that had sprung up in the decade of the 1900s in the United States and abroad.

Related Topics:
Boy Scouts - Robert Baden-Powell - 1907 - Ernest Thompson Seton - YMCA - 1900s

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The Boy Scouts of America was established in 1910 by William D. Boyce. The story of how Boyce came to be interested in Scouting has appeared in various forms. All versions agree on the following: Boyce, a publisher from Chicago, was lost in London's famous fog when he was met by a boy who showed him the way to his destination; the boy then refused an offer of payment for his services.

Related Topics:
1910 - William D. Boyce - Chicago - London - Fog

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Some versions claim that Boyce actually knew about Scouting before this event, that the place he was seeking in the fog was actually Scouting headquarters, and that he had in fact come to London to learn more about the organization. (Baden-Powell was associated with the British YMCA; news of the Boy Scouts had reached the U.S. through this organization.) Some assert that the boy vanished into the fog after refusing Boyce's money and never saw him again, but others declare that the two arranged another meeting, so that the boy could show Boyce to the headquarters. Still others hold that the boy was uniformed at the time. The truth of the matter is shrouded in years of Scouting legend and may never be known for sure.

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Boyce returned to the United States and, with two other businessmen, Edward S. Stewart and Stanley D. Willis, incorporated the Boy Scouts of America on February 8. The first troop was Troop 1, based at a YMCA. Edgar Robinson, an important administrator of the YMCA in Chicago, agreed to help Boyce organize the Boy Scouts as a national organization.

Related Topics:
Edward S. Stewart - Stanley D. Willis - Edgar Robinson - Chicago

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In 1910, Seton, Beard, Baden-Powell, Boyce, Robinson and others called a national meeting of people involved in youth work. The first national officers of the BSA were selected. It was agreed that the President of the United States (then William Howard Taft) was to be the Honorary President of the BSA, a tradition that is still followed today.

Related Topics:
1910 - President of the United States - William Howard Taft

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Rival organizations

The BSA had many rival organizations in its early days, including:

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• the American Boy Scouts, (later "United States Boy Scouts") founded by William Randolph Hearst;
• the National Scouts of America, affiliated with a military school and headed by Colonel Peter Bomus;
• the Peace Scouts of California;
• the YMCA Scouts;
• the YMCA Indian Guides;
• the Rhode Island Boy Scouts;
• the Leatherstocking Scouts;
• the Sons of Daniel Boone, founded by Daniel Carter Beard, who became associated with the BSA soon afterward;
• the Woodcraft Indians, founded by Ernest Thompson Seton, who met Baden-Powell in person in 1906 also soon became influential in the BSA;

The Woodcraft Indians and the Sons of Daniel Boone eventually merged with Boyce's organization; the consolidation was complete by the late 1910s. Most of the other rival organizations would also merge with the BSA.

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Growth

In 1911, the Boy Scouts of America published the first American Boy Scout manual ("Handbook for Boys"), a revision of Seton's version. The American version of the Scout Oath and Law first appeared here. (The British version was a pledge of allegiance to the King.) James E. West wrote the Scout Oath, and added three points to the British version of the Scout Law (brave, clean and reverent).

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In 1912, Sea Scouting became an official program. Sea Scouting is now part of the Venturing program of the Boy Scouts of America focused primarily on maritime activities. Boys' Life magazine also began in 1912, and continues today to be the official Boy Scout magazine. In 1913, the Scouting magazine for leaders started.

Related Topics:
1912 - Sea Scouting - Venturing - 1913

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Boy Scouts have served at every presidential inauguration since Woodrow Wilson's in 1913.

Related Topics:
Woodrow Wilson - 1913

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Paul Sleman, Colin H. Livingstone, Ernest S. Martin and James E. West successfully lobbied Congress for a federal charter for BSA, which President Woodrow Wilson signed on June 15, 1916. It reads:

Related Topics:
Paul Sleman - Colin H. Livingstone - Ernest S. Martin - James E. West - Charter - Woodrow Wilson - June 15 - 1916

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:That the purpose of this corporation shall be to promote, through organization and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in Scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods which are now in common use by Boy Scouts.

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Also in 1916, Baden-Powell organized Wolf Cubs in Britain, for boys too young for the Boy Scouts (minimum age twelve at the time). In BSA, Wolf Cubs became Cub Scouts in the 1930s.

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In 1919 Baden-Powell began a training program called Wood Badge for adult leaders in Scouting. The BSA would not fully implement this training until much later. It was instituted all over the world and is still in use today.

Related Topics:
1919 - Wood Badge

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In 1920 the first International Scout Jamboree, a gathering of scouts from all over the world, was held in London. Jamborees are currently held every four years, in varying countries. It will never be held in the United States because BSA, in contrast to numerous other Scouting organizations around the globe, accepts female youth members only within its Venturing Division, and not in the Cub Scout or Boy Scout divisions.

Related Topics:
1920 - International Scout Jamboree

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In 1937, oil magnate Waite Phillips donated to the BSA a large tract of land in the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico. This is now the Philmont Scout Ranch.

Related Topics:
1937 - Waite Phillips - Rocky Mountains - New Mexico - Philmont Scout Ranch

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American composer Irving Berlin assigned the royalties from his song "God Bless America" to the BSA, earning millions for the organization over the ensuing decades.

Related Topics:
Irving Berlin - God Bless America

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The Order of the Arrow is a Scouting Honor Society which began in 1915 in Treasure Island, the oldest continually operated Boy Scout camp in the country. The Order of the Arrow was officially recognized by the National Council in 1936 and became fully integrated into the BSA in 1948.

Related Topics:
Order of the Arrow - Treasure Island

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