Boy Scouts of America
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- This article is about the national organization. For the Boy Scout program within the BSA see Boy Scouts (Boy Scouts of America).
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is an organization designed for boys between the ages of 7 and 17 and for both young men and women between the ages of 14 and 21<ref name="venturerage">Venturer Application 28-303K: Venturers registered in a crew or ship prior to their 21st birthday may continue as members after their 21st birthday until the crew or ship recharters or they reach their 22nd birthday, whichever comes first.</ref>, based in the United States of America, with some presence in other countries. As of the end of 2004, the program was serving 3,145,331 youth with 1,173,064 leaders in 126,232 units.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The BSA has three program divisions, administered at the national level by committees of professionals and volunteers:
Cub Scouts provides service to boys from first-grade through fifth-grade, or 7–10 years old and their families. The Cub Scout program uses a fun and challenging system to achieve the aims of character development, citizenship training, and personal fitness. The program is divided into age based programs of Tiger Cubs, Wolf Cubs, Bear Cubs and Webelos Scouts.
Boy Scouts are the flagship program of the BSA for boys 10–17. The program uses a system of outdoor activities to achieve the aims of Scouting. Varsity Scouts are a modified Boy Scout program available to boys from 14–17 that adds a system of high adventure and sporting activities that should appeal to the older boy. The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the Boy Scout national honor society for experienced campers, based on Native American traditions, and dedicated to the ideal of cheerful service.
Venturing is the program for young men and women ages 14–21.<ref name="venturerage" /> Its purpose is to provide positive experiences to help youth mature and to prepare them to become responsible adults. It is based on a unique and dynamic relationship between youth, adult leaders, and organizations in their communities. Sea Scouts are the nautical oriented part of this division.
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Ideals
Image:OnMyHonor4k.jpg The BSA is the largest youth organization in the United States; over one hundred million Americans have been members. Its educational programs for boys and young adults aim to build character, participatory citizenship, and personal fitness. This purpose is carried on primarily through outdoor activities such as camping and hiking. There is an emphasis on personal development through community service, leadership, and individual challenge. These principles are reflected in the Scout Oath, Law, Motto and Slogan.
- The Scout Motto
- Be Prepared.
- The Scout Slogan
- Do a Good Turn Daily.
- The Scout Oath
- On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
- The Scout Law
- A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
- The Outdoor Code
- As an American, I will do my best to be clean in my outdoor manners, be careful with fire, be considerate in the outdoors, and be conservation-minded.
- The Scout Sign
- The upper arm is held horizontally out to the right side, and the forearm is held vertically. The palm of the hand faces forward, with the tips of the little finger and thumb joined.
- The Scout Salute
- The hand is held in the same configuration as is used for the Scout Sign, with the tip of the index finger (pointer) touching the forehead or hat brim. This is a modification of the salute used by military organizations around the world.
- The Scout Handshake
- This is the traditional handshake done with the left hand instead of the right. Several conflicting reasons have been given for this modification:
- The left hand is closer to one's heart.
- A soldier must keep his right hand free to grab his weapon.
- In warfare using simple weapons (practiced in the medieval period, as well as by the Ashanti people who Baden-Powell met in West Africa), a warrior carries a shield in his left hand. To shake with the left hand, he must drop his shield, indicating good faith.Template:Ref
- The Southern African tribes also held a belief that shaking with the right hand did not denote trust, as it prevented the person from using their strong hand in attack, and were reported to refuse Baden-Powell's first attempt at shaking hands with the right handTemplate:Fact.
The BSA Scout Oath and Law have remained unchanged since they were first developed in 1910.
History
The BSA 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.
The BSA 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, met a boy who showed him the way to his destination and the boy then refused an offer of payment for his services. 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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.)
Boyce returned to the United States and, with 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.
In 1910, Seton, Beard, Baden-Powell, Boyce, Charles Eastman, 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.
Rival organizations
The BSA had many rival organizations in its early days, including:
- 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.
Growth
In 1911, the BSA 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).
In 1912, Sea Scouting became an official program. Sea Scouting is now part of the Venturing (Boy Scouts of America) program of the BSA 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.
Boy Scouts have served at every presidential inauguration since Woodrow Wilson's in 1913.
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:
Image:Scout colors3.png: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.
Colin Livingstone, a friend of William D. Boyce and an officer with First National Bank in Washington, D.C. was the BSA's first National President.
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 1930, Cub Scouting became an official program for boys aged 8 to 11. Cub Scouting is a year-round family program in which parents, leaders, and organizations work together to achieve the goals of character development, citizenship training, and physical and mental fitness. Cub Scouting was expanded in the 1980s to include first graders. Cub Scouting is the largest of the BSA's three programs, accounting for more than half of the youth membership of the Boy Scouts of America.
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 1948. It was instituted all over the world and is still in use today.
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.
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.
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.
The Order of the Arrow is a Scouting Honor Society which began in 1915 in Treasure Island, one of the oldest continuously operated Boy Scout camps 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.
National Council of the Boy Scouts of America
The National Council of the BSA is registered as a non-profit private corporation and is funded from private donations, membership dues, corporate sponsors, and special events. The National Council is led by the National Executive Board, a volunteer board of directors that is directed by the national president. Paid professional Scouters perform the administrative tasks of the organization as directed by the Chief Scout Executive— a position currently held by Roy Williams. The National Council develops programs, sets standards for training, provides for leadership selection, sets uniform policies, maintains registration records, develops supporting literature, establishes advancement standards.<ref>Template:Cite web.</ref> The National Office is currently located in Irving, Texas.
BSA publishes two magazines: Scouting is targeted towards adult leaders while Boys' Life is for the youth.
Divisions
There are several divisions that provide support and service to the main Scouting program:
The ScoutReach Division <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> emphasizes service to rural and urban areas, and includes the American Indian Scouting Association and the Scouting - Vale La Pena<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> program for Hispanic youth. The High Adventure Division administers Philmont Scout Ranch, Northern Tier National High Adventure Bases and Florida National High Adventure Sea Base. Jamboree Division provides support for the world and national jamborees. The International Division is responsible for relations with other Scout and Guide organizations. It includes the Interamerican Scout Foundation<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Direct Service. The Relationships Division<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is responsible for non-Scouting relations outside the BSA, including the AFL-CIO, Elks, VFW and all religious associations and awards. Supply Division is responsible for uniforms and apparel, insignia, literature and equipment. It includes the National Supply Group that sells equipment through Scout Shops, authorized resellers and the online ScoutStuff.org<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>.
The Marketing and Communications Division, Finance Support Division, Human Resources Administration Division, Professional Development Division, Compensation and Benifits Division and Information Services Division provide internal administrative service and support.
Finance
In 2004, BSA ranked as the 12th-largest non-profit organization in the US, with total revenues of $771 million.
The American Institute of Philanthropy lists the Chief Scout Executive as having the fourth-highest compensation of any nonprofit chief in the United States, at a total of $913,022Template:Ref. However, when measured relative to the BSA's entire budget, the Chief Scout Executive's pay measures at 0.26% of total expenses, whereas the national average among charities stands at 0.34%.Template:Ref The Chief Scout Executive was honored in August 2005 as one of the top fifty most effective non-profit leaders by Non-Profit Times. High-level BSA executives' pay is in line with similar non-profit corporations.Template:Ref
By comparison, the Chief Executive Officer of the similar Girl Scouts of the USA earns 0.39% of total expenses; however, the American Institute of Philanthropy does not rank this as one of the top 20 compensation packages.
Regions, areas, local councils and districts
Image:RegionMap copy.jpg The BSA is divided into four regions. Each region is subdivided into areas, about six per region. These are then divided into a total of 304 local councils.
Councils are the main administrative districts used by the BSA. A council is headed by a paid professional known as the Scout executive (sometimes called council executive), the council president (a volunteer), and the council commissioner (also a volunteer). Together, these three leaders are known as the Key 3.
Councils are generally subdivided into districts that consist of the local units: packs, troops, teams, crews and ships.
The BSA maintains two councils for Scouts who live overseas, largely on military bases in Europe and Asia. The Transatlantic Council, headquartered in Germany, serves US Scouts in much of Europe, and the Far East Council, headquartered in Japan, serves several nations in the western Pacific. Additionally, the Direct Service branch makes the Scouting program available to US citizens and their dependents living in countries outside these jurisdictions or in isolated areas. The Aloha Council services the American territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas Islands and also provides Scouting to the sovereign countries of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau.
Good Turns
In 1912, Scouts began the first of a series of Good Turns that included the promotion of a safe and sane Fourth of July. Scouts rendered aid during the 1921 floods in Pueblo, Colorado and San Antonio, Texas. President Roosevelt delivered a radio address in 1934 appealing for assitance for the distressed and needy: Scouts responded by collecting almost two millions items of clothing, household furnishings, foodstuffs, and supplies.
The National Conservation Good Turn in 1954 saw Scouts distribute 3.6 million conservation posters, 6.2 million trees, build and place 55,000 bird-nesting boxes, and arrange 41,000 conservation displays. During the height of the Cold War in 1958, the BSA delivered 40 million Civil Defense emergency handbooks and distributed 50,000 posters.
1986 saw the Donor Awareness Good Turn: 600,000 youth members distribute 14 million brochures to families, informing them of the needs for organ donations. In 1997, the President of the United States called for an increase in voluteer service in the US. The BSA developed the Service to America program with a commitment to provide 200 million hours of service by youth members by the end of the year 2000. As part of Service to America, the BSA provided service projects in conjunction with the National Park Service (NPS). In October 2003, the Department of the Interior expanded the program with the creation of the Take Pride in America<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> program, opening service to all Americans.
The BSA developed Good Turn for America<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in 2004 as a program to address the problems of hunger, homelessness and inadequate housing and poor health in conjuctions with the Salvation Army, American Red Cross, and Habitat for Humanity.
Advancement and recogniton
Uniform
Other United States Scout organizations
Other Scout organizations in the United States include:
- Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego (ZHP) is a Scout organization of Polish emigrés, not connected with the Polish organization of the same name (see ZHP), and not aligned to a supranational organization.
- The BSA had a Rover Scouting program for many years, but the Rovers are now virtually defunct.
Controversy
The BSA has certain highly controversial policies which prohibit gays and atheists from participation in their organization. The BSA and its supporters argue that these policies are essential in its mission to "instill in young people lifetime values and develop in them ethical character". Critics contend that these policies amount to discrimination and bigotry.
The organization's right to set such policies has been upheld repeatedly by both state and federal courts. Moreover, in 2000, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed that the Boy Scouts of America is a private organization which can set its own membership standards.
See also
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- More information about the BSA:
- Learning for Life
Other Organizations that are like the BSA
Footnotes
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References
<references/>
- National BSA homepage
- Scouting Magazine:
- Peterson, Robert (October 1998). The BSA's 'forgotten' founding father. Scouting Magazine.
- Peterson, Robert (January-February 2001). America's Best-Known Scouter. Scouting Magazine.
- United States Rovers
External links
- Boy Scout Trail extensive collection of Scouting awards, activities, games, skits, songs, and information.
- Merit Badge.com A volunteer run site listing up to date information on all the current merit badges.
- U. S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. large collection of Scouting resource materials available online and assembled by volunteer Scouters without pay.
- Scouting The Net contains links to thousands of Scouting related sites.
- List of chartered organizations
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