The history of scoutings beginnings and how scouting came to America is a fascinating subject. We first must understand the basics of youth organizations at the turn of the 20th century. In 1844, George Williams founded the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in England. The youth of the age ware struggling to establish there generation. George Williams organization was to help develop a healthy body, mind, and spirit. In 1900 Baden-Powel authored “Aids to Scouting For NCOs & Men”. This book was quickly picked up by youth groups all over England. In the United States, Ernest Seton in 1902 founded Woodcraft Indians. The book “The Berch-Bark Rolls of the Woodcraft Indians” was the foundation of their organization. In 1905 Daniel Beard founded Sons of Daniel Boone. Baden-Powell or ‘BP’ (as he preferred) conducted the Brown Sea Island camp experiment in 1907. B-P author “Scouting For Boys” that same year. By 1908 the first Scout Troops in Britain were well established.
At around that time William D Boyce an American newspaperman was lost in the fog of London when a Scout offered to help. This act of kindness (good turn) impressed him to research Scouting and bring it back to America. On February 8,1910 the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was incorporated. Boyce, Seton, Beard, Charles Eastman (YMCA – Dakota Native American) established the foundation. Boyce developed the organization with Edgar Robinson (YMCA) and Lee Hanmer (Later Camp Fire Girls 1912) In 1911 James West became the first Chief Scout Executive. The United States Congress passed a Congressional Charter in 1916 officially establishing The Boy Scouts of America (BSA).
The mission statement then and now is basically the same:
“To prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.”
🌎 About the Boy Scouts of America: https://www.scouting.org/about/
🌎 The Man Who Got Lost in the Fog: https://scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0110/d-wwas.html
🌐 Wikipedia – History of the Boy Scouts of America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Boy_Scouts_of_America
🌎 Boy Scouts Movement Begins: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/boy-scouts-movement-begins
🌎 BSA Description and History: http://www.usscouts.org/aboutbsa/bsahistory.asp
🌎 BSA Mission & Vision: https://www.scouting.org/legal/mission/
