Boy Scouts of America, doing business as Scouting America, is the largest Scouting organization and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Since its founding in 1910, about 130 million Americans have participated in its programs, which are served by more than 400,000 adult volunteers. It is a founding member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
The stated mission of Scouting America is 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". Youth are trained in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance through participation in a wide range of outdoor activities, educational programs, and, at older age levels, career-oriented programs in partnership with community organizations. For younger members, the Scout method is part of the program to instill typical Scouting values such as trustworthiness, personal fitness, servant leadership, good citizenship, and outdoors skills through a variety of activities such as camping, aquatics, and hiking.
Scouting America owns four high adventure bases: Northern Tier (Minnesota, Manitoba, and Ontario), Philmont Scout Ranch (New Mexico), Sea Base (Florida Keys, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas), and Summit Bechtel Reserve (West Virginia). Its local councils own hundreds of camps and reservations dedicated to scouts.
The main Scouting programs are Cub Scouts for ages 5 to 10 years, Scouts BSA for ages 11 to 17, Venturing for ages 14 through 20, and Sea Scouts for ages 14 through 20. Scouting America units are operated by chartering local organizations, such as churches, clubs, civic associations, or educational organizations, to implement the Scouting program for youth within their communities. Units are led by volunteers appointed by the chartering organization, who are supported by local councils using both paid professional Scouters and volunteers. Additionally, Learning for Life is an affiliate that provides in-school and career education. All of the organization's programs have been open to girls since 2019, including its flagship Boy Scouts program, which was renamed to Scouts BSA.
Origins
The progressive movement in the United States was at its height during the early 20th century. With the migration of families from farms to cities, there were concerns among some people that young men were no longer learning patriotism, self-reliance, and individualism. Several groups attempted to fill this void. The YMCA was an early promoter of reforms for young men with a focus on social welfare and programs of mental, physical, social and religious development. Others, included the Woodcraft Indians started by Ernest Thompson Seton in 1902 in Cos Cob, Connecticut, and the Sons of Daniel Boone founded by Daniel Carter Beard in 1905 in Cincinnati, Ohio, two notable independent scouting predecessors of Scouting America within the United States.
In 1907, Robert Baden-Powell founded the Scouting movement in England using elements of Seton's works among other influences. In 1909, Chicago publisher W. D. Boyce was visiting London, where he encountered a boy who came to be known as the Unknown Scout. Boyce was lost on a street when an unknown Scout came to his aid, guiding him to his destination. The boy then refused Boyce's tip, explaining that he was a Boy Scout and was merely doing his daily good turn. Interested in the Boy Scouts, Boyce met with staff at the Boy Scouts Headquarters and, by some accounts, Baden-Powell. Upon his return to the US, Boyce was inspired by his experience and incorporated the Boy Scouts of America on February 8, 1910. Edgar M. Robinson and Lee F. Hanmer became interested in the nascent BSA and convinced Boyce to turn the program over to the YMCA for development in April 1910. Robinson enlisted Seton, Beard, Charles Eastman, and other prominent leaders in the early youth movements. Former president Theodore Roosevelt, who had long complained of the decline in American manhood, became an ardent supporter. In January 1911 Robinson turned the movement over to James E. West, who became the first Chief Scout Executive, and Scouting began to expand in the US Among other programs in the US, the Woodcraft Indians and Sons of Daniel Boone eventually merged with the BSA.
Scouting America's stated purpose at its incorporation in 1910 was "to teach [boys] patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred values". Later, in 1937, Deputy Chief Scout Executive George J. Fisher expressed the BSA's mission: "Each generation as it comes to maturity has no more important duty than that of teaching high ideals and proper behavior to the generation which follows." The current mission statement of Scouting America is "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".
At its peak, Scouting America had an active membership of over 4 million youth in 1973. Today, popularity in outdoor events has waned and membership has dropped. However, Scouting America remains the largest scouting organization and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1 million youth participants and over 400,000 adult volunteers .
Federally chartered corporation
Scouting America holds one of the comparatively rare congressional charters under Title 36 of the United States Code. On behalf of the Boy Scouts of America, Paul Sleman, Colin H. Livingstone, Ernest S. Martin, and James E. West successfully lobbied Congress for a federal charter, which President Woodrow Wilson signed on June 15, 1916. One of the principal reasons for seeking a congressional charter was to deal with competition from other Scout organizations including the United States Boy Scouts and the Lone Scouts of America. The 1916 statute of incorporation established this institution among a small number of similarly chartered patriotic and national organizations, such as the Girl Scouts, Civil Air Patrol, the American Legion, the Red Cross, Little League Baseball, and the National Academy of Sciences. The federal incorporation was originally construed primarily as an honor; however, it does grant the chartered organization some special privileges and rights, including freedom from antitrust and monopoly regulation and complete control over the organization's symbols and insignia. However, it neither implies nor accords Congress any special control over Scouting America, which remains free to function independently.
Membership
Main programs
Scouting America uses four primary programs to achieve its aims in Scouting: Cub Scouting is available to children from kindergarten through fifth grade. Scouts BSA (formerly Boy Scouts) is the flagship program of Scouting America for youth ages 11 to 17; 10-year-olds can join after March 1 of their fifth grade year or if they have earned the Arrow of Light award. Venturing is the program for ages 14 to 20. Sea Scouting is the program for ages 14 to 20 focused on nautical activities.
There are about 100,000 physically or mentally disabled Scouts throughout the United States. Anyone certified as disabled "may enroll in Scouting and remain in its program beyond the regulation age limits. This provision allows all members to advance in Scouting as far as they wish."
Other programs Scouting America offers several other programs and subprograms beyond regular membership: The Order of the Arrow is the organization's honor society for experienced campers, dedicated to the ideals of brotherhood and cheerful service. To be considered for membership one must live their life by the Scout Law, accomplish several requirements, and be elected by members of their unit. Lone Scouting is a program designed to allow those who would otherwise not be able to become Scouts or Cub Scouts—usually due to residence in an overseas/isolated community or unusual circumstances—to participate in the Scouting experience. STEM Scouts is a pilot program of Scouting America that focuses on STEM learning and career development for boys and girls in elementary, middle, and high school. Learning for Life is a school and work-site based program that is a subsidiary of Scouting America. It utilizes programs designed for schools and community-based organizations that are designed to prepare youth for the complexities of contemporary society and to enhance their self-confidence, motivation, and self-esteem. Exploring is the worksite-based program of Learning for Life with programs based on five areas of emphasis: career opportunities, life skills, citizenship, character education, and leadership experience. Learning for Life is not considered a regular Scouting program; it does not use the Scout Oath, Scout Law, uniforms, or insignia of regular Scouting. All Learning for Life programs are open to youth and adults without restriction based on gender, residence, sexual orientation, or other considerations other than age requirements.
Membership controversies
Historic participation of women Unlike Learning for Life, membership in the regular Scouting America programs had been more restricted and controversial. Until the late 2010s, Cub Scouting or the program then-named Boy Scouting was open to boys only, but girls were permitted to join the Venturing, Sea Scouting, and Explorers programs in 1970. Women could also serve as adult volunteers in all programs in approximately the same time frame. On October 11, 2017, Scouting America announced that girls would be allowed to become Cub Scouts, starting in 2018, and be in the Scouts BSA program, starting on February 1, 2019.
Religion Scouting America's religious requirements of its members have been controversial and inconsistent. Many volunteers within the organization have welcomed atheist and agnostic scouts. However, in 2018, the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board "reaffirm[ed] its unequivocal commitment to the Declaration of Religious Principle as a fundamental component of the mission of the Boy Scouts of America". At the same meeting, it also stated that "[t]he recognition of God as the ruling and leading power in the universe and the grateful acknowledgement of His favors and blessings are necessary to the best type of citizenship and are wholesome precepts in the education of the growing members". Despite this, the BSA has had Buddhist troops since 1920, although Buddhism is a nontheistic religion which does not assert belief in a creator God. The BSA also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Unitarian Universalist Association in 2016 which specifically gives ultimate authority over a participant's spiritual welfare to the individual Unitarian Universalist congregation. The MOU also specifically includes within Unitarian Universalist chartered troops humanism as an acceptable form of spirituality as well as Earth-centered religions.
Sexuality