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Exhibition Join In: Voluntary Assocations in America

Join In: Voluntary Assocations in America

Boy Scouts of America

Boy Scout Week—Nation Wide Campaign for 1,000,000 Associate Members. New York, June 2, 1919. Rare Book and Special Collections Division (086.00.00)
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Boy Scouts of America. Adventuring for Senior Scouts. Boy Scouts of America, 1938. General Collections, Library of Congress (087.00.00)
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Boy Scouts of America

The Boys Scouts of America (BSA), founded in 1910 by Chicago publisher W. D. Boyce (1858-1929) was modeled on Robert Baden-Powell’s (1857-1941) Boy Scouts in Great Britain. The organization aimed to develop good citizenship, chivalrous behavior, and skill in outdoor activities in boys ages eleven to fifteen. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 8–14 as “Boy Scout Week.” He wrote this circular to parents nationwide, urging them to engage their sons in the program. In 1935, BSA established a new program for older boys called Senior Scouts, as set forth in this handbook. Today, 1.1 million boys and girls and 493,000 adult volunteers participate in BSA in 253 local councils across the nation.