Scouting in America

From a simple chance beginning to some very difficult current problems the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts USA are facing, here's a quick history of Scouting in the USA.

Boy Scouts of America Origins

In 1909, Chicago publisher W. D. Boyce visited London and became lost on a foggy street when an unknown boy came to his aid, guiding him to his destination. Refusing Boyce's reward, the boy explained that he was a Boy Scout and was merely doing his daily good turn.

Boyce was so impressed that he went to the Scout HQ and found out about the organisation.

He incorporated the Boy Scouts of America with Scout HQ in England in February 1910.

Girl Scouts of America Origins

The Girl Scouts was founded in 1912 when Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low, inspired by the fledgling BSA, organized a Girl Guide Troop meeting in Savannah, Georgia. Low envisioned an organization that would get young girls out of the house, enable them to enjoy nature, and allows them to develop confidence and resourcefulness.

The Girl Scouts started with 18 members and today has an estimated 3.7 million members.

In the early years, most girl scout troops were segregated by race but this changed in 1956 when Murray Atkins integrated her local girl scout troops.

BSA PR

BSA Recruiting posters focus on a sense of duty...

...celebrity...

...advertising...

..or pure commercialism!

BSA Astronauts

When people think of famous BSA members, most people think of famous Astronauts. Of the 24 astronauts who traveled to the moon on the Apollo missions, 20 were Scouts, including 11 of the 12 who walked on the moon. Neil Armstrong (above) and Buzz Aldrin were among them.

Famous BSA Scouts

Just a few of the most famous BSA members include: Actors Harrison Ford, Chris Pratt, Richard Gere, John Wayne and Jack Black; Muscian John Bon Jovi; film director Steven Spielberg; talk-show host Jay Leno; Athletes Mark Spitz and Michael Jordan; Author Clive Cussler; Bill Gates, Martin Luther King Jr and ex-US presidents Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, John F. Kennedy and George W. Bush were all Scouts.

Famous Girl Scouts of USA

Another long list of names includes: Taylor Swift, Martha Stewart, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mariah Carey, Hillary Clinton, Queen Latifa, Carrie Fisher, Venus Williams, Lucille Ball, Dionne Warwick, Michelle Obama and Celine Dion.

Current Numbers

Current numbers of Scouts in the USA are:

3 million members in the Boy Scouts of America (2.2m Scouts and 800,000 adults).
2.5 million members in the Girl Scouts USA (1.7m Girl Scouts and 750,000 adults).
USA population: 331m, so Scouts are 0.9% of the population and Guides are 0.7%.

Girl Scout Cookies

One of the most famous things about Girl Scouts are their Cookies. Cookie merchandising has come a long way since the 1920s, when Girl Scouts ventured out with wicker baskets of home-baked cookies. Today they watch training videos and play trivia games to sharpen selling skills. It's not unheard of for girls to sell up to 1000 boxes each (with parental help). There's a good reason for this: with overheads of salaries and office rentals running into many millions of dollars and girls having to pay for everything from badges to sports equipment and activities, the Girl Scouts need an almost bottomless pit of money. And typical camp site fees are between $38 and $50 per night per Scout.

American Scout Issues

(Editors note: I think I've got all of this right, but please let me know if I haven't).

Girls in BSA

In 1989 Girls were allowed to join Boy Scout of America troops. Most troops had girl members by 2007.

LGB issues (the other categories didn't exist then)

In the 1990s a serious problem arose for BSA. Parents objected to the appointment of Gay Scout Leaders. BSA took action, banning LGB adults from joining up. Civil rights organisations took exception to this and pointed out that most Scout Troops held their meetings in local government buildings..... and local government had a rule preventing them from allowing organisations that discriminate against the Gay community accessing their property. Many groups had to find alternative accommodation.

BSA finally allowed Gay and Lesbian Scout leaders in the movement in 2015, although local organisations can adopt their own policy.

Trademark issues

Traditionally, the name Scouts has been associated with BOY Scouts. However, a few years ago it emerged that the Girl Scouts of America had copyrighted the name SCOUTS (and SCOUTING).
The Girl Scouts sued BSA in 2018, alleging the Boy Scouts' use of "Scouts" and "Scouting" to market to girls violates its trademarks. It said the rebrand created confusion and threatened to marginalize the group. Press quoted many examples of parents signing up their offspring to the wrong organisation.

In 2022 a Manhattan federal court ruled The Boy Scouts of America's use of the word "Scouting" to advertise co-ed programs does not violate the Girl Scouts' trademark rights. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said a lawsuit by the Girl Scouts over the term was based on fear of competition from the Boy Scouts, and the Boy Scouts has the right to use the words "Scouts" and "Scouting" without reference to gender.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump (ex-President of the USA) is the landlord of the Girl Scouts New York Headquarters. They occupy part of one of his buildings, Trump Towers, in 40 Wall Street. The rent? Over $600,000 per year. In 2021 they were looking at how to exit the long-term lease (15 years, signed in 2014) and cut ties with the controversial ex-President.

Sexual Abuse

The BSA has reached an $850million settlement with some 84,000 historic sexual abuse survivors.

National Anthem

Scouts have been advised not to sing their national song, "GOD bless America"....