Aims and principles
A BSA is the big youth organization in the United States; over 100 million Americans use been members. Its training software for boys & immature adults aim to build character, participatory citizenship, & portable fitness. This purpose is carried in primarily across outdoor activities like camping and hiking. There exists an emphasis in single development across community service, leadership, & individual challenge.

Early history
Establishment
A Son Scouts of Usa was inspired by & sculpturesque on the Boy Scouts, established by Robert Baden-Powell in Britain in 1907. It too borrowed ideas from either Sir Ernest Thompson Seton, the YMCA, and the total of more "Scouting" organizations for boys that experienced rise in the decade of the 1900s in the United States and overseas.

A Son Scouts of America was established around 1910 by William D. Boyce. A story of how else Boyce come to become interested around Reconnoitring has appeared around various forms. the lot versions agree on the below: Boyce, a publisher from either Chicago, was lost within London's famous fog when he was met by a son world health organization showed him a way to his destination; a son so refused an offer of payment for his services.

A bit of versions claim that Boyce actually knew all just about Exploratory survey prior to this event, that a place he was shopping for inside a fog was actually Exploratory survey headquarters, & that he experienced in fact are to London to study supplementary about the organization. (Baden-Powell was associated by owning a British YMCA; news of a Son Scouts got reached the U.S. across this organization.) A few assert that a son vanished into a fog fallowing refusing Boyce's money & never saw him once more, however others declare that them intended an additional meeting, then that a son can indicate Boyce to the headquarters. However others hang on to that a son was uniformed at a instance. A truth of the matter is shrouded inside years of Exploratory survey legend & might never exist as known certainly.

Boyce returned to the United States &, by owning deuce more business community, Edward S. Stewart and Stanley D. Willis, incorporated the Boy Scouts of America on February 8. the number One troop was Troop 1, depending at a YMCA. Edgar Robinson, an important administrator of the YMCA around Chicago, agreed to help Boyce organize the Son Scouts as a national organization.

Inside 1910, Seton, Beard, Baden-Powell, Boyce, Robinson and others known as the national meeting of population included inside youth operate. A 1st national officers of the BSA were selected. It was in agreement that a President of the United States (then William Howard Taft) was to be the Honorary President of the BSA, a tradition that is however followed in todays world.

Rival organizations
A BSA got numbers of rival organizations inside its early times, including: a American Boy Scouts, (later "United States Boy Scouts") founded by William Randolph Hearst; a National Scouts of America, affiliated by owning the military machine school & headed by Colonel Peter Bomus; a Peace Scouts of California; a YMCA Scouts; a YMCA Indian Guides; a Rhode Island Boy Scouts; a Leatherstocking Scouts; a Sons of Daniel Boone, founded by Daniel Carter Beard, who became associated by using a BSA presently subsequently; a Woodcraft Indians, founded by Ernest Thompson Seton, who met Baden-Powell personally inside 1906 also soon became influential in the BSA;

A Woodcraft Indians & a Sons of Daniel Boone at length merged sustaining Boyce's organization; a consolidation was complete per late 1910s. Virtually all of a more rival organizations would likewise merge sustaining the BSA.

Growth
Within 1911, a Son Scouts of America published the foremost Western Son Scout manual ("Handbook for Boys"), the revision of Seton's version. A U.s. version of the Scout Oath & Law number 1 appeared on text. (the British version was a pledge of allegiance to the King.) James E. West wrote a Scout Oath, & added trinity points to the British version of the Scout Law (brave, filtered & worshipful).

Within 1912, Sea Scouting became an official program. Sea Scouting is today a portion of the Venturing program of the Boy Scouts of United states of america focused primarily in nautical activities. ''Boys' Life magazine too began around 1912, & continues in todays world to become a official Son Scout magazine. Within 1913, the Reconnoitering'' magazine for leaders began.

Son Scouts develop served at each 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:

Likewise inside 1916, Baden-Powell organized Wolf pup inside Britain, for boys as well immature for a Son Scouts (minimal age 12 at the period). Within BSA, Wolf pup became Cub Scouts in the 1930s.

Around 1919 Baden-Powell began a step by step training program known as Wood Badge for adult leaders inside Reconnoitering. A BSA would non fully implement this step by step training until great deal late. It was instituted tons across the world & is however within apply now.

Within 1920 the first International Scout Jamboree, a gathering of scouts from either completely across the world, was held within London. Blowout come presently held each quadruplet years, within varying countries. It might never become held inside a United States because BSA, in direct contrast to many more Reconnoitring organizations in the area of the world, accepts female youth members simply within its Venturing Section, & non in the Cub Scout or even Son Scout divisions.

Around 1937, oil magnate Waite Phillips donated to the BSA a big tract of land in the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico. This is okay, a Philmont Scout Ranch.

Western composer Irving Berlin assigned the royalties from either his song "God Bless America" to a BSA, earning millions for the organization all over the following decades.

A Order of the Arrow is a Scouting Honor Society which began within 1915 in Treasure Island, the oldest high-pressure operated Son Scout camp in the united states. A a correct sequence of the Arrow was officially recognized per National Council inside 1936 & became fully integrated into the BSA around 1948.

National organization
BSA's Subject Professional is presently located in Irving, Texas. A Subject Organization is divided into quatern regions to each one composed of locality Councils, which range in size from either deuce little West Virginia counties (Mountaineer Council) to all of DC and much of Maryland and northern Virginia (National Capital Area Council). A Councils can be farther divided into Dominion.

A BSA has many membership divisions, including tierce primary ones: Cub Scouting is for even boys between the foremost & fifth grades, or 7-10 years old. Cub Scouting has x purposes, including preparing boys to turn into Son Scouts. Cub Scouts meet inside dens of six to eight boys, & many dens come grouped together as a box.

Son Reconnoitring is for boys ages 11-17. These are peradventure a better known (though non a big) of the divisions. Likewise existing for boys 14-17 occurs as separate program called Varsity Scouts.

Venturing is for young men and women ages 14-20. Venturing emphasises a traditional outdoor activities, along by using youth ministries, arts & hobbies, and other non-vocational programs. It will bring co-co-ed chance for older teens & immature adults. A Venturing Section too includes Sea Scouts.

Learning for Life is an in-school character-development program for each boys & girls. It likewise offers favorite-needs curricula for the physically & mentally disabled. A Learning for Life program too contains a Exploring program for young men and women ages 14-20. Looking for occurs as vocation-oriented program, with Explorer Posts revolve about police force, fire/rescue, law, medicine, engineering, & more fields.

Unit organization
A fundamental unit of organization inside Son Scouts of Us is a little (6 to 10) son-led class action known as the patrol. Many patrols come grouped into the big unit called the Troop. Around Cub Scouting a little class action occurs as den & is the share of a Case. Within Venturing a basic unit occurs as Crew. Around Sea Scouting, Ships come mass produced higher of little boat Crews. Actual operation varies from either unit to unit, however a ideal is for a bulk of the decisions to exist as processed per boys at the patrol level.

the as a consequence describes how else a Son Scout Troop is organized. More reconnoitring units (Packs, Crews, Ships) come organized otherwise.

There are many adults which oversee a Son Scout group, a head one existence the Scoutmaster. A Scoutmaster is the central adult responsible the safety & continuity of the troop. Many trained & uniformed Assistant Scoutmasters help him within troop operations. A Troop Committee, usually composed of any of the Scouts' parents world health organization wish to participate, deals by owning troop business matters. A Committee typically creates subcommittees & selects officers. Within Venturing units, a head adult is known as & Adviser, & is assisted by trained Associate Advisors. Within Sea Scouts, a leader is referred to as a Skipper & a associate leaders, Mates.

Troops come associated by owning Chartered Organizations, which typically provide the meeting space & more assistance. the Leased Organization Representative is a liaison treating the relations between a troop's Committee & its leased organization.

Troops come divided into patrols of many boys, unremarkably between six & eight. Apiece patrol elects the Patrol Leader (PL), world health organization can so appoint an Assistant Patrol Leader (APL). A greatest position of responsibility in a troop is that of the Senior Patrol Leader (SPL), elected per troop at prominent, followed by his Assistant Senior Patrol Leader (ASPL). ASPLs can be elected per troop or even appointed per SPL by having a advice of the Scoutmaster. Big troops might keep around multiple ASPLs serving at the same time.

A SPL, ASPL, & Patrol Leaders produce higher a Patrol Leader's Council (PLC), a brass of a troop. A SPL is a leader of the troop & the PLC. This class action is responsible organizing meetings, cases, & backpacking. Occasionally troops may include more positions (like Scribe) on the Patrol Leader's Council. For any particular patrol, a Adjunct Patrol Leader fills around whenever a Patrol Leader is absentminded.

Non-leadership positions of responsibility include: 1 or even additional Quartermasters to keep track of troop-owned encampment devices & more equipment Older Scouts can be assigned to patrols when Troop Guides, to instruct a immature boys The Historiographer to keep troop records a Bibliothec to keep the troop's library of merit badge vade mecum & more official literature The Scribe, whose responsibilities can include ingesting attendance at meetings, collecting dues, keeping notes at patrol leaders' council meetings, & serving to write the troop newsletter a Bugler to play the troop bugle at flag ceremonies and more appropriate occasions Of these or even deuce Chaplain's Aides to conduct ''Scout's Possess'' nondenominational religious services anytime Scouts come at the Scout activity in the Sunday An older Scout can function by having the local Cub Scout Dozen as a Den Chief The cure is an experient Scout by using expertness withinside of these or even additional skills & works by having Scouts world health organization use at times less own household budget in these skills. Scouts can volunteer when Junior Assistant Scoutmasters to help a full-grown leaders sustaining their various tasks. An Order of the Arrow Troop Representative to serve as a liaison between troop members and a local OA lodge.

Troops come grouped into dominion covering the little geographical locality. Dominion come also organized into councils. There are concluded 3 hundred councils, organized into Regions, subsidiary to the National Council.

Creed and symbols of Scouting
;A Scout Motto ;A Scout Slogan ;A Scout Oath ;A Scout Law ;A Outdoor Code ;A Scout Sign ;A Scout Salute ;A Scout Handshake A BSA Scout Oath & Law use at times remained unchanged since it were foremost developed around 1910.

Activities
Scout activities come conducted at a discretion of the troop, however wholly troops' computer software keep close at hand occasionally similarities.

Troops occasionally hang on to meetings when a week, though occasionally don't meet when you took the summertime. A activities conducted at troop meetings deviate widely, from either Scout skills step by step training to camping trip planning to games. Meetings for Venturing crews & Sethe Scout ships deviate from either each week to another time the year, when Cub Scout packs keep close at hand every week den meetings, culminating around a monthly few meeting.

Patrol meetings independent of troop meetings can be held to conduct troop business, like the creation of a patrol flag. Virtually all patrols don't hang on to regular meetings independent of troop meetings, however occasionally last therefore far when to organize their have backpacking. Patrol activities come planned per patrol leader (view "Unit organization").

Troops, crews, & ships besides usually hang on to excursions another time the year or even sir thomas more. Which are actually occasionally camping trips. These campouts come an significant place for Scouts to act in skills & rank advancement, & too to email themselves. A few troops & crews likewise hang on to regular backpacking trips. supplementary excursions come more unusual, involving, e.g., rafting, climbing or rappelling. Ships ordinarily potty participate inside daysailing or even all-night sailing trips.

Virtually all councils have & work a single or even other lasting camps. These camps carrier a kind of activities throughout a month, however come virtually all heavy utilized in the period of the summertime. Troops stay at these camps for the week at once. Summer camps come crucial stores for the earning of merit badges, particularly victims that postulate favorite facilities, like archery or canoeing. Strictly amateur activities come likewise available, & virtually all camps offer day-all day long nightlong side trips. Troops could buy to attend the summer camp operated by their have council, or even of these within a further distant location.

These are green for even many troops inside the territorial dominion or council to gather at least it used to be that the year at the favorite weekend campout known as a camporee. The camporee occurs as competition, by owning cases like knot tying, flagpole raising and flag ceremony, and orienteering. Troops place variable numbers of emphasis in preparing for camporees, & victims that win a greatest awards unremarkably clean sol by making camporee their number 1 priority.

A few councils hang on to "jamborees", which are then similar to camporees, however occur less typically & draw troops from either the wide region. Each 4 years (except between 2005 & 2010 to co-incide sustaining a centenary of BSA) a National Council holds its National Scout Jamboree. Which are actually commonly held at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia and draw more than 30,000 Scouts from across the United States.

the national Scout organization too operates a total of high-adventure bases, including Philmont Scout Ranch, the Florida National High Adventure Sea Base, and Northern Tier High Adventure Bases. Troops, Crews, & Ships could explore to visit high-adventure bases instead of or even additionally to the standard summer camp.

Rank advancement
A ranks of Son Exploratory survey come, sequentially of award: (technically not the rank however an indication of to the full membership inside Reconnoitring)

A ranks as much as 1st Class come awarded for cognition of Scout skills (first aid, cooking, knots, etc.) the Star & Life ranks need that the son help around a position of responsibility for Four-6 months (virtually all of the positions enrolled inside Troop Organization in the image below come acceptable for this requirement) & perform community service. a Eagle Scout rank also takes a position of responsibility, likewise as a community service plan planned & led completely per Eagle Scout candidate, & the earning of Twelve specifically called upon merit badges plus 9 further, for the sum of Twenty-one. (a part of the merit badge requirement must become completed for each the Star & Life ranks.) the ranks expect a more & more increasing commitment to the Scout Oath and Law (watch above). (The to the full list of requirements may be observed at List of BSA rank requirements.)

When attaining the rank of Eagle, a scout will earn Eagle palms. For triad months of troop service & 5 extrthe merit badges beyond a twenty-of these needed for the Eagle Rank, a Bronze Palm is earned. In case the Scout fulfills this requirement another instance, he earns the Gold Palm, & for the third period the Silver Palm. In case he continues his progress, he will receive extra palms in the equivalent repetition the correct sequence.

Each rank advancement involves the Scoutmaster conference & every of these when Scout takes the Board of Review. At a conference, a Scout is tested in his cognition of 100% skills compulsory for the rank he tries to advance to, & a lot ranks he has earned. A Board of View occurs as line 1 text of the Scout's personalized incubation & his relationship by using a Exploratory survey organization.

Ranks come commonly formally awarded to scouts (along by having more awards) at the Court of Honor ceremony.

Awards, honors and symbolism
A BSA offers numbers of awards & honors, like: Xx, Forty, 60 & 100 Nights under a Stars awards (Nights under a Stars include a lot forms of camping.); Fifty Miler awards for hiking or watercraft trips of 50 miles, + Tenner hours of backpacking-related community service; A Mile Swim award, for swimming one mile nonstop; the Heroism Award, for heroic action like saving a life; the Honor even Medal, for resourcefulness & skill around saving or trying to save a life. Squcome Knot awards are given for important dependable deeds. Patches can develop different colour scheme based on data from a serious deed done. Virtually all Square Knot awards may be earned by adults exclusively, by using a exception of the youth religious emblems. A Totin' Chip card is given to Scouts world health organization develop learned training safely utilise sharp-edged information. A Firem'north Check card is given to Scouts world health organization stand learned training safely build & weak the campfire. Religious emblems are granted in conjunction using various religious denominations. a Young U.s. Award is from a national BSA organization to youth world health organization better be the ideals of exploratory survey, whether or even does'nt it is actually members of the BSA.

Big leaders can earn occasionally of the equivalent awards when youth (e.g. L Miler award) but not others (e.g. rank awards, merit badges). There are too awards specifically for adults, like a Territorial dominion Award of Merit, Silver Beaver, & Silver Buffalo awards.

Merit badges may be earned in any of more than a single hundred different cases. Occasionally merit badges relate to personalized development & grownup residing; others represent Scout skills; numerous come handicrafts or even hobbies; virtually all come expected career choices.

Sub-organizations inside Reconnoitering, like a Order of the Arrow, also bestow awards of their have. These include a Vigil Honor, a Founders' Award, & a Distinguished Service Award, a previous existence awarded each both years at a National Sequentially of a Arrow Conference (the next ones existence around 2006, 2009, 2011, 2013, & 2015--the Centesimal Day of remembrance of the origination of the OA.).

Uniform and insignia
Independent article: Uniform and insignia of the Boy Scouts of America
When single councils & troops stand specific dress requirements, there is a basic uniform that tons Scouts put on. A leaders as well put on this standard uniform, however by using cold-shoulder adjustments.

the basic uniform consists of a tan-colored button-higher shirt, the belt, a neck decoration (unremarkably neckerchief), olive-green pants or shorts and socks. There are likewise headgear & more extra things that may be worn by having a uniform. A few things such as "coup beads," which record participation around activities, are non official & another time deemed an unprofessional addition.

Venturers, since 1998, use worn the uniform similar to the Scouts', except that a shirt is raffish green, & a trousers, shorts, weblike belt, & socks come charcoal gray. Sea Scouts, since a 1930's, stand worn traditional Navy-style uniforms, wearing blue or white "Cracker Jack" uniforms for formal occasions, and "dungaree" uniforms for activities.

Patches
Various patches come worn by scouters for even various activities, honors, or expert training videos completed. Patches can too show what council, territorial dominion, troop & patrol for each one scout belongs to. Occasionally patches indicate activities completed spell the Cub Scout, and besides what rank a scout presently holds. Patches must become positioned around specific wharehouses on the uniform shirt. Merit badge patches come unremarkably worn in the favorite sash.

Rank badge designs
There are vii ranks in the BSthe, for each one with a unique patch symbol. These patches come affixed on the front left pocket on the uniform. A rank structure, from either last to greatest, is when follows: Scout, Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, 1st Class, Star, Life & Eagle.

Inside Venturing, a advancement patterns consists of trine awards, a Bronze Award, Gold Award, & Silver Award. These awards were brought back when a Researching program was changed all over to a Venturing program, & were according to awards given to Explorers before the mid-1970's. These awards come earned by two Venturers & Sea Scouts.

Sea Scouting follows a rank sequence that has been in situ since the late 1920s. These ranks come Learner, Ordinary, Able, & Quartermaster.

Controversy
Many contestation use arisen surrounding a BSA around recent years. A role of atheists and homosexuals in the organization has been particularly contentious. Events of violence between Scouts stand likewise been an issue.