the Boy Scouts of America- their role in the Progressive Movement
A mini-history paper by William Earley
for
History 153- Schoolcraft College- Section 132935- Online
July 16th, 2015
For this nano-history paper, I set out with the goal of learning more about the Boy Scouts
of America. I wanted to learn specific things about the organization; such as who was involved
in the creation of the organization, when was the organization created, and why was it created. I
set out to learn this so that I could in the end, connect what I had just learned about, to what we
studied in module 3 of this class, the Progressives. I wanted to know exactly what characteristics
of the boy scouts make them a "progressive" organization. The first question I needed to find an
answer to: What are the boy scouts?
When browsing the official website of the Boy Scouts, scouting.org, I found out that the
organization "is one of the nation's largest and most prominent values-based youth development
organizations. The BSA provides a program for young people that builds character, trains them
in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and develops personal fitness1". I think that
this statement relates heavily to progressivism. To me, progressivism basically is a lifestyle, a
mindset. It means that progress is made in different areas of life, such as technology, and jobs. I
see progressivism as the way that things change, and the way that they develop. I found out that
development of young kids is what the scouting organization is all about. According to the
Journal of Social Issues, which is a Journal of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social
Issues, "Adult men at the turn of the century believed that the opportunities for the development
and expression of masculinity were being restricted2".
1
See the website scouting.org/About.aspx for further information.
2
Hantover, J. P. (1978), The Boy Scouts and the Validation of Masculinity. Journal of Social Issues, 34: 184–195.
doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1978.tb02548.x
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That is where the Boy Scouts of America comes in to play. The Boy Scouts of America
were founded in 1910, and famous Presidents William Howard Taft, and Theodore Roosevelt
were on the board of directors at the time of the organizations creation. Both of the presidents
that I just mentioned were both well known progressives that we learned about in this module of
the text. Taft had a huge influence on our country, as according to our HIST 153 E-Text, "Taft
limited the workday of federal employees to 8 hours and supported the 16th Amendment to the
Constitution, which empowered the Congress to levy a federal income tax. He also created a
Children's Bureau and supported the 17th Amendment, which allowed for senators to be directly
elected by the people instead of the state legislatures3." Teddy Roosevelt, as we all know, also
had a large impact on our country, as he was able to help the federal government "passed
legislation further restricting trusts, banning child labor, and requiring worker compensation. The
Progressive causes of temperance and women's suffrage were embedded into the Constitution.4"
These two presidents having a part in creating the Boy Scouts organization is completely
not a surprise to me, knowing what I know now. During my reading of this module, I learned
that both Taft and Roosevelt believed in fairness, and that all people should be treated fairly with
the ability to participate in their communities. The Boy Scouts of America supports this idea in
one of the many things they do, which is teaching young men to have character, and how to
3
This information from the History 153 E-Text was used under the license of the Creative Commons.
http://bb.schoolcraft.edu/addins/hist153/etext/m3_taft.html
4
This information from the History 153 E-Text was used under the license of the Creative Commons.
http://bb.schoolcraft.edu/addins/hist153/etext/m3_teddyroos.html
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participate in the community. I know from friends that have been Scouts, that they learn to do
things like work in nursing homes, volunteer at events, and simply other community service
projects. Boy Scouts are typically very involved in their communities and helping change
society, and that definitely is a fundamental to what Progressivism is.
I think that the paper "Selling America: The Boy Scouts of America in the Progressive
Era, 1910-1921, written by John Phillips and posted in the digital commons section of the
University of Maine's website, described the BSA better than any other person/source that I
looked at or talked to. It states that " The Boy Scouts of America was a character building
organization developed during the Progressive Era to counter the ill effects of America's
transformation from a rural and small town culture to an urban society.5" That statement
describes the BSA perfectly, and also is a perfect description of Progressiveness. Progressivism
really is what its name says, progress. Basically, the article is saying that the Boy Scouts of
America were created to help teens fit into an ever-changing, progressive society. I think the
BSA organization was created with the knowledge that to some extent, progressiveness is
unavoidable, change is going to occur whether we like it or not. The organization was formed to
help teens deal with that progression, and help them more easily fit into society.
In summary, the Boy Scouts of America is a teen supporting organization created back in
1910. I find it amazing that the progressive beliefs of people like Theodore Roosevelt and
William Taft, still have a huge impact on society today, through the Boy Scouts of America.
Really, all the things that those presidents valued: including fairness, and opportunity for all, are
5
Phillips, John, "Selling America: The Boy Scouts of America in the Progressive Era, 1910-1921" (2001).
Electronic Thses and Dissertations. Paper 205
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embodied in the Boy Scouts of America. The Boy Scouts are truly a progressive organization in
themselves, as they are always changing. I've learned throughout the process of writing this, that
the Boy Scouts are constantly doing new sorts of things. I think it is amazing that one group,
partially created by two of our presidents is helping kids today be successful. The key thing to
realize when comparing the traits of Progressives to the traits of Boy Scouts, is that an Eagle
Scout- the highest people in the Boy Scouts, are really people that embrace progressiveness. I
know quite a few Eagle Scouts, and all of them are people that value people, involved
citizenship, and fairness. In other words, a lot of Scouts are Progressive, which makes them very
similar, and relatable to the Progressives of the era that we studied in Module 3 of this class,
which were Roosevelt, Taft, and Susan B. Anthony, among others.
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Bibliography
"About the BSA." About the BSA. Boy Scouts of America, n.d. Web. 16 July 2015.
This website is the official website of the Boy Scouts of America organization, and it is the first
place I went when seeking out information about the Boy Scouts. I think that this is a scholarly,
reliable source, as the information about the organization was coming directly from the
organization itself, rather than an outside source. Also, the BSA is a well known, trusted
organization.
Hantover, J. P. (1978), The Boy Scouts and the Validation of Masculinity. Journal of Social
Issues, 34: 184–195.
I believe this journal, which I found through the popular Google Scholar website, is a credible
and scholarly source. Basically, the writing became credible in my eyes, when it clearly cited all
of it's sources, and where it's information came from. It was interesting to read back into where
this article got it's information from.
HIST 153: Contemporary America- US History e-text. Web. 16 July 2015.
http://bb.schoolcraft.edu/addins/hist153/etext/m3_intro.html
This reading simply is our e-text for this class. It is a credible, scholarly source as it is the text
provided for this class.
Phillips, John, "Selling America: The Boy Scouts of America in the Progressive Era, 1910-1921"
(2001). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 205
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I believe this reading is a scholarly source, as it was written in a way that makes it credible. It not
only cites all of the sources of information that it used, but also gives credit to professors at well
known universities.
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