American Boy Scouts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about a youth organization that existed for about 10 years starting in 1910. The term may also be used as an informal reference to the Boy Scouts of America.
American Boy Scouts
Organizational data
Headquarters New York City, New York
Country United States
Founded June 1910
Defunct 1920s
Founder William Randolph Hearst
Membership 17,000 at peak
Affiliation Order of World Scouts
Scouting Scouting portal

The American Boy Scouts (ABS)[1] was an early American Scouting organization formed by William Randolph Hearst. In May 1910, Hearst called an organizational meeting to form a new Scouting group. Hearst was aware of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), formed months earlier by rival publisher William D. Boyce but pursued his own vision of Scouting and incorporated the ABS in June 1910.[2][3] Among the objectives of the organization was to prepare boys for the obligations and duties of citizenship.

In December 1910, Hearst resigned from the ABS organization and his position as its president by submitting a letter to the ABS directors.[4] His reason was the methods of financing that ABS adopted in his absence, saying that money was being solicited for the organization through the improper and unauthorized use of his name.[5] He also expressed his disdain at fund raisers being allowed to keep 40% of funds raised without his knowledge.[4] Other leaders resigned at the same time Hearst did. A group of Scouts in the ABS New England Division left the ABS and formed the New England Boy Scouts.[6]

The ABS was taken over by leaders who were not well-known. The ABS joined the Order of World Scouts in 1911.[7]

In March of 1912, an ABS Scout in uniform shot and killed a boy with a rifle after a Scout function.[8] The resulting negative publicity caused the group to practically dissolve by 1913.

The American Boy Scouts was often confused with the Boy Scouts of America, which sometimes caused problems with fund raising and misattributed publicity. The ABS board of directors voted in October 1913 to change the name of the organization to the United States Boy Scouts (USBS)[1], primarily to prevent the confusion.[9]

The USBS claimed to be a military organization, which was in contrast to the non-military BSA. The USBS performed military style drills with rifles and sold war bonds during World War I. Their membership was primarily within New York state. In 1916, the USBS sought but did not receive a federal charter.

After the BSA received a federal charter in 1916, Chief Scout Executive James E. West pressed the USBS to change its name without success. The BSA filed a lawsuit for an injunction order to restrain the USBS from using the name "Boy Scout" in 1917.[1] The BSA was represented by former Governor of New York and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes. Testimony included an affidavit from Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the international Scout Movement, on the origins of the Scout Movement.[10] In 1919, the New York Supreme Court, a trial court, granted the BSA an injunction and the USBS was barred from using the terms "Boy Scout", "Scout", "Scouting", or any variation thereof.[11][12]

The organization changed its name and carried on for a few more years as the American Cadets and the U.S. Junior Military Forces, Inc. before finally dissolving.[13]

[edit] See also

Scouting Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b The ABS and USBS were also referred to in the singular as the American Boy Scout or the United States Boy Scout
  2. ^ Rowan, Edward L (2005). To Do My Best: James E. West and the History of the Boy Scouts of America. Las Vegas International Scouting Museum. ISBN 0-9746479-1-8. 
  3. ^ "Incoporate "The Boy Scouts"" (June 24, 1910). The New York Times. 
  4. ^ a b "Hearst Leaves Boy Scouts" (December 9, 1910). The New York Times. 
  5. ^ "Hearst's Name the Lure" (December 16, 1910). The New York Times. 
  6. ^ Dizer, John T.. "The Birth and Boyhood of Boys' Life". Scouting (November–December 1994). 
  7. ^ Story. The Order of World Scouts. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
  8. ^ "Scouts May Attend Slain Lad's Funeral" (March 25, 1912). The New York Times. 
  9. ^ "United States Boy Scouts New Name of Organization" (subscription required) (November 15, 1913). Christian Science Monitor. 
  10. ^ Jeal, Tim (1989). Baden-Powell. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-170670-X. 
  11. ^ A virtual Boy Scout museum — 1910-1919, Boy Scout Stuff, <http://www.boyscoutstuff.com/Galleries/Other/other.html>. Retrieved on 9 October 
  12. ^ Boy Scouts Win Injunction Suit
  13. ^ Macleod, David (1983). Building Character in the American Boy: The Boy Scouts, YMCA, and Their Forerunners. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0-2990940-4-9.