Boys Nation

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Boys Nation is an annual civic training event run by the American Legion.

Each year, two delegates in the summer after their junior year of high school are selected from each of the forty-nine American Legion Boys State programs in the U.S. (Hawaii does not host a Boys State). These delegates attend the week-long event in Washington, DC.

The event endeavours to teach delegates about the processes of Federal government of the United States through taking part in a mock Senate and mock elections of a Boys Nation Senate President Pro Tempore and Secretary, Vice President, and President, attending lectures and fora, and visiting governmental institutions and historical sites.

The American Legion Auxiliary runs a similar event called Girls Nation.

[edit] Notable participants

• Tom Brokaw, Former NBC anchorman
• Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
• Michael Jordan, professional NBA player
• John N. Kennedy, Louisiana State Treasurer and 2008 U.S. Senate candidate
• Donal Logue, actor
• Eric Motley, Former State Department Official
• Tommy Thompson, former Governor of Wisconsin and Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Gaddi Vasquez, former Director of the Peace Corps
• H. Alston Johnson III, former federal judicial nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and longtime friend of Clinton

[edit] External links

• Boys National page at American Legion site
• Boys Nation 2005 site