Sir Robert Baden-Powell (February 22, 1857-January 8, 1941) was a British General who founded of the Boy Scout movement. Educated at Charterhouse, London, he joined the English hussars in 1876, and served as adjutant in India, Afghanistan, and South Africa.
In 1895 he commanded native troops in Ashanti, and later served in the Matabele campaign. During the South African War, his force of 1,200 men was besieged for 217 days by a large Boer army of 8,000 at Mafeking.
In spite of famine and sickness, he succeeded in defending his position until help arrived on May 12, 1900. He was then promoted to the rank of Major General.
In order to promote good citizenship in the rising generation, he founded the Boy Scout organization in 1908, and the Girl Guides, in co- operation with his sister Agnes Baden-Powell, in 1910.
His works include: Cavalry Instruction; The Matabele Campaign; Scouting for Boys; My Adventures as a Spy; Indian Memories; The Wolf Cub's Handbook; Girl Guiding; Rovering to Success; and Scouting and Youth Movements.
Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys, 1908, sold approximately 150 million copies as the 4th best-selling book of the 20th century.
In 1912, he married Olave St. Clair Soames, and in 1939 they moved to a cottage in Kenya.
The Boys Scouts of America was incorporated on February 8, 1910, and was authorized by an Act of the U.S. Congress in June of 1916.
The Scout Oath is as follows:
<On my honor, I will do my best:
To do my duty to God and my country,
and to obey the Scout Law.
To help other people at all times.
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.> 1857BP001
The Scout Law is as follows:
<A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.> 1857BP002
Robert Baden-Powell wrote in Scouting for Boys, 1908:
<I don't mean by this the mere soldiering and sailoring services; we have no military aim or practice in our movement; but I mean the ideals of service for their fellow-men. In other words, we aim for the practice of Christianity in their everyday life and dealings, and not merely the profession of its theology on Sundays ...
The co-operation of tiny sea insects has brought about the formation of coral islands.
No enterprise is too big where there is goodwill and co-operation carrying it out.
Every day we are turning away boys anxious to join the Movement, because we have no the men or women to take them in hand.
There is a vast reserve of loyal patriotism and Christian spirit lying dormant in our nation to-day, mainly because it sees no direct opportunity for expressing itself.
Here in this joyous brotherhood there is vast opportunity open to all in a happy work that shows results under your hands and a work that is worth while because it gives every man his chance of service for his fellow-men and for God.> 1857BP303
Robert Baden-Powell wrote in Scouting for Boys, 1908:
<No man is much good unless he believes in God and obeys His laws. So every Scout should have a religion ... Religion seems a very simple thing: First: Love and serve God. Second: Love and serve your neighbour.> 1857BP304
Robert Baden-Powell wrote in the introduction to a pamphlet Scouting & Christianity, 1917:
<Scouting is nothing less than applied Christianity.> 1857BP203
Robert Baden-Powell wrote in Aids to Scoutmastership, 1919:
<Development of outlook naturally begins with a respect for God, which we may best term "Reverence.” Reverence to God and reverence for one's neighbour and reverence for oneself as a servant of God, is the basis of every form of religion.
The method of expression of reverence to God varies with every sect and denomination.
What sect or denomination a boy belongs to depends, as a rule, on his parents' wishes. It is they who decide.
It is our business to respect their wishes and to second their efforts to inculcate reverence, whatever form of religion the boy professes.
There may be many difficulties relating to the definition of the religious training in our Movement where so many different denominations exist, and the details of the expression of duty to God have, therefore, to be left largely in the hands of the local authority.
But there is no difficulty at all in suggesting the line to take on the human side, since direct duty to one's neighbour is implied in almost every form of belief.> 1857BP304
Robert Baden-Powell wrote in Rovering to Success (1930, p. 181):
<The atheists ... maintain that a religion that has to be learnt from books written by men cannot be a true one. But they don't seem to see that besides printed books ...
God has given us as one step the great Book of Nature to read; and they cannot say that there is untruth there - the facts stand before them ...
I do not suggest Nature Study as a form of worship or as a substitute for religion, but I advocate the understanding of Nature as a step, in certain cases, towards gaining religion.> 1857BP305
The Boy Scouts grew into the largest voluntary youth movement in the world, with membership over 25 million.
At the 5th World Scout Jamboree in 1937, Baden-Powell gave his farewell to Scouting, and retired from public Scouting life. February 22, the joint birthday of Robert and Olave Baden-Powell, continues to be marked as Founder's Day by Scouts.
In his final letter to the Scouts, found after his death, but written before he became a peer in 1929, Baden-Powell wrote:
<A FAREWELL NOTE TO MY BROTHER SCOUTERS AND GUIDERS - Cecil Rhodes said at the end of his life (and I, in my turn feel the truth of it), 'So much to do and so little time to do it.'
No-one can hope to see the consummation, as well as the start, of a big venture within the short span of one life-time. I have had an extraordinary experience in seeing the development of Scouting from its beginning up to its present stage.
But there is a vast job before it. The Movement is only now getting into its stride. (When I speak of Scouting I include in it Guiding also.) The one part which I can claim as mine towards promoting the Movement is that I have been lucky enough to find you men and women to form a group of the right stamp who can be relied upon to carry it to its goal.
You will do well to keep your eyes open, in your turn, for worthy successors to whom you can, with confidence, hand on the torch. Don't let it become a salaried organisation: keep it a voluntary movement of patriotic service.
The Movement has already, in the comparatively short period of its existence, established itself onto a wide and so strong a footing as to show most encouraging promise of what may be possible to it in the coming years. Its aim is to promote healthy, happy, helpful citizens, of both sexes, to eradicate the prevailing narrow self-interest, personal, political, sectarian, and national, and to substitute for it a broader spirit of self-sacrifice and service in the cause of humanity; and thus to develop mutual goodwill and co-operation not only within our own country but abroad, between all countries. Experience shows that this consummation is no idle or fantastic dream, but is a practical probability - if we all work for it; and it means, when attained, peace prosperity and happiness for all.
The 'encouraging promise' lies in the fact that the hundreds of thousands of boys and girls who are learning our ideals to-day will be the fathers and mothers of millions in the near future, in whom they will in turn inculcate the same ideals -PROVIDED THAT THESE ARE REALLY AND UNMISTAKABLY IMPRESSED UPON THEM BY THEIR LEADERS OF TO-DAY.
Therefore you, who are Scouters and Guiders, are not only doing a great work for your neighbours' children but are also helping in practical fashion to bring to pass God's Kingdom of peace and goodwill upon earth. So, from my heart, I wish you God-speed in your effort. ROBERT BADEN-POWELL"> 1857BP210
The first editions of the Scout Handbook (1911, 1915, 1927) explained of the 12th point of the Scout Law, "A Scout is Reverent":
<He is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties and respects the convictions of others in matters of custom and religion.> 1857BP205
The 5th edition of the Scout Handbook (1948) explained "A Scout is Reverent":
<Reverence is that respect, regard, consideration, courtesy, devotion, and affection you have for some person, place or thing because it is holy. The Scout shows true reverence in two principal ways. First, you pray to God, you love God and you serve Him.
Secondly, in your everyday actions you help other people, because they are made by God to God's own likeness. You and all men are made by God to God's own likeness.
You and all men are important in the sight of God because God made you.
The "unalienable rights" in our historic Declaration of Independence, come from God.
That is why you respect others whose religion and customs may differ from yours. Some fellows think they are smart by telling stories or making fun of people of other religions or races.
All your life you will be associating with people of other beliefs and customs. It is your duty to respect these people for their beliefs and customs, and to live your own.> 1857BP207
The 6th edition of the Boy Scout Handbook (1959) explained "A Scout is Reverent":
<Take a Lincoln penny out of your pocket and look at it. What do you see on it? Just above Lincoln's head are the words "In God We Trust."
Twelve little letters on our humblest coin. Not only as individuals, but as a nation, too, we are committed to live and work in harmony with God and His plan.
Most great men in history have been men of deep religious faith who have shown their convictions in deed. Washington knelt in the snow to pray at Valley Forge. Lincoln always sought divine guidance before making an important decision.
Eisenhower prayed to God before taking his oath of office as President of the United States. These men had many things in common: love of the out-of-doors, human kindness, and an earnest vigor in working with God in helping make a better world.
You are reverent as you serve God in your everyday actions and are faithful in your religious obligations as taught you by your parents and spiritual leaders.
All your life you will be associated with people of different faiths. In America we believe in religious freedom. That is why we respect others whose religion may differ from ours, although for reason of conscience we do not agree with them.> 1857BP209
The 5th edition of the Scout Handbook (1948) explained a Scout's "Duty to God":
<You worship God regularly with your family in your church or synagogue. You try to follow the religious teachings that you have been taught, and you are faithful in your church school duties, and help in church activities.
Above all you are faithful to Almighty God's Commandments. Most great men in history have been men of deep religious faith. Washington knelt in the snow to pray at Valley Forge. Lincoln always sought Divine guidance before each important decision. Be proud of your religious faith.
Remember in doing your duty to God, to be grateful to Him. Whenever you succeed in doing something well, thank Him for it. Sometimes when you look up into the starlit sky on a quiet night, and feel close to Him - thank Him as the Giver of all good things. One way to express your duty and your thankfulness to God is to help others, and this too, is a part of your Scout promise.> 1857BP206
The 6th edition of the Boy Scout Handbook (1959) explained "Duty to God":
<Your parents and religious leaders teach you to know and love God, and the ways in which you can serve him. - By following these teachings in your daily life you are doing your duty to God as a Scout.> 1857BP208
On May 1, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson issued a Proclamation of a National Boy Scout Week:
<The Boy Scout movement should not only be preserved, but strengthened. It deserves the support of all public-spirited citizens...Every nation depends for its future upon the proper training and development of its youth.> 1857BP211
On July 25, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge addressed a gathering of Boy Scouts in New York headed to Copenhagen:
<The three fundamentals of Scouthood are reverence for nature... reverence for law...The third is a reverence for God. It is hard to see how a great man can be an atheist. Without the sustaining influence of faith in a divine power we could have little faith in ourselves...Doubters do not achieve; skeptics do not contribute; cynics to not create. Faith is the great motive power, and no man realizes his full possibilities unless he has the deep conviction that life is eternally important, and that his work, well done, is part of an unending plan.> 1857BP204
On May 1, 1926, before the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Washington, D.C., President Calvin Coolidge stated:
<We are delighted to honor this evening, Sir Robert Baden-Powell.
This distinguished British general is now known all over the world...It has been dignified by a Federal charter granted by the Congress to the Boy Scouts of America in 1916, and thereby ranks in the popular mind with the only two other organizations which have been similarly honored, the Red Cross and the American Legion...The boy on becoming a scout binds himself on his honor to do his best...
- To do my duty to God and my country, and to obey the scout law.
- To help other people at all times.
- To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
The 12 articles in these scout laws are...affirmative rules of conduct. Members must promise to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
How comprehensive this list! What a formula for developing moral and spiritual character!...It would be a perfect world if everyone exemplified these virtues...
Boys are taught to practice the basic virtues and principles of right living and to act for themselves in according such virtues and principles.
They learn...self-control...We hear much talk of the decline in the influence of religion, of the loosening of the home ties, of the lack of discipline - all tending to break down reverence and respect for the laws of God and man...
There is no substitute for the influences of the home and of religion. These take hold of the innermost nature of the individual and play a very dominant part in the formation of personality and character...Nothing else can ever take its place...
The Boy Scout movement can never be...a substitute but...an ally of strict parental control and family life under religious influences...The last item in the scout 'duodecalogue' is impressive. It declares that a scout shall be reverent.
'He is reverent toward God,' the paragraph reads. 'He is faithful in his religious duties, and respects the convictions of others in matters of custom and religion.'
In the past I have declared my conviction that our Government rests upon religion; that religion is the source from which we derive our reverence for truth and justice, for equality and liberty, and for the rights of mankind...
The Boy Scout movement designed that the various religious denominations have found it a most helpful agency...We know too well what fortune overtakes those who attempt to live in opposition to these standards.
They become...outlaws. However much they may boast of their freedom from all restraints...they are immediately the recognized foes...
Their short existence is lived under greater and greater restrictions, in terror of the law, in flight from arrest, or in imprisonment. Instead of gaining freedom, they become slaves of their own evil doing, realizing the scriptural assertion that they who sin are the servants of sin and that the wages of sin is death.
The Boy Scout movement has been instituted in order that the youth, instead of falling under the domination of habits and actions that lead only to destruction, may come under the discipline of a training that leads to eternal life.> 1857BP212
President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated February 8, 1939:
<These boys, so full of promise for the future...should be regarded as a national trust. Ours is the duty to inculcate in the Scout mind those simple but fundamental principles which embrace strength of body, alertness of mind and, above these and growing out of them, that sense of moral responsibility upon which all sound character rests.> 1857BP213
President Franklin D. Roosevelt greeted the Boy Scouts, February 8, 1940:
<Boy Scouts...is...truly American. God grant that it may ever remain so...Our 12th scout law effectively expresses the spiritual ideals of scouting...It affirms the importance of religion in the life of the individual and the life of the nation and emphasizes the necessity of respect for the convictions of other people. Religious freedom is basic in Americanism. It is a tradition upon which our country is founded.> 1857BP214
President Franklin D. Roosevelt greeted the Boy Scouts, February 7, 1943:
<Certainly those who help to make boys physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight in these times deserve the appreciation of all who are leaders in America.> 1857BP215
President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated in a radio address to the Boy Scouts, February 10, 1934:
<I am happy to participate in the 24th Anniversary Celebration of...the Boy Scouts of America...I ask you to join with me...All stand! Give the Scout sign! Repeat with me the Scout Oath! 'On my honor I will do my best: To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.'> 1857BP216
President Dwight Eisenhower stated on the 50th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, June 1, 1960:
<That is the great thing about Scouting...We read in our Bibles the Parable of the Good Samaritan...They individually and collectively begin to think of their nation in part as a 'good Samaritan,' doing the decent thing in this world..Scouting is indeed doing something...vital to our vigor as a nation based upon a religious concept.> 1857BP217
President Dwight Eisenhower remarked to the 44th National Council of the Boy Scouts of America, May 29, 1954:
<It would be difficult for any political party or any government to state its purposes...in better terms than...the Scout Oath--'To do my duty by my God and country.' One of my great heroes of American history is Robert E. Lee, and he said...'We cannot do more than our duty. We would not wish to do less'...Was there ever a time...when we needed to be more...morally straight? This Government, represented in its Legislature and its Executive departments and its Judiciary, has but one great purpose in its relationships with all other nations: to be morally straight.> 1857BP218
President Gerald Ford remarked at a Question-and-Answer Session at the Annual Convention of the Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, Phoenix, Arizona, November 14, 1974:
<Q. Mr. President...Senator Dole suggested that you shed your Boy Scout image and get tough with Congress and, if necessary, go over their heads...What will be your tactics? THE PRESIDENT. Well, let me preface the answer...I was a Boy Scout. I am proud of that experience. I have no apologies for it. I think they have done a great deal of good for lots of young people, and I am not going to back off from the 5 or 6 years that I enjoyed being a Boy Scout and doing the things that I think are good for America. Now, to answer your other question. I wish there would be a lot more Boy Scouts.> 1857BP219
President Gerald Ford remarked at the Boy Scouts' Annual Awards Dinner, December 2, 1974:
<It has recently been said that I am too much of a Boy Scout in the way I have conducted myself as President, and so I reviewed the Boy Scout laws and Boy Scout oath. They say that a Scout is 'trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.'...
And the Boy Scout oath is, 'On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country, to obey the Scout laws, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.' Well, if these are not the goals of the people of the United States, what they want their President to live up to, then...either you have the wrong man or I have the wrong country.> 1857BP220
President Gerald Ford remarked at a Question-and-Answer Session at Lenoir Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina, March 20, 1976:
<I am proud of the fact that I was an Eagle Scout, and I am proud of the Boy Scouts of America. You know, the Scout oath, the Scout laws are the best guidelines I know to give you the right direction in school, in marriage, in your career, to make your life happy and prosperous. So, if you live up to the Scout oath and the Scout laws...you can't go wrong.> 1857BP221
President Ronald Reagan remarked on Private Sector Initiatives at a White House Briefing for National Service Organization Leaders, April 27, 1982:
<After being told for decades that government is the answer, some people's reluctance to try a different approach is understandable. What if, for example, the Boy Scouts of America were a government program instead of a voluntary activity Well, someone's worked out what the answer to that would be. It's been estimated that just doing what the Boy Scouts are doing now...if run by the government, would cost about $5 1/2 billion a year.> 1857BP222
President Ronald Reagan remarked at a White House Luncheon Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, February 8, 1985:
<Former Scouts have walked on the Moon, become President, and won the Heisman Trophy. Today they serve as Cabinet Secretaries, as my Press Secretary, and in the Congress. In fact, about two-thirds of the Members of the Congress have been in the Boy Scouts...how nice it would have been if the Boy Scouts had a merit badge for a balanced budget amendment.> 1857BP223
President Ronald Reagan issued Proclamation 5421--75th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, December 15, 1985:
<The Boy Scouts of America, our Nation's largest organization for young people, has served our youth since 1910. Thanks to dedicated adult volunteers, more than 70 million young people have learned Scouting's lessons of patriotism, courage, and self-reliance over the past 75 years.> 1857BP224
President George H.W. Bush remarked at the Boy Scout National Jamboree in Bowling Green, Virginia, August 7, 1989:
<The Boy Scouts has played a leadership role in preparing a generation for space exploration. It's no coincidence that half of all astronauts were once Scouts: Admiral Richard Truly, who ably heads NASA, is an Eagle Scout; Gus Grissom, an American hero who lost his life in the early space program, was a Scout; David Scott, who operated that first lunar rover, was a Scout; And Jim Lovell, another lunar explorer, whom I'm told is with us today. And I guess, Jim, if you're here, it's true what they say: Once an Eagle Scout, always an Eagle Scout...Eagle Scout Neil Armstrong, who made man's first step on the Moon and later sent his greetings to the Jamboree from deep space...God bless the Boy Scouts of America.> 1857BP225
President George H.W. Bush stated at James Madison High School, Vienna, Virginia, March 28, 1989:
<People wonder and talk about...the Thousand Points of Light?...Helping some kid that may be tempted to use narcotics...A church group doing something...It's the Red Cross...It is the Boy Scouts...It is Christian Athletes... Voluntarism.> 1857BP226
On February 16, 2002, Dr. James Dobson addressed approximately 3,500 people at the National Religious Broadcaster's on the topic of his book, Bringing Up Boys:
<The world into which children are born now has become a very dangerous place. It's changed tremendously...There is an attack on childhood...I don't think I can overstate it there are many people out there today who see in children an opportunity to change the culture...
They hate the Judeo-Christian value system. And children are the vulnerable ones. And if they can get control of children...they can change the whole culture in one generation. And there is now a tsunami coming our way...and boys especially are in the bull's eye.
They're in the cross-hairs...The National Education Association announced...every classroom of every school of every year is being taught homosexual propaganda. So they're teaching them that bisexuality is normal and that homosexuality and heterosexuality are morally equivalent...
Of course, Christians can't come in and counter that...Can you imagine these children, 5- years old, sitting in a circle around the teacher who's telling them about adult perverse behavior? And we're not concerned about that?...42 percent of the fourth-grade boys in this entire country can't read, and yet, we're going to teach them that?...
All these things are coming to your school...There is a concerted effort to manipulate the minds of kids...A stem cell is a cell in the human being...that in the very early stages of development it is undifferentiated. In other words, it's not yet other kinds of tissue, but it can go any direction depending on the environment that it's in...
Do you understand that children are the stem cells for the culture? The environment that you put them in is what they grow up to be...I saw a video the other day of children in Afghanistan and they were teaching these children how they could slit the throats of Israelis.
If you teach that to 6-year-old boys, you will have violent men when they grow up. That's why there is this effort to control the minds of kids. It's what's behind the attack on the Boy Scouts.> 1857BP227
President Herbert Hoover addressed the 20th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, March 10, 1930:
<The boy...is a complex of cells teeming with...curiosity...The problem...is what to do with him in his leisure time that will...contribute to...his morals...What will direct his interests to constructive joy instead of destructive glee...His is the plastic period when indelible impressions must be made.> 1857BP228
Sir Robert Baden-Powell began the Boy Scout movement in England in 1908, and two years later, the Boys Scouts of America was incorporated, FEBRUARY 8, 1910.
Robert Baden-Powell was educated at Charterhouse, London, and joined the English hussars in 1876.
As a soldier for the British Empire, which was the largest empire in world history, he served in India, Afghanistan, and South Africa.
In 1895, he commanded native troops in Ashanti, and later served in the Matabele campaign.
During the South African Boer War, Baden-Powell's 1,200 men were besieged for 217 days by an overwhelming Boer army of 8,000 at Mafeking.
In spite of famine and sickness, his resourcefulness succeeded in defending his position and saving his men until help arrived, May 12, 1900.
He was promoted to the rank of Major General. In 1912, he married Olave St. Clair Soames, and in 1939 they moved to a cottage in Kenya. Sir Baden-Powell founded the Boy Scout organization in 1908 to promote morality and good citizenship in the rising generation.
He helped his sister, Agnes Baden-Powell found the Girl Guides in 1910. Sir Robert Baden-Powell's works include: Cavalry Instruction; The Matabele Campaign; Scouting for Boys; My Adventures as a Spy; Indian Memories; The Wolf Cub's Handbook; Girl Guiding; Rovering to Success; and Scouting and Youth Movements.
The Boy Scouts, being originally founded on Christian values, grew into the largest voluntary youth movement in the world, with membership over 25 million.
In a 1917 pamphlet on Scouting, Baden-Powell wrote an introduction, Scouting & Christianity, stating: "Scouting is nothing less than applied Christianity."
Robert Baden-Powell wrote in Scouting for Boys, 1908:
"We aim for the practice of Christianity in their everyday life and dealings, and not merely the profession of its theology on Sundays... There is a vast reserve of loyal patriotism and Christian spirit lying dormant in our nation to-day, mainly because it sees no direct opportunity for expressing itself... In this joyous brotherhood there is vast opportunity open to all... It gives every man his chance of service for his fellow-men and for God."
Baden-Powell wrote in Scouting for Boys, 1908:
"No man is much good unless he believes in God and obeys His laws... First: Love and serve God. Second: Love and serve your neighbor." Baden-Powell wrote in Aids to Scoutmastership, 1919: "Development of outlook naturally begins with a respect for God... Reverence to God and reverence for one's neighbor and reverence for oneself as a servant of God."
The Scout Handbook, 5th edition (1948) explained "A Scout is Reverent":
"The Scout shows true reverence in two principal ways.
First, you pray to God, you love God and you serve Him.
Secondly, in your everyday actions you help other people, because they are made by God to God's own likeness. You and all men are made by God to God's own likeness.
You and all men are important in the sight of God because God made you. The 'unalienable rights' in our historic Declaration of Independence, come from God.
That is why you respect others whose religion and customs may differ from yours."
The Scout Handbook, 5th edition (1948), in the section 'Duty to God', a scout was admonished to be 'faithful to God's Commandments':
"You worship God regularly with your family in your church or synagogue. You try to follow the religious teachings that you have been taught, and you are faithful in your church school duties, and help in church activities.
Above all you are faithful to Almighty God's Commandments. Most great men in history have been men of deep religious faith. Washington knelt in the snow to pray at Valley Forge. Lincoln always sought Divine guidance before each important decision. Be proud of your religious faith. Remember in doing your duty to God, to be grateful to Him.
Whenever you succeed in doing something well, thank Him for it. Sometimes when you look up into the starlit sky on a quiet night, and feel close to Him- thank Him as the Giver of all good things. One way to express your duty and your thankfulness to God is to help others, and this too, is a part of your Scout promise."
On May 1, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson issued a Proclamation of a National Boy Scout Week:
"The Boy Scout movement should not only be preserved, but strengthened. It deserves the support of all public-spirited citizens... Every nation depends for its future upon the proper training and development of its youth."
On July 25, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge addressed a gathering of Boy Scouts in New York headed to Copenhagen:
"The three fundamentals of scouthood are reverence for nature... reverence for law...The third is a reverence for God. It is hard to see how a great man can be an atheist. Without the sustaining influence of faith in a divine power we could have little faith in ourselves...
Doubters do not achieve; skeptics do not contribute; cynics to not create. Faith is the great motive power, and no man realizes his full possibilities unless he has the deep conviction that life is eternally important, and that his work, well done, is part of an unending plan."
Honoring Sir Robert Baden-Powell, May 1, 1926, before the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Washington, D.C., President Calvin Coolidge said a scout binds himself to be 'morally straight':
"We are delighted to honor this evening, Sir Robert Baden-Powell. This distinguished British general is now known all over the world...
It has been dignified by a Federal charter granted by the Congress to the Boy Scouts of America in 1916, and thereby ranks in the popular mind with the only two other organizations which have been similarly honored, the Red Cross and the American Legion...
The boy on becoming a scout binds himself on his honor to do his best...
- To do my duty to God and my country, and to obey the scout law.
- 2. To help other people at all times. 3.
- To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight."
Calvin Coolidge continued: "
The 12 articles in these scout laws are...affirmative rules of conduct. Members must promise to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. How comprehensive this list! What a formula for developing moral and spiritual character!...It would be a perfect world if everyone exemplified these virtues...
Boys are taught to practice the basic virtues and principles of right living and to act for themselves in according such virtues and principles.
They learn...self-control... We hear much talk of the decline in the influence of religion, of the loosening of the home ties, of the lack of discipline - all tending to break down reverence and respect for the laws of God and man...
There is no substitute for the influences of the home and of religion. These take hold of the innermost nature of the individual and play a very dominant part in the formation of personality and character...Nothing else can ever take its place..."
Coolidge added:
"The Boy Scout movement can never be...a substitute but...an ally of strict parental control and family life under religious influences... The last item in the scout 'duodecalogue' is impressive. It declares that a scout shall be reverent. 'He is reverent toward God,' the paragraph reads. 'He is faithful in his religious duties, and respects the convictions of others in matters of custom and religion.' In the past I have declared my conviction that our Government rests upon religion; that religion is the source from which we derive our reverence for truth and justice, for equality and liberty, and for the rights of mankind..."
Coolidge concluded, warning the 'wages of sin is death':
"The Boy Scout movement designed that the various religious denominations have found it a most helpful agency... We know too well what fortune overtakes those who attempt to live in opposition to these standards.
They become...outlaws. However much they may boast of their freedom from all restraints...they are immediately the recognized foes...Their short existence is lived under greater and greater restrictions, in terror of the law, in flight from arrest, or in imprisonment. Instead of gaining freedom, they become slaves of their own evil doing, realizing the scriptural assertion that they who sin are the servants of sin and that the wages of sin is death.
The Boy Scout movement has been instituted in order that the youth, instead of falling under the domination of habits and actions that lead only to destruction, may come under the discipline of a training that leads to eternal life."
President Franklin D. Roosevelt emphasized 'moral responsibility', FEBRUARY 8, 1939:
"These boys, so full of promise for the future...should be regarded as a national trust. Ours is the duty to inculcate in the Scout mind those simple but fundamental principles which embrace strength of body, alertness of mind and, above these and growing out of them, that sense of moral responsibility upon which all sound character rests."
President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated greeted the Boy Scouts, FEBRUARY 8, 1940:
"Boy Scouts...is...truly American. God grant that it may ever remain so... Our 12th scout law effectively expresses the spiritual ideals of scouting...
It affirms the importance of religion in the life of the individual and the life of the nation and emphasizes the necessity of respect for the convictions of other people. Religious freedom is basic in Americanism. It is a tradition upon which our country is founded."
On February 7, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt expressed appreciation for those help make boys 'morally straight':
"Certainly those who help to make boys physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight in these times deserve the appreciation of all who are leaders in America."
Broadcast over radio, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, February 10, 1934, led the Scouts in their oath to stay 'morally straight:
"I am happy to participate in the 24th Anniversary Celebration of...the Boy Scouts of America...I ask you to join with me...
All stand! Give the Scout sign! Repeat with me the Scout Oath! 'On my honor I will do my best: To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.'"
President Dwight Eisenhower stated on the 50th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, June 1, 1960:
"That is the great thing about Scouting...We read in our Bibles the Parable of the Good Samaritan...
They individually and collectively begin to think of their nation in part as a 'good Samaritan,' doing the decent thing in this world..
Scouting is indeed doing something...vital to our vigor as a nation based upon a religious concept." President Dwight Eisenhower being 'morally straight' in his remarks to the 44th National Council of the Boy Scouts of America, May 29, 1954:
"It would be difficult for any political party or any government to state its purposes...in better terms than...the Scout Oath--'To do my duty by my God and country.'
One of my great heroes of American history is Robert E. Lee, and he said...'We cannot do more than our duty. We would not wish to do less'...
Was there ever a time...when we needed to be more...morally straight?
This Government, represented in its Legislature and its Executive departments and its Judiciary, has but one great purpose in its relationships with all other nations: to be morally straight."
President Gerald Ford remarked at a Question-and-Answer Session at the Annual Convention of the Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, Phoenix, Arizona, November 14, 1974
Q. "Mr. President...Senator Dole suggested that you shed your Boy Scout image and get tough with Congress and, if necessary, go over their heads...What will be your tactics?"
THE PRESIDENT. "Well, let me preface the answer...I was a Boy Scout. I am proud of that experience. I have no apologies for it. I think they have done a great deal of good for lots of young people, and I am not going to back off from the 5 or 6 years that I enjoyed being a Boy Scout and doing the things that I think are good for America. Now, to answer your other question. I wish there would be a lot more Boy Scouts."
Gerald Ford remarked at the Boy Scouts Annual Awards Dinner, December 2, 1974, that the 'goals' of the President should include being 'morally straight':
"It has recently been said that I am too much of a Boy Scout in the way I have conducted myself as President, and so I reviewed the Boy Scout laws and Boy Scout oath. They say that a Scout is 'trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.'... And the Boy Scout oath is, 'On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country, to obey the Scout laws, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.' Well, if these are not the goals of the people of the United States, what they want their President to live up to, then...either you have the wrong man or I have the wrong country."
President Gerald Ford stated at a Q & A Session at Lenoir Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina, March 20, 1976:
"I am proud of the fact that I was an Eagle Scout, and I am proud of the Boy Scouts of America. You know, the Scout oath, the Scout laws are the best guidelines I know to give you the right direction in school, in marriage, in your career, to make your life happy and prosperous. So, if you live up to the Scout oath and the Scout laws...you can't go wrong."
President Ronald Reagan remarked on Private Sector Initiatives at a White House Briefing for National Service Organization Leaders, April 27, 1982:
"After being told for decades that government is the answer, some people's reluctance to try a different approach is understandable. What if, for example, the Boy Scouts of America were a government program instead of a voluntary activity? Well, someone's worked out what the answer to that would be. It's been estimated that just doing what the Boy Scouts are doing now...if run by the government, would cost about $5 1/2 billion a year."
President Ronald Reagan remarked at a White House Luncheon commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, February 8, 1985:
"Former Scouts have walked on the Moon, become President, and won the Heisman Trophy. Today they serve as Cabinet Secretaries, as my Press Secretary, and in the Congress. In fact, about two-thirds of the Members of the Congress have been in the Boy Scouts...how nice it would have been if the Boy Scouts had a merit badge for a balanced budget amendment."
President Ronald Reagan issued Proclamation 5421--75th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, December 15, 1985:
"The Boy Scouts of America, our Nation's largest organization for young people, has served our youth since 1910. Thanks to dedicated adult volunteers, more than 70 million young people have learned Scouting's lessons of patriotism, courage, and self-reliance over the past 75 years."
President George H.W. Bush remarked at the Boy Scout National Jamboree in Bowling Green, Virginia, August 7, 1989 "
The Boy Scouts has played a leadership role in preparing a generation for space exploration. It's no coincidence that half of all astronauts were once Scouts: Admiral Richard Truly, who ably heads NASA, is an Eagle Scout; Gus Grissom, an American hero who lost his life in the early space program, was a Scout; David Scott, who operated that first lunar rover, was a Scout; And Jim Lovell, another lunar explorer, whom I'm told is with us today. And I guess, Jim, if you're here, it's true what they say: Once an Eagle Scout, always an Eagle Scout... Eagle Scout Neil Armstrong, who made man's first step on the Moon and later sent his greetings to the Jamboree from deep space...God bless the Boy Scouts of America."
President George H.W. Bush stated at James Madison High School, Vienna, Virginia, March 28, 1989:
"People wonder and talk about...the Thousand Points of Light?...Helping some kid that may be tempted to use narcotics...A church group doing something...It's the Red Cross... It is the Boy Scouts...It is Christian Athletes... Voluntarism."
On February 16, 2002, Dr. James Dobson addressed approximately 3,500 people at the National Religious Broadcaster's on the topic of his book, Bringing Up Boys:
"The world into which children are born now has become a very dangerous place. It's changed tremendously... There is an attack on childhood...I don't think I can overstate it there are many people out there today who see in children an opportunity to change the culture...
They hate the Judeo-Christian value system. And children are the vulnerable ones. And if they can get control of children...they can change the whole culture in one generation. And there is now a tsunami coming our way...and boys especially are in the bull's eye. They're in the cross-hairs..."
Dr. Dobson continued:
"The National Education Association announced...every classroom of every school of every year is being taught homosexual propaganda. So they're teaching them that bisexuality is normal and that homosexuality and heterosexuality are morally equivalent... Of course, Christians can't come in and counter that... Can you imagine these children, 5-years old, sitting in a circle around the teacher who's telling them about adult perverse behavior? And we're not concerned about that?... 42 percent of the fourth-grade boys in this entire country can't read, and yet, we're going to teach them that? ..."
Dr. Dobson concluded:
"All these things are coming to your school ... There is a concerted effort to manipulate the minds of kids ... A stem cell is a cell in the human being...that in the very early stages of development it is undifferentiated. In other words, it's not yet other kinds of tissue, but it can go any direction depending on the environment that it's in ...
Do you understand that children are the stem cells for the culture? The environment that you put them in is what they grow up to be ... I saw a video the other day of children in Afghanistan and they were teaching these children how they could slit the throats of Israelis. If you teach that to 6-year-old boys, you will have violent men when they grow up.
That's why there is this effort to control the minds of kids. It's what's behind the attack on the Boy Scouts."
President Herbert Hoover addressed the 20th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, March 10, 1930:
"The boy... is a complex of cells teeming with... curiosity... The problem... is what to do with him in his leisure time that will... contribute to... his morals ... What will direct his interests to constructive joy instead of destructive glee ... His is the plastic period when indelible impressions must be made."
Sir Robert Baden-Powell left a Farewell Note, found after his death, but written before he became a peer in 1929:
"The hundreds of thousands of boys and girls who are learning our ideals today will be the fathers and mothers of millions in the near future, in whom they will in turn inculcate the same ideals -PROVIDED THAT THESE ARE REALLY AND UNMISTAKABLY IMPRESSED UPON THEM BY THEIR LEADERS OF TODAY... helping in practical fashion to bring to pass God's Kingdom of peace and goodwill upon earth. So, from my heart, I wish you God-speed in your effort. ROBERT BADEN-POWELL."
The Boy Scout organization grew to have a large salaried staff, which was contrary to Sir Robert Baden-Powell's warning in his Farewell Note:
"Don't let it become a salaried organization: keep it a voluntary movement of patriotic service."
In 2009, Barack Obama became the 44th U.S. President and honorary chairman of the Boy Scouts of America.
At the same time, organized pressure was applied for the Boy Scouts to embrace the gay agenda.
Faced with a large financial overhead and decreasing revenues, the Boy Scout leadership convinced its voting membership that more money would come if the Boy Scouts abandoned its century old definition of 'morally straight' and allowed entrance of those engaging in homosexual behavior. After an orchestrated campaign, and a heated national debate, the vote narrowly passed on May 23, 2013, leaving many volunteer leaders who had invested their lives building the organization feeling betrayed.
A new adventure organization for young men, Trail Life USA, was begun in 2013, offering exciting camping, physical and mental challenges, with awards.
Committed to developing Christian character and leadership skills, Trail Life's motto is 'Walk Worthy.' The Trail Life oath is: "On my honor, I will do my best, To serve God and my country; To respect authority; To be a good steward of creation; And to treat others as I want to be treated."
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1857BP001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. Boy Scouts of America, February 8, 1910, the Boy Scout Oath. "Boy Scouts of America," The World Book Encyclopedia, 18 vols. (Chicago, IL: Field Enterprises, Inc., 1957; W.F. Quarrie and Company, 8 vols., 1917; World Book, Inc., 22 vols., 1989), Vol. 2, pp. 948-951. John Wilson Taylor, M.A., Ph.D, editor, Lincoln Library of Essential Information (Buffalo, New York: The Frontier Press Company, 1935), pp. 1717, 2048. Harvey L. Price, Chief Scout Executive, The Official Boy Scout Handbook (Irving, Texas: The Boy Scouts of America), pp. 26-41. D.P. Diffine, Ph.D., One Nation Under God-How Close a Separation? (Searcy, Arkansas: Harding University, Belden Center for Private Enterprise Education, 6th edition, 1992), p. 16.
1857BP002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. Boy Scouts of America, February 8, 1910, the Boy Scout Law. "Boy Scouts of America," The World Book Encyclopedia, 18 vols. (Chicago, IL: Field Enterprises, Inc., 1957; W.F. Quarrie and Company, 8 vols., 1917; World Book, Inc., 22 vols., 1989), Vol. 2, pp. 948-951. John Wilson Taylor, M.A., Ph.D, editor, Lincoln Library of Essential Information (Buffalo, New York: The Frontier Press Company, 1935), pp. 1717, 2048. Harvey L. Price, Chief Scout Executive, The Official Boy Scout Handbook (Irving, Texas: The Boy Scouts of America), pp. 26-41.
1857BP303. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell, Scouting for Boys, 1908
http://members.tripod.com/~kclocke/index-6.html http://www.umcscouting.org/ministry/BP_Reverence.htm http://www.faqs.org/faqs/scouting/rec.scouting.issues/section-11.html
1857BP304. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, 1908. http://members.tripod.com/~kclocke/index-6.html http://www.umcscouting.org/ministry/BP_Reverence.htm http://www.faqs.org/faqs/scouting/rec.scouting.issues/section-11.html
1857BP203. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. Introduction to pamphlet Scouting & Christianity, 1917.
http://members.tripod.com/~kclocke/index-6.html http://www.umcscouting.org/ministry/BP_Reverence.htm http://www.faqs.org/faqs/scouting/rec.scouting.issues/section-11.html
1857BP304. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. Aids to Scoutmastership, 1919.
http://members.tripod.com/~kclocke/index-6.html http://www.umcscouting.org/ministry/BP_Reverence.htm http://www.faqs.org/faqs/scouting/rec.scouting.issues/section-11.html
1857BP305. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. Rovering to Success (1930, p. 181).
http://members.tripod.com/~kclocke/index-6.html http://www.umcscouting.org/ministry/BP_Reverence.htm http://www.faqs.org/faqs/scouting/rec.scouting.issues/section-11.html
1857BP204. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Boy Scouts, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge addressed a gathering of Boy Scouts in New York.
1857BP205. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. First edition of the Scout Handbook (2nd edition 1911, 3rd edition 1915, 4th edition 1927), 12th point of the Scout Law, "A Scout is Reverent."
1857BP206. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. The 5th edition of the Scout Handbook (1948), "Duty to God."
1857BP207. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. The 5th edition of the Scout Handbook (1948), "A Scout is Reverent."
1857BP208. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. The 6th edition of the Boy Scout Handbook (1959), "Duty to God."
1857BP209. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. The 6th edition of the Boy Scout Handbook (1959), "A Scout is Reverent."
1857BP210. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell "B-P's final letter to the Scouts". Girl Guiding UK. http://guidinguk.freeservers.com/B-P.html
1857BP211. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. May 1, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson issued a Proclamation of a National Boy Scout Week.
1857BP212. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President Calvin Coolidge, May 1, 1926, before the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Washington, D.C.
1857BP213. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, February 8, 1939.
1857BP214. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden-Powell. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, February 8, 1940, greeted the Boy Scouts.
1857BP215. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, February 7, 1943, greeted the Boy Scouts.
1857BP216. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, February 10, 1934, stated in a radio address to the Boy Scouts.
1857BP217. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President Dwight Eisenhower, June 1, 1960, stated on the 50th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.
1857BP218. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President Dwight Eisenhower, May 29, 1954, remarked to the 44th National Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
1857BP219. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President Gerald Ford, November 14, 1974, remarked at a Question- and-Answer Session at the Annual Convention of the Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, Phoenix, Arizona.
1857BP220. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President Gerald Ford, December 2, 1974, remarked at the Boy Scouts' Annual Awards Dinner.
1857BP221. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President Gerald Ford, March 20, 1976, remarked at a Question-and- Answer Session at Lenoir Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina.
1857BP222. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President Ronald Reagan, April 27, 1982, remarked on Private Sector Initiatives at a White House Briefing for National Service Organization Leaders.
1857BP223. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President Ronald Reagan, February 8, 1985, remarked at a White House Luncheon Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.
1857BP224. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President Ronald Reagan, December 15, 1985, issued Proclamation 5421--75th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.
1857BP225. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President George H.W. Bush, August 7, 1989, remarked at the Boy Scout National Jamboree in Bowling Green, Virginia.
1857BP226. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President George H.W. Bush, March 28, 1989, stated at James Madison High School, Vienna, Virginia.
1857BP227. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. Dr. James Dobson, February 16, 2002, addressed approximately 3,500 people at the National Religious Broadcaster's on his book, Bringing Up Boys.
1857BP228. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell. President Herbert Hoover, March 10, 1930, addressed the 20th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America,
1857BP229. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Robert Baden- Powell.The New Yorker, May 24, 2013, report by Andy Borowitz: An alternative to the Boy Scouts was begun in 2013 named "On My Honor. www.OnMyHonor.net