Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum

In 1907, after learning that his military textbook "Aids to Scouting" (1899) was being used for training boys in woodcraft,, British school officials asked Baden-Powell to adapt his program for boys. After much preparation, he conducted the first Boy Scout camp on Brownsea Island in 1907.  The following year he published "Scouting for Boys",  a book that introduced the Scout's Oath,  the Scout Law,  and the official motto,  "Be Prepared."  Some qualities for Boy Scouts outlined in the book include  obedience,  honor,  thrift, and a willingness to help others.  Typical scouting activities are camping,  nature study, and first aid training.

          In the United States the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) had been running camps for boys since 1884.  In 1902 Ernest Thompson Seton founded the Tribe of Woodcraft Indians as an organization for boys.  Three years later Daniel Carter Beard started a similar society called the Sons of Daniel Boone. These two groups, along with the YMCA camps, laid the foundation on which the Boy Scout movement developed in the United States in conjunction with Baden-Powell's work in England.  The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was incorporated on Feb. 8, 1910.  On June 15, 1916, Congress granted a charter to the organization.  In England the Boy Scouts had been formally started on Jan. 24, 1908.