Boys' Youth Group Uniforms: North America

Figure 1.--These American Scouts are partixipating in the annual Scout Expo in 1983. Scours in the Great Capital area prepare booths and activities both for fun and to provide a glimse of Scouting acyivities.

Americans began organizing youth groups at about the same time as Baden Powell founded the Boy Scouts. When the Boy Scouts were founded, these groups were incorporated into the American Boy Scouts. Since its founding, the Scouts have been the dominant American youth organization. America has the largest Scout movement and more American boys have participated in Scouting than in any other country--reflecying thev middle class origins of most Americans. There are other youth organizations in America, but all are minor in comparison to the Scouts. Scouting is also the principal youth group in Canada. Canadian scouting has generally followed the British model.

Bermuda

Bermuda has a small Scouting program which is the most impottant uniformed youth group. There may also be a small Boys' Brigade program.

Canada

The only Canadioan youth group that we have information on at this time is the Boy Scouts which were founded in 1907. Canadian Scouts adopted Baden Powell's British Scouting program. The Scouts as in many countries was the principal boys uniformed youth group. As Canada was a British Empire country, there must have also been a Boys' Brigade program, but we do not yet have aby infornation about it.

United States

Scouting in the principal American youth group in America. The American Scouting movement was stongly influenced by Baden Powell's English Scouts, but there were several Scout-like groups which formed in Americam before the Enlish Scouting movement was formed. After Scouting became the dominate movement in the 1900s. One of the most important was Camp Fire. Religious groups, objecting to the secular, non denominational constraints of Scoting formed the royal rangers. Right and left wing groups also formed uouth groups of some importance, primarily in the 1930s.