Scouting America · Episode 2 of 13 · 23 min
The Machine That Made Eagles
In 1911 the Boy Scouts of America had a borrowed British book and a rented YMCA office until James E. West arrived and built the executive corps, councils, magazine and advancement machinery. Congress gave the organization an unusually strong claim over its words in 1916, used quickly against a rival. The quietest decision, chartering troops to churches and civic groups, shaped who could lead boys for a century.
Who's who
- James E. West+3 more episodesChief Scout Executive 1911-1943; built the BSA's organization
- Edgar M. Robinson+1 more episodeYMCA official and real institutional founder of the BSA
- Ernest Thompson Seton+1 more episodeChief Scout 1910-1915; left over West's bureaucratic turn
- Daniel Carter Beard+1 more episodeNational Scout Commissioner who sat on the first Eagle board
- Arthur Rose EldredFirst Eagle Scout, 1912
- Norman Rockwell+2 more episodesBoys' Life art editor who painted Scout calendars
- William Randolph HearstBacker of the rival United States Boy Scouts
- Woodrow Wilson+9 more episodesPresident who signed the BSA's federal charter in 1916
Where it happens
- New York City+13 more episodesSite of the BSA national office in a YMCA building
- Rockville Centre, New YorkHome troop of the first Eagle Scout
- Washington, D.C.+31 more episodesSite of the 1937 National Jamboree on the National Mall
- Treasure Island, PennsylvaniaWhere the Order of the Arrow was founded in 1915
Timeline
- January 1, 1911West becomes Chief Scout Executive; Boys' Life is founded
- June 1911Official Handbook for Boys appears with 57 merit badges
- August 21, 1912Arthur Rose Eldred notified as the first Eagle Scout
- 1913The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints becomes the first chartered partner
- June 15, 1916Wilson signs the BSA's federal charter
- June 30, 1937First National Jamboree opens with about 25,000 Scouts
Still debated
Sources disagree on whether the Declaration of Religious Principle dates from 1911 or 1916. Whether the federal charter made the rival Hearst group's destruction inevitable, or only quick, is an interpretation.
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