List of Presidents of the United States involved in Scouting
In 1911, President William Howard Taft accepted the position of honorary president of the BSA; each U.S. president since has been offered the position and has served. Theodore Roosevelt was the only honorary vice-president, as he had left office before the honorary presidency began.
| List of presidents of the United States involved in Scouting | |||
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 U.S. President Roosevelt in a national radio address for the 1937 national Scout jamboree | |||
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List of presidents
- Theodore Roosevelt was selected as an honorary vice president in 1911 and appointed as the only chief Scout citizen. He served on the troop committee of Troop 39, Oyster Bay, New York and was the first council commissioner of Nassau County Council. For many years after his death in 1919, several thousand Scouts and leaders in the New York area made annual pilgrimages to his grave at the Youngs Memorial Cemetery in Oyster Bay.[1] TR has had two local councils named after him. The Theodore Roosevelt Council, and the Nassau County Council soon renamed to Theodore Roosevelt Council.[2]
- William Howard Taft was the first honorary president of the BSA. At his invitation, the first annual meeting of the BSA was held in the White House in 1911.[3][4]
- Woodrow Wilson was the first president to have a Scout escort at his inauguration in 1913, a tradition that continues. He signed the bill granting the BSA a congressional charter in 1916 and declared a Boy Scout Week to promote membership and funding.[5][6]
- Warren G. Harding authorized the "Harding Awards" given in 1923 to troops with membership increases.[7]
- Calvin Coolidge accepted the honorary presidency on August 16, 1923, noting that both of his sons were Scouts. When Calvin Coolidge, Jr. died, Scouts participated in the honor guard and in crowd control.[8] Coolidge presented the first Silver Buffalo Award in 1926.[4]
- Herbert Hoover helped to launch the BSA's 20th anniversary. His wife, Lou Henry Hoover, was national president of the Girl Scouts of the USA from 1922 to 1925 and again in 1935–1937 and the honorary president from 1929 to 1933.[9]
- Franklin D. Roosevelt was president of the Greater New York Councils. He was instrumental in the purchase of Ten Mile River Scout Camp. FDR received the Silver Buffalo Award in a ceremony held at the camp on August 23, 1930.[10] In 1933, he was made an honorary member of the Suanhacky Lodge of the Order of the Arrow[11]:35
- Harry S. Truman attended the 1950 National Scout Jamboree.[12]
- Dwight D. Eisenhower's son John Eisenhower was a Scout.[13] He became a member of the National Executive Board in 1948— and as president —spoke on the observance of the BSA's 50th anniversary in 1960.[14] He was made an honorary member of the Zit-Kala-Sha Lodge of the Order of the Arrow in 1953.[11]:79 He received the Wohelo Award from the Campfire Girls in 1960.[15]
- John F. Kennedy was the first president who had been a Scout as a youth. He was a member of Troop 2 in Bronxville, New York from 1929 to 1931, attaining the rank of Star Scout.[16] JFK was active in the Boston Council from 1946 to 1955 as district vice chairman, member of the executive board and representative to the National Council.
- Lyndon B. Johnson was a member of the Exploring committee in the Capitol Area Council and a member of the National Capital Area Council from 1959 to 1963. Helped organize Post 1200 in Washington, D.C., which was chartered by the House of Representatives for Congressional page boys. He visited the 1964 National Scout Jamboree.[17]
- Richard Nixon, as vice-president visited and spoke at the 1953 National Scout Jamboree in Irvine, California and at the 1957 National Scout Jamboree in Valley Forge State Park, Pennsylvania.[18] He received the annual report of the BSA on February 5, 1970, launching the BSA's 60th anniversary.[19] Nixon hosted the First National Explorers presidents' Congress in 1971 on the White House lawn.
- Gerald Ford was very involved in the BSA as a youth, attaining the rank of Eagle Scout.[20] He always regarded this as one of his proudest accomplishments, even after attaining the White House.[21] Ford received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in May 1970 and the Silver Buffalo Award in 1995.[22] The West Michigan Shores Council was renamed the Gerald R. Ford Council in 1995. About 400 Eagle Scouts were part of Ford's funeral procession, where they formed an honor guard and served as ushers.[23][24]
- Jimmy Carter was a troop committee chairman, Scoutmaster and Explorer Advisor.[25] After Carter's appeal for energy conservation programs, the BSA held a Scouting Environment Day in 1977 and participated in other conservation programs.
- Ronald Reagan was active with the Golden Empire Council when he was governor. He served on the council's advisory board, he chaired Project SOAR (Save Our American Resources) and was the membership roundup chairman. He was awarded the Silver Beaver Award. As a member of the Los Angeles Area Council, he served as Scoutorama chairman and as a sustaining member.[26] Nancy Reagan spoke at the 1985 National Scout Jamboree.[27]
- George H. W. Bush was a Cub Scout; he attended the 2005 National Scout Jamboree.[17]
- Bill Clinton was a Cub Scout.[28] He attended the 1997 National Scout Jamboree.[17]
- George W. Bush was a Cub Scout.[29] He attended the 1989 National Scout Jamboree.[17]
- Barack Obama was a Siaga (Cub Scout) in Gerakan Pramuka Indonesia, the national Scouting organization of Indonesia.[30]
- Donald Trump, was never a scout, and never served scouting as an adult. Like many of the recent presidents before him,[31] while serving in his capacity as honorary president of the Boy Scouts of America, attended the 2017 National Scout Jamboree. He used the opportunity to speak to the scouts in attendance to boast about his 2016 electoral victory, and criticize his predecessor Barack Obama, former opponent Hillary Clinton, and the media.[32]
- Joe Biden, was a former Boy Scout.[33]
Gallery
- Presidents
1913 - Woodrow Wilson.jpg.webp)
1916 - Theodore Roosevelt
1923 - Warren Harding
1927 - Calvin Coolidge
1929 - Gerald Ford
1932 - Herbert Hoover
1937 - FDR
1951 - Harry Truman
1971 - Richard Nixon
2005 - George W. Bush
2015 - Barack Obama
- First-ladies
1911- Helen Taft
1922 - Florence Harding
1952 - Bess Truman
1977 - Rosalynn Carter
2000 - Hillary Clinton
2011 - Michelle Obama
References
- "3,500 BOY SCOUTS VISIT GRAVE OF T.R.; Pilgrimage Also Honors Mrs. Roosevelt, Buried 3 Weeks Ago at Oyster Bay". New York Times. October 17, 1948.
- "Boy Scouting". Theodore Roosevelt Center. Dickinson State University.
- "Taft Elected President". Our History. Order of the Arrow.
- Wendell, Bryan. "Scouts have met with every sitting president at the White House since Taft". Bryan on Scouting. BSA. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- "Boy Scout Week". The New York Times. June 19, 1919.
- Woolley, John T.; Peters, Gerhard. "Woodrow Wilson: Proclamation – Boy Scout Week". The American Presidency Project. University of California.
- "President Warren G. Harding presenting the "Harding Award" to the Boy Scouts for increasing membership at the Hotel Ponce de Leon". Flagler College.
- Peterson, Dennis L. (October 2000). "The 'Most Wholesome and Best in the American Boy'". Scouting. Boy Scouts of America.
- "Lou Hoover and Girl Scouts". Hoover Presidential Library.
- "Roosevelt Honored by the Boy Scouts". The New York Times. August 24, 1930. p. 21. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- Davis, Kenneth P (1990). The Brotherhood of Cheerful Service: A History of the Order of the Arrow. Irving, TX: Boy Scouts of America. ISBN 0839549989.
- Truman, Harry (June 30, 1950). "Address at Valley Forge at the Boy Scout Jamboree".
- D'Este, Carlo (2002). Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life. Macmillan. p. 172. ISBN 9780805056860. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- Woolley, John T.; Peters, Gerhard. "Dwight D. Eisenhower: Remarks Recorded in Observance of the 50th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America". The American Presidency Project. University of California. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- "Eisenhower Honored; Gets Campfire Girls' Award for Service to Youth". The New York Times. November 1, 1960. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
- "John F. Kennedy Miscellaneous Information". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- Wendell, Bryan (July 21, 2017). "A complete history of presidential visits at National Jamborees". Bryan on Scouting. Scouting.
- Halter, Jon C. (September 2000). "Jamboree Memories". Scouting. Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- Woolley, John T.; Peters, Gerhard. "Richard Nixon: Remarks on Receiving the Boy Scouts' Annual Report to the Nation". The American Presidency Project. University of California. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- "Fact Sheet Eagle Scouts". Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- "Gerald R. Ford". Report to the Nation. Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- Townley, Alvin (2006). Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 12–13 and 87. ISBN 0-312-36653-1. Retrieved January 27, 2008.
- Balloch, Jim (January 4, 2007). "Knox Eagle Scout has role in Ford funeral". KnoxNews. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- Ray, Mark (2007). "Eagle Scout Welcome Gerald Ford Home". Scouting Magazine. Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- "Carter Elected President". Our History. Order of the Arrow.
- "What the last 5 U.S. Presidents said about Scouting". BSA. February 17, 2017.
- Wendell, Bryan. "Nancy Reagan brought her anti-drug message to the 1985 National Scout Jamboree". Scouting Magazine.
- "Superstar Scouts". Boys' Life Magazine. p. 28.
- Bush, George W. "President Addresses 2005 National Boy Scout Jamboree". The White House. Retrieved December 28, 2006.
- Forbes, Mark (October 1, 2008). "Obama, AKA Fat Little Barry, Remembered". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 2. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2017/07/21/a-complete-history-of-presidential-visits-at-national-jamborees/. Retrieved February 3, 2021. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - Cillizza, Chris (July 27, 2017). "The 29 most cringe-worthy lines from Donald Trump's hyper-political speech to the Boy Scouts". CNN.
- Wendell, Bryan (May 19, 2016). "Read Vice President Joe Biden's letter to an Eagle Scout". Bryan on Scouting. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
External links
- Reagan, Ronald (February 8, 1985). "Remarks at a White House Luncheon Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America". Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum.
- George H.W. Bush (September 7, 1989). "Presidential Address at National Jamboree". C-SPAN (video).
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