Scouting programs are service and recreation organizations that nurture character development, respect, self-esteem and patriotism in young people. Both the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), organized in 1909, and the Girl Scouts of the United States (initially American Girl Guides), organized in 1912, replicated English programs created by Boer War hero Lord Robert Baden-Powell. An amalgamation of Christianity, Kipling’s Just So Stories, military culture and Native American folklore, scouting developed in tandem with other youth and social-reform movements.

Membership figures soared during the first half of the twentieth century when scouts were involved in wartime projects. During the Second World War scouts sold war bonds, distributed defense housing surveys, kept victory gardens and worked with the Red Cross. Since the 1960s both groups have tried to keep pace with societal changes while preserving founding ideals. Seen as exemplars of white middle-class American values, both organizations have worked to adapt their programs to different geographical areas and time periods. Both have been celebrated and lampooned in media representations of scouts and scout leaders.

Recent controversies concerning references to God in the BSA oath, accusations of homophobia in both organizations and ongoing debates about single-gender groups are the subject of discussion in the media. However, both groups boast healthy membership numbers (5 million Boy Scouts and 3.5 million Girl Scouts as of 1990) and have launched national campaigns against child and drug abuse, crime and illiteracy in addition to more conventional scouting activities such as hiking, camping and environmental conservation.