1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:05,240 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:10,600 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:14,159 Speaker 1: show that blazes a trail through history, one day at 4 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:18,760 Speaker 1: a time. I'm Gabeluesier, and today we're talking about the 5 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 1: birth of the Scouting movement, a social program that teaches 6 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: outdoor skills and citizenship to young people all over the 7 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: world and hooks them up with some pretty slick merit 8 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:40,519 Speaker 1: badges in the process. The day was January twenty fourth, 9 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:45,600 Speaker 1: nineteen oh eight. The first installment of Robert Baden Powell's 10 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: Scouting for Boys was published in England. The remaining installments 11 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: would be released over the next three months, and the 12 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:56,280 Speaker 1: completed work would form the basis of the first Boy 13 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:00,080 Speaker 1: Scout Handbook. By the time it hits store shelves, there 14 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: were already dozens of informal Boy Scout troops operating all 15 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:08,200 Speaker 1: over Britain, and within one year's time, the membership of 16 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,959 Speaker 1: those clubs would swell to more than sixty thousand Scouts. 17 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: Fast forward to today, and millions of young boys and 18 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: girls are now members of Scouting organizations that operate in 19 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: just about every country on Earth. Scouting has become a 20 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: worldwide movement, and Baden Powell was the man who started 21 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: it all. Robert baden Powell was born in London on 22 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:38,039 Speaker 1: February twenty second, eighteen fifty seven. He spent much of 23 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:40,559 Speaker 1: his early life playing in the woods near his home 24 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: and learning about the natural world. He was especially interested 25 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:48,200 Speaker 1: in what was then known as woodcraft, the skill of 26 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: surviving and making one's way in the woods. As he 27 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: later put it himself quote, in my spare time as 28 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 1: a schoolboy, I did a good lot of scouting in 29 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: the woods, in the way of snaring rabbits and cooking them, 30 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 1: observing birds and tracking animals and so on. In eighteen 31 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: seventy six, baden Powell left school early and joined the 32 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 1: British Army. He would spend the next thirty four years 33 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 1: in service to his country, taking posts in both India 34 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: and South Africa. Working in the field as a military scout, 35 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: baden Powell learned even more about wilderness survival, especially during 36 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: his time in South Africa, where knowledge of the landscape 37 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: was key to gathering intel and evading capture. As his 38 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: career progressed, baden Powell began teaching other soldiers about woodcraft 39 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,639 Speaker 1: and scouting, and in eighteen eighty four, he turned many 40 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: of those lessons into his first book, Reconnaissance and Scouting. 41 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: He followed it up with several more volumes, including in 42 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety nine military Field Manual, intended to make soldiers 43 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:57,920 Speaker 1: more independent and self reliant. It was called Aids to 44 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,640 Speaker 1: Scouting and it was a hit with British soldiers and 45 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 1: with the general public back in England. Later that year, 46 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: Baden Powell went from a respected officer to a bonafide 47 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: war hero thanks to his impressive leadership at the Siege 48 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,919 Speaker 1: of MafA King. The two hundred and seventeen day long 49 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 1: siege battle took place during the Second Boer War, and 50 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:25,240 Speaker 1: although he was badly outnumbered, Baden Powell successfully defended his 51 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,760 Speaker 1: garrison and the town of MafA King until they were 52 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: finally relieved by additional British forces. One formative moment during 53 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: the siege came when Baden Powell encountered a group of 54 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: teenage boys called the MafA King Cadets, in an effort 55 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: to free up soldiers for combat. These local teams had 56 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: been assigned jobs as lookouts, bicycle messengers, and postmen. Baden 57 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: Powell was impressed by the boy's level of maturity and 58 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: competency in the field, and also took note of their 59 00:03:56,520 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: matching khaki uniforms. By the time he returned into England, 60 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: Powell was a highly decorated officer and a national hero. 61 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: He was also surprised to learn that his book Aids 62 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: to Scouting had found a large audience among boys, teachers 63 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: and youth organizations. Hearing that and thinking back to the 64 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: MafA King Cadets, Baden Powell decided to write a non 65 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:24,160 Speaker 1: military field guide specifically for adolescents, one that would not 66 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:27,799 Speaker 1: only teach them lessons about camping and tracking, but also 67 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,279 Speaker 1: offer advice on morality, healthy living, and how to be 68 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:35,440 Speaker 1: a good citizen. However, before he wrote the book, he 69 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: decided to organize a trial scouting camp to test out 70 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,920 Speaker 1: some of his ideas. In the summer of nineteen o seven, 71 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:45,839 Speaker 1: he took a group of twenty boys from different social 72 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:50,159 Speaker 1: backgrounds to Brownsea Island off the coast of England. There 73 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:52,800 Speaker 1: they set up camp for the next two weeks, and 74 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:56,360 Speaker 1: with the help of other adult instructors, Baden Powell taught 75 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 1: the boys about everything from animal tracking, to life saving 76 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: to chivalry. Many of the lessons were imparted in the 77 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 1: form of clever outdoor games and activities which the boys 78 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:11,840 Speaker 1: couldn't get enough of. This proto Boy Scouts meeting was 79 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: a huge success, and it encouraged Baden Powell to move 80 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,359 Speaker 1: forward with his next book, Scouting for Boys. It was 81 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: released in serialized installments, with the first one appearing just 82 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: a few months later on January twenty fourth, nineteen o eight. 83 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 1: As the author explained in the book's introduction quote, I 84 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,919 Speaker 1: knew that every true red blooded boy is keen for 85 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 1: adventure and open air life, and so I wrote this 86 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: book to show you how it could be done, even 87 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 1: in a civilized country like England. The book contained all 88 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 1: sorts of practical lessons, as well as a breakdown of 89 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: the so called Scout method, the system on which modern 90 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,440 Speaker 1: Boy Scout troops are based, and the official Scout motto 91 00:05:55,920 --> 00:06:01,160 Speaker 1: be prepared. According to the author, being prepared means that quote, 92 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,480 Speaker 1: you are always in a state of readiness in mind 93 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: and body to do your duty. It's also no coincidence 94 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:12,039 Speaker 1: that the initials of the motto BP are the same 95 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:15,359 Speaker 1: as the man who coined it for someone born in 96 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: his era. Baden Powell was surprisingly forward thinking in his 97 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: attitudes toward animals and man's interaction with nature. A scout 98 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: is a friend to animals, he wrote, he should save 99 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 1: them as far as possible from pain, and should not 100 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: kill any animal unnecessarily, even if it is only a fly. 101 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,359 Speaker 1: I have said that hunting or going after big game 102 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: is one of the best things in scouting, but I 103 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: did not say that shooting or killing the game was 104 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 1: the best part. For as you get to study animals, 105 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: you get to like them more and more, and you 106 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 1: will soon find that you don't want to kill them 107 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:55,839 Speaker 1: for the mere sake of killing. Baden Powell also attempted 108 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:59,040 Speaker 1: to teach lessons for self improvement, though some of them 109 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 1: would be deemed a bit too blunt by today's standards. 110 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:06,159 Speaker 1: Take his advice on smoking, for example, which is that quote, 111 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: no boy ever began smoking because he liked it, but 112 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 1: because he thought it made him look like a grown 113 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 1: up man. As a matter of fact, though it generally 114 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: makes him look a little ass. Scouting for Boys offered 115 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 1: similar candid opinions on other childhood temptations, including dirty magazines, 116 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: rich foods, and sleeping with too many blankets. Baden Powell's 117 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 1: solutions to all of those daunting problems was to shower 118 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:37,080 Speaker 1: in cold water and take up boxing, advice that somehow 119 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: persisted in later editions all the way up until the 120 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:45,920 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties. Despite some of its more questionable guidance, Scouting 121 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:50,280 Speaker 1: for boys proved wildly successful, so much so that Baden 122 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: Powell quickly established a Central Boy Scouts Office, which registered 123 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:58,560 Speaker 1: new Scouts and designed an official uniform, once again taking 124 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: cues from the MafA King Cadets. One year later, in 125 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 1: September of nineteen o nine, the first National Boy Scouts 126 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: Rally was held at the Crystal Palace in London. It 127 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:13,120 Speaker 1: welcomed more than ten thousand boys, as well as a 128 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: number of uniformed girls, who called themselves the Girl Scouts. 129 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: Baden Powell took note of their interest. In the following year, 130 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 1: he and his sister Agnes organized a similar but separate 131 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: Scout group just for girls, known in England as the 132 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 1: Girl Guides. Since then, both organizations have expanded worldwide, and 133 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: the Scouting movement now include some forty one million active 134 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: Scouts and Guides from over two hundred countries. Times have 135 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:46,440 Speaker 1: certainly changed since the early days of scouting, but the 136 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:48,880 Speaker 1: call of the wild and the drive to answer it. 137 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,960 Speaker 1: Are still alive and well and plenty of kids around 138 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 1: the globe, and that's a good thing too, for, as 139 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:59,560 Speaker 1: Robert Baden Powell once said, life without adventure would be 140 00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:06,720 Speaker 1: deadly dull. I'm Gabeluesier and hopefully you now know a 141 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,959 Speaker 1: little more about history today than you did yesterday. If 142 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:12,600 Speaker 1: you want to keep up with the show, you can 143 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show. 144 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 1: And if you have any feedback you'd like to share, 145 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:23,200 Speaker 1: you can always send it my way by writing to 146 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 1: This Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks as always to 147 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,480 Speaker 1: Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thank you for listening. 148 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,959 Speaker 1: I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another day 149 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 1: in History class.