History Of Boy Scout Patches

History of Boy Scout Patches

Four dedicated men who wanted a group where they could teach young people to interact with each other and learn life skills founded the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) at the turn of the 20th century. As the group grew over the past century, its membership has reached a record high of over 2.7 million members. Since its founding, the organization has imparted valuable life skills to over 110 million people.

The BSA’s Goal

The organization’s mission is to train young men and instill traits of responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance. They do this by encouraging members to participate in educational programs and group activities when they are young. As members get older, they are taught career-oriented material. All scouts are required to learn important life skills and values, the most important of which are trustworthiness, good citizenship, and outdoors skills.

History of Merit Badges

Merit badges are symbols that young Boy Scouts wear to show their achievements and the skills that they know. They are awarded to scouts who have participated in, and excelled at certain activities.

When the scouting program migrated to the U.S. in 1910, the organization issued a list of 14 badges that were never made or awarded. In 1911, the BSA created their first batch of the original 57 available merit badges, of which only a handful remain. As time progressed, newer and more applicable badges, based on the social climate, often replaced those that were discontinued.

Evolution of Badges

Some of the main factors that influenced the change in the merit badge system include social climate, popular interests, applicability, the scouting program’s interests, and merging.

One interesting thing about social climate and popular interest is that it has affected the development and discontinuation of merit badges. One of the original 57 merit badges that was discontinued in 1952 was the “Interpreting” badge which focuses on language and communication. 20 years later, as interest in ancestry and family history increased, the BSA added a “Genealogy” badge to their repertoire.

Another of the original badges that was altered in 1972 was the "First Aid to Animals," which was reborn the following year as a badge for “Veterinary Science” because it was more applicable. Many badges also changed over the years because of merging. In the 1970’s, all of the badges related to plants and crops were merged to create a new badge that encompassed all of them, namely, the “Plant Science” badge.

Merit badges have also changed over the years based on the interests and focuses of the BSA. For example, the “Civics” badge was split into four badges in 1952 in order to place more focus on each of the four consequent badges. These included “Citizenship in the Community," "Citizenship in the Nation," "Citizenship in the World," and "Family Life” which have all made it onto the mandatory badge list for all Eagle Scouts.

The Future of Badges

Currently, scouts can perform the tasks related to each of the corresponding badges and earn more than 130 badges. The face of the merit badge landscape is ever-changing with new badges being added or removed as necessary. One new badge that was announced by the BSA and NASA in 2011 was the Merit badge for “Robotics.” It is a part of the STEM badge collection (which currently consists of 31 badges) that focuses on science, technology, engineering, and math.

We can expect to see the rise and fall of many badges in the years to come. If you are interested in purchasing custom made badges to award your children or if you decide to start your own scout troop, you will need to find a verified and reputable badge dealer. You too can become a part of the worldwide scouting association by working along with the BSA and children in your community.

Written by James Kirk at Artex Group providing custom embroidered patches in The United States. You can follow Artex Group's business ramblings Twitter account @ArtexGroup