Editing Scouting (section)

==History==
===Origins===
In the late nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century, there was popular interest in frontier and military scouts. Boys and girls read fictional and non fictional stories about scouts and emulated these scouts in dress and activities and used self-help manuals. Some teachers and youth leaders instructed boys and girls in scoutcraft. ''Reconnaissance and Scouting'' (1884)<ref name="bp1884">{{cite book |last=Baden-Powell |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell |title=Reconnaissance and scouting. A practical course of instruction, in twenty plain lessons, for officers, non-commissioned officers, and men |publisher=W. Clowes and Sons |date=1884 |location=London |oclc=9913678}}</ref> and ''Aids to Scouting'',<ref name="bp1899">{{cite book |last=Baden-Powell |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell |title=Aids to scouting for N.-C.Os. & men |publisher=Gale & Polden |date=1899 |location=London |oclc=316520848}}</ref> books on military scout training written by [[Robert Baden-Powell]], were among the sources used for instruction. Sales of ''Aids to Scouting'' were fuelled by Baden-Powell's fame as hero of the [[Second Boer War]].<ref name="arrow">{{cite web |title=First Scouting Handbook |publisher=Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts of America |url=http://history.oa-bsa.org/node/3019 |access-date=April 24, 2014 |archive-date=11 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211023502/http://history.oa-bsa.org/node/3019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

(For Baden-Powell's background in [[woodcraft]] and scouting see [[Baden-Powell]])

Inspired by the interest in his books on scout training and urged by the [[Boys' Brigade]] founder, [[William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade)|William A. Smith]] and leaders, some of whom had adopted Scout training, and by the publishers, [[C. Arthur Pearson Ltd]], Baden-Powell began writing a book for boy readership.<ref name="BPJeal">{{cite book |last=Jeal |first=Tim |author-link=Tim Jeal |publisher=Yale University Press|year=1989 |title=Baden-Powell |pages=360–362, 371}}</ref> Baden-Powell was also motivated by his experience with the Mafeking Cadet Corp and the poor physical standards of recruits and their poor preparation for colonial wars. He studied other youth training schemes. In July 1906, [[Ernest Thompson Seton]], a British-born Canadian raised naturalist, artist and writer living in the United States, sent Baden-Powell a copy of his 1902 book ''The Birchbark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians''<ref name="birchbark">{{cite web |title=Woodcraft Indians |publisher=Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts of America |url=http://history.oa-bsa.org/node/3039 |access-date=April 24, 2014}}</ref> and they met in October 1906 and shared ideas about youth training, providing Baden-Powell with a scheme for delivery of scout training.<ref name="SetonInfed">{{cite web |year=2002 |url=http://www.infed.org/thinkers/seton.htm |title=Ernest Thompson Seton and Woodcraft |publisher=InFed |access-date=December 7, 2006}}</ref><ref name="BPInfed">{{cite web |year=2002 |url=http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-bp.htm |title=Robert Baden-Powell as an Educational Innovator |publisher=InFed |access-date=December 7, 2006}}</ref>

[[File:Scout stone Brownsea.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Stone on [[Brownsea Island]] commemorating the [[Brownsea Island Scout camp|first experimental Scout camp]]]]
In August 1907, Baden-Powell led a week-long experimental [[Brownsea Island Scout camp|Scout camp]] on [[Brownsea Island]] in [[Poole Harbour]], Dorset England to test his ideas. Twenty-one boys from various social backgrounds, from boy's schools in the London area and a section of boys from the [[Poole]], [[Parkstone]], [[Hamworthy]], [[Bournemouth]] and [[Winton, Dorset|Winton]] Boys' Brigade units attended the camp.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Woolgar, Brian|author2=La Riviere, Sheila|year=2002|title=Why Brownsea? The Beginnings of Scouting |publisher=Brownsea Island Scout and Guide Management Committee}}</ref> Following Seton's scheme, the boys organized themselves in small groups with an elected leader.<ref>{{cite web |first=Johnny|last=Walker|url=http://scoutguidehistoricalsociety.com/| title=Scouting Milestones&nbsp;– Brownsea Island|access-date=July 7, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614022349/http://scoutguidehistoricalsociety.com/|archive-date=June 14, 2011}}</ref> The camp was accompanied by advertising and followed by an extensive promotional speaking tour arranged by [[C. Arthur Pearson Ltd.]] to promote the forthcoming book.

In 1908, Baden-Powell's book, ''[[Scouting for Boys]]'', was published in six fortnightly parts, followed in April by ''[[Scouting magazine (The Scout Association)#The Scout (1908–1966)|The Scout]]'' magazine.  These omitted many military aspects of ''Aids to Scouting'' and transferred the techniques (mainly [[survival skills]]) to non-military heroes: backwoodsmen, explorers<ref name="VoL">{{Cite book |last=Baden-Powell |first=Robert |url=http://www.pinetreeweb.com/bp-varsity10-1.htm |title=Lessons from the Varsity of Life | chapter = 10 |year=1933 |author-link=Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061202185248/http://www.pinetreeweb.com/bp-varsity10-1.htm |archive-date= 2006-12-02|page=14  |url-status=dead}}</ref> He also added innovative educational principles (the [[Scout method]]) by which he extended the attractive game to a personal mental education.<ref name="BPInfed"/> and provided descriptions of the [[Scout method]] of outdoor activities aiming at [[Moral character|developing character]], [[Citizenship education (subject)|citizenship training]] and [[Physical fitness]] among youth.<ref name="bp1908">{{cite book |last=Baden-Powell |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell |title=Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship |publisher=H. Cox |date=1908 |location=London
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qgFcKf69L6wC |isbn=978-0-486-45719-2}}</ref><ref name="founded">{{cite web |title=Scouting Founded |publisher=Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts of America |url=http://history.oa-bsa.org/node/3017 |access-date=September 29, 2014}}</ref><ref name="notestobook2004">{{Cite book| first = Elleke | last = Boehmer | title = Notes to 2004 edition of Scouting for Boys | year = 2004 | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = [[Oxford]] }}</ref> Later in 1908, ''Scouting for Boys'' was published in book form and a revised edition was published in 1909 and was the basis for the 1910 ''Boy Scout Handbook'' of the [[Boy Scouts of America]] by Seton.<ref name="firstpub">{{cite web |last=Baden-Powell |first=Robert |year=1998 |url=http://www.pinetreeweb.com/bp-scouting-for-boys.htm |title=Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, 1908 |publisher=Pinetreeweb.com |access-date=December 9, 2006}}</ref> The various editions of the book are now the fourth-bestselling title of all time.<ref name="bestseller">{{cite web |year=2005 |url=http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/history/ |title=The birth of an idea |work=The History of Scouting |publisher=The Scout Association |access-date=December 12, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218022145/http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/history/ |archive-date=February 18, 2010 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> The original edition and magazine described a scheme which could be used by established organizations, particular the various Brigade Movement organizations.<ref name="A Scouting timeline">{{cite web |url= http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/history/|title= The History of Scouting|access-date=August 18, 2007 |publisher= The Scout Association|date=2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070818201813/http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/history/|archive-date=August 18, 2007}}</ref><ref name="petersonsmith">{{cite web |last=Peterson |first=Robert |date=Oct 2003 |url=http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0310/d-wwas.html |title=Another youth organization, the Boys' Brigade, was flourishing when the first official troops of the Boy Scouts of America appeared in 1910 |work=Scouting Magazine |publisher=Boy Scouts of America |access-date=May 22, 2006}}</ref> However, because of the popular image of scouts and desire for adventurous outdoor activities, boys and even some girls formed their own Scout patrols and troops, independent of any organization.

In 1909, a Scout Rally was held at [[1909 Crystal Palace Scout Rally|Crystal Palace]] in London, which 11,000 Boy Scouts and even some Girl Scouts in uniform attended. 

Local and national Scout organizations were formed. In 1910, Baden-Powell formed [[The Scout Association|The Boy Scouts Association]]. The Boy Scouts Association's first census in 1910 claimed 100,000 registered Scouts.<ref name="A Scouting timeline"/>

Special interests and programs developed such as Scout bands, cyclist scouts, [[Sea Scouts]], [[Air Scouts]], [[Equestrian Scouting and Guiding|mounted Scouts]] and [[high adventure]].<ref name="SeaHist">{{cite web|url=http://www.seascout.org/about/history-uk.html|title=A Short History of Sea Scouting in the United Kingdom|last=Masini|first=Roy|year=2007|access-date=January 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819162139/http://www.seascout.org/about/history-uk.html|archive-date=August 19, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="AirHist">{{cite web|url=http://scoutguidehistoricalsociety.com/|title=The Early History of Air Scouting|last=Walker|first=Colin "Johnny"|date=June 2007|publisher=Scouting Milestones|access-date=January 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614022231/http://scoutguidehistoricalsociety.com/|archive-date=June 14, 2011}}</ref>

=== Girl Guides ===
[[File:Olave Baden-Powell.jpg|thumb|upright=0.50|Olave Baden-Powell, [[Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting|Girl Guide]]'s second head]]
Many girls took up being Girl Scouts and were part of the Scout Movement as soon as it began. Common Edwardian values of the time would not accept young boys and girls to "rough and tumble" together. Baden-Powell with the help of his sister, [[Agnes Baden-Powell]], formed a separate organization for girls in 1910, the [[Girlguiding|Girl Guides Association]], which was followed in other countries forming the [[Girl Guide and Girl Scout|Girl Guides]].<ref name="pinetreeweb">{{cite book|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418002246/http://www.pinetreeweb.com/bp-olave-11.htm|first=Olave |last=Baden-Powell |editor=Mary Drewery |author-link=Olave Baden-Powell |series=Window on My Heart|title = Chapter Eleven {{!}} The Girl Guides Years: 1916—1918 |date=1973 |url=http://pinetreeweb.com/bp-olave-10.htm  |archive-date=2007-04-18 |access-date=21 June 2018}}</ref> However, by the 1990s, two-thirds of the Scout organizations belonging to WOSM had become co-educational.<ref name="SRTW1990">{{cite book |year=1990 |title=Scouting 'round the World. Facts and Figures on the World Scout Movement |edition=11th |publisher=World Organization of the Scout Movement|isbn=978-2-88052-001-4}}</ref>

[[File:Cairn in Northumberland commemorating first official Scout camp.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Cairn remembering the 1908 Lookwide camp at [[Fourstones]] near [[Humshaugh]], the first proper Scout Camp<ref name="village">{{Cite web |title=Walk to Carr Edge and the Scout Memorial |url=http://www.fourstonesandnewbrough.co.uk/carr%20edge%20and%20the%20scout%20memorial.pdf |access-date=2008-11-20 |website=Village website (Fourstones & Newbrough)}}</ref>]]

===Original Scout Law===
{{Main|Scout Law}}

The scouts law is for boys, as follows;

*A Scout's honour is to be trusted – This means the scout will try as best as he can to do what he promised, or what is asked of him
*A Scout is loyal – to his king or queen, his leaders and his country.
*A Scout's duty is to be useful, and to help others
*A Scout is a friend to all, and a brother to every other Scout – Scouts help one another, regardless of the differences in status or social class.
*A Scout is courteous – He is polite and helpful to all, especially women, children and the elderly. He does not take anything for being helpful.
*A Scout is a friend to animals – He does not make them suffer or kill them without need to do so.
*A Scout obeys orders – Even the ones he does not like.
*A Scout smiles and whistles
*A Scout is thrifty – he avoids unnecessary spending of money.
*A Scout is clean in thought, word and deed (added later)

===Promise of 1908===
{{Main|Scout promise}}

''Scouting for boys'', introduced the Scout promise, as follows:<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baden-Powell |first1=Robert |title=Scouting for Boys (Part I ed.) |date=1908 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=London: Oxford |isbn=978-0192805478 |pages=36–37 }}</ref>

"Before he becomes a scout, a boy must take the scout's oath, thus:

:'On my honour I promise that—
:#I will do my duty to God and the King.
:#I will do my best to help others, whatever it costs me.
:#I know the scout law, and will obey it.'
While taking this oath the scout will stand, holding his right hand raised level with his shoulder, palm to the front, thumb resting on the nail of the little finger and the other three fingers upright, pointing upwards:—

This is the scout's salute".

===Worldwide spread===
The Boy Scout Movement swiftly established itself throughout the [[British Empire]]. By 1908, Scouts were established in [[Scouting and Guiding in Gibraltar|Gibraltar]], [[Scout Association of Malta|Malta]], [[Scouting and Guiding in Canada|Canada]], [[Scouting and Guiding in Australia|Australia]], [[Scouting and Guiding in New Zealand|New Zealand]], [[British Malaya|Malaya]] (YMCA Experimental Troop in Penang) and [[Scouts South Africa|South Africa]]. In 1909 Chile was possibly the first country outside the British dominions to have a national Scout organization. By 1910, Argentina, Denmark, [[Grand Duchy of Finland|Finland]], France, [[German Empire|Germany]], [[Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg)|Greece]], [[British Raj|India]], Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States had Boy Scouts.<ref name="bsahist97">{{cite web |last=Snowden |first=Jeff |year=1984 |url=http://www.troop97.net/bsahist1.htm |title=A Brief Background of Scouting in the United States 1910 to Today |publisher=Troop 97 |access-date=July 22, 2006}}</ref><ref name="scoutbase">{{cite web |url=http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/history/ |title=The History of Scouting |publisher=ScoutBaseUK |access-date=July 22, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070818201813/http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/history/ |archive-date=August 18, 2007  }}</ref>
[[File:Vazken Andréassian HoMenEtMen-Sgaoudagan doghantsk Konstantinobolis 1918.jpg|thumb|upright|left|First procession of Armenian scouts in Constantinople in 1918]]

===Associated programs for younger children===
Younger children, particularly younger siblings, too young to be Scouts and take the Scout Promise attended some Scout meetings and so programs for younger children were developed by some troops and organizations. Baden-Powell's [[The Scout Association|Boy Scouts Association]] launched its [[Wolf Cubs]] in 1916, which Baden-Powell wanted to be distinct from Scouts in name, uniform and identity to ensure they did not give Scouts a juvenile image. In the United States, attempts at Cub programs began as early as 1911 but formal recognition by the Boy Scouts of America was not made until 1930.<ref name="scoutbase"/><ref name="cubusahist">{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/hist-cshistory.html |title=The Evolution of Cubbing, A 90 Year Chronology |publisher=Cubbing through the Decades |access-date=July 22, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060930174432/http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/hist-cshistory.html|archive-date=September 30, 2006}}</ref> Some Scout organizations have associated programs for even younger children and infants.

===Associated programs for older adolescents===
Some Scout organizations developed programs for those who had grown too old to be Scouts but wanted to remain associated with and support Scout Troops. Baden-Powell's Boy Scouts Association formed its [[Rover Scouts|Rovers]] in 1918 for young men and its Guild of Old Scouts. <ref name="roverworld">{{cite web |url=http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/rovers.htm |title=Rover Scouts&nbsp;– Scouting For Men |publisher=Scouting Milestones |access-date=July 22, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614023143/http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/rovers.htm|archive-date=June 14, 2011}}</ref>

[[File:19370520 Tan 1.jpg|thumb|upright|Parade of scouts during [[Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day|national celebrations]] in Turkey in 1937]]

[[File:1st World Jamboree Cubs Grand Howl.jpg|thumb|At the [[1st World Scout Jamboree|First World Jamboree]] in August 1920, 500 Wolf Cubs perform a [[Grand Howl]] in the arena at Olympia, London]]

===Leader training===
Baden-Powell's Boy Scouts Association held [[Scoutmaster]] training camps in London and [[Yorkshire]] in 1910 and 1911. Leader training was delayed by [[World War I]]. The Boy Scouts Association acquired [[Gilwell Park]] near London in 1919 as an adult training site and Scout [[campsite]]<ref name="historyofficial">{{cite book |last=Rogers |first=Peter |title=Gilwell Park: A Brief History and Guided Tour |year=1998 |publisher=[[The Scout Association]] |location=London, England |pages=5–46}}</ref> and held its first [[Wood Badge]] training there in 1919.<ref name="wbfounding">{{cite web |last=Block |first=Nelson R. |year=1994 |url=http://www.woodbadge.org/founding.htm |title=The Founding of Wood Badge |publisher=Woodbadge.org |access-date=July 20, 2006|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060822100831/http://www.woodbadge.org/founding.htm |archive-date = August 22, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Wood Badge was copied in many other national scout organizations.  Baden-Powell also wrote ''[[Aids to Scoutmastership]]'' to help [[Leader (Scouting)|Scout leaders]].

===Influences===
[[File:Calvin Coolidge receiving statue of Boy Scout outside the White House 1927.jpg|thumb|left|U.S. President [[Calvin Coolidge]] greeting 1500 Boy Scouts making an annual trip to the Capitol, 1927]]

Important elements of Scout training have their origins in Baden-Powell's experiences in education and military training. He was a 50-year-old retired army general when he wrote ''Scouting for boys'' and his writing inspired thousands of young people from all parts of society to get involved in activities that most had never contemplated. Comparable organizations in the English-speaking world are the Boys' Brigade and the non-militaristic [[Woodcraft Folk]]; however, they never matched the development and growth of the Scout Movement.<ref name="woodfolk">{{cite web |year=2006 |url=http://www.troop97.net/scout_like.htm| title=Scout-like Organizations |publisher=Troop 97 |access-date=December 5, 2006}}</ref>

At [[Charterhouse School|Charterhouse]], one of England's most famous [[Public school (United Kingdom)|public schools]], Baden-Powell had an interest in the outdoors.<ref name="west_bp1932">{{cite book |last1=West |first1=James E. |author-link=James E. West (Scouting) |last2=Lamb |first2=Peter O. |others=illustrated by Lord Baden-Powell |title=He-who-sees-in-the-dark; the Boys' Story of Frederick Burnham, the American Scout
 |publisher=Brewer, Warren and Putnam; Boy Scouts of America |location=New York |date=1932 |page=138}}</ref> Later, as a military officer, Baden-Powell was stationed in [[British India]] in the 1880s where he took an interest in [[reconnaissance|military scouting]] and 

In 1896, Baden-Powell was assigned to the [[Matabeleland]] region in [[Southern Rhodesia]] (now Zimbabwe) as Chief of Staff to Gen. [[Frederick Carrington]] during the [[Second Matabele War]]. In June 1896 he met here and began a lifelong friendship with [[Frederick Russell Burnham]], the American-born Chief of Scouts for the British Army in Africa.<ref name="scouting">{{cite book |last=Burnham |first=Frederick Russell |author-link=Frederick Russell Burnham |title=Scouting on Two Continents |publisher=Doubleday, Page & company |year=1926 |oclc=407686}}</ref><ref name="lott1981">{{cite book |last=Lott |first=Jack |editor-first=Craig |editor-last=Boddington |title=America&nbsp;– The Men and Their Guns That Made Her Great |publisher=Petersen Publishing Co. |year=1981 |page=90 |chapter=Chapter 8. The Making of a Hero: Burnham in the Tonto Basin |isbn=978-0-8227-3022-4}}</ref> This was a formative experience for Baden-Powell not only because he had the time of his life commanding reconnaissance missions into enemy territory, but because many of his later Boy Scout ideas originated here.<ref name="proctor">{{cite journal |first=Tammy M. |last=Proctor |date=July 2000 |title=A Separate Path: Scouting and Guiding in Interwar South Africa |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=605–631 |oclc= 1564563| issn=0010-4175|jstor=2696647 |doi=10.1017/S0010417500002954 |s2cid=146706169 }}</ref> During their joint scouting patrols into the [[Matobo Hills]], Burnham augmented Baden-Powell's [[woodcraft]] skills, inspiring him and sowing seeds for both the programme and for the code of honour later published in ''Scouting for Boys''.<ref name="1944jul_boyslife">{{cite journal |last=DeGroot |first=E.B. |journal=[[Boys' Life]] |title=Veteran Scout |publisher=[[Boy Scouts of America]] |date=July 1944 |pages=6–7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FDDyrmwdQKIC }}</ref><ref name="scoutingforboys">{{cite book |last=Baden-Powell |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell |title=Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship |publisher=H. Cox |year=1908 |location=London |isbn=978-0-486-45719-2 |no-pp=true |page=xxiv}}</ref> Practised by [[frontiersmen]] of the [[American Old West]] and [[indigenous peoples of the Americas]], woodcraft was generally little known to the British Army but well known to the American scout Burnham.<ref name="scouting"/> These skills eventually formed the basis of what is now called ''[[scoutcraft]]'', the fundamentals of Scout training. Both men recognised that wars in Africa were changing markedly and the British Army needed to adapt; so during their joint scouting missions, Baden-Powell and Burnham discussed the concept of a broad training programme in woodcraft for young men, rich in exploration, [[tracking (hunting)|tracking]], [[fieldcraft]], and self-reliance.<ref name="vanwyk">{{cite book |last=van Wyk |first=Peter |year=2003 |url=http://www.burnhamkingofscouts.com/ |title=Burnham: King of Scouts |publisher=Trafford Publishing |isbn=978-1-4122-0028-8 |access-date=July 29, 2010 |archive-date=August 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802055520/http://www.burnhamkingofscouts.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> During this time in the Matobo Hills Baden-Powell first started to wear his signature [[campaign hat]]<ref>By a happy co-incidence, these hats were already called "[[Boss of the Plains]]" hats—or "B-P hats" for short</ref> like the one worn by Burnham, and acquired his [[kudu]] horn, the [[Northern Ndebele people|Ndebele]] war instrument he later used every morning at Brownsea Island to wake the first Boy Scouts and to call them together in training courses.<ref name="jeal">{{cite book |first=Tim |last=Jeal |author-link=Tim Jeal |title=Baden-Powell |publisher=Hutchinson |location=London |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-09-170670-8}}</ref><ref name="orans">{{cite web |last=Orans |first=Lewis P. |url=http://pinetreeweb.com/kudu.htm |title=The Kudu Horn and Scouting |publisher=PineTree Web |access-date=July 28, 2010}}</ref><ref name="forster">{{cite web | last =Forster | first = Reverend Dr. Michael | url = http://www.netpages.free-online.co.uk/sha/scouthistory.doc | title =The Origins of the Scout Movement| publisher =Netpages | access-date=October 2, 2007|format=DOC}}</ref>

Three years later, in [[South African Republic|South Africa]] during the [[Second Boer War]], Baden-Powell was [[Siege of Mafeking|besieged in the small town of Mafikeng (Mafeking)]] by a much larger Boer army.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishbattles.com/great-boer-war/mafeking.htm |title=The Siege of Mafeking |publisher=British Battles.com |access-date=July 11, 2006}}</ref> The [[Mafeking Cadet Corps]] was a group of youths that supported the troops by carrying messages, which freed the men for military duties and kept the boys occupied during the long siege. The Cadet Corps performed well, helping in the defence of the town (1899–1900) and were one of the many factors that inspired Baden-Powell to write ''Scouting for boys''.<ref name="cadet1">{{cite web |url=http://scoutguidehistoricalsociety.com/|title=The Mafeking Cadets |work=Scouting Milestones |publisher=btinternet.co.uk |access-date=February 4, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614022041/http://scoutguidehistoricalsociety.com//cadets.htm|archive-date=June 14, 2011}}</ref><ref name="cadet2">{{cite web |url=http://www.scouting.org.za/seeds/cadets.html |title=The Mafeking Cadets |work=The African Seeds of Scouting |publisher=Scout Web South Africa |access-date=February 4, 2007 |archive-date=January 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102185503/http://www.scouting.org.za/seeds/cadets.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Webster|first=Linden Bradfield|title=Linden Bradfield Webster's Reminiscences of the Siege of Mafeking|journal= Military History Journal |volume=1|issue=7}}</ref> Each member received a badge that illustrated a combined [[compass]] point and [[spear]]head. The badge's logo was similar to the [[fleur-de-lis]] shaped arrowhead that later adopted by Scout.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://scoutguidehistoricalsociety.com//fleur.htm |title=Scouting Milestones&nbsp;– The Evolution of The World Scout Badge|access-date=January 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614023925/http://scoutguidehistoricalsociety.com/|archive-date=June 14, 2011}}</ref> The siege of Mafeking was the first time since his own childhood that Baden-Powell, a regular serving soldier, had come into the same orbit as "civilians"—women and children—and discovered for himself the usefulness of well-trained boys.

In the United Kingdom, the public, through newspapers, followed Baden-Powell's struggle to hold Mafeking, and when the siege was broken he had become a [[Folk hero|national hero]]. This rise to fame fuelled the sales of the small instruction book he had written in 1899 about military scout training and survival, ''Aids to scouting,''<ref name="bp1899">{{cite book |last=Baden-Powell |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell |title=Aids to scouting for N.-C.Os. & men |publisher=Gale & Polden |date=1899 |location=London |oclc=316520848}}</ref> that owed much to what he had learned from discussions with Burnham.<ref name="arrow"/>

On his return to England, Baden-Powell noticed that boys showed considerable interest in ''Aids to scouting'', which was unexpectedly used by teachers and youth organizations.<ref name="arrow"/> He was urged to rewrite this book for boys, especially during an inspection of the [[Boys' Brigade]] (of which he was vice president at the time), a large [[youth movement]] drilled with military precision. Baden-Powell thought this would not be attractive and suggested that the Boys' Brigade could grow much larger if scouting was included.<ref name="BPJeal">{{cite book |last=Jeal |first=Tim |author-link=Tim Jeal |publisher=Yale University Press|year=1989 |title=Baden-Powell |pages=360–362, 371}}</ref> He studied other schemes, parts of which he used in ''Scouting for boys''.

[[File:Members of Scouts Australia from several groups attending "Scouts Own" in camp.jpg|thumb|right|Australian Scouts attend [[Scouts' Own]], an informal, spiritual Scout ceremony]]
A wide variety of cultures have adopted Scout training. Scouts in the United States use images drawn from the U.S. [[frontier]] experience and [[Native Americans in the United States|American native peoples]] for their connection with nature and wilderness survival skills which can be used as part of the training program. By contrast, British Scouting makes use of imagery drawn from its wider colonial frontiers including Canada, the Indian subcontinent, Australia and Africa and writings such as [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s.<ref name="Kipling">{{cite web|url=http://www.authorama.com/jungle-book-1.html|title=The Jungle Book|last=Kipling|first=Rudyard|work=Mowgli's Brothers|publisher=Authorama|access-date=January 17, 2009}}</ref>

Frontier and military scouts inspired interest in playing and training as Scouts. Baden-Powell wrote his military training book, ''Aids to scouting'' because he saw the need for the improved training of British soldiers and army scouts, particularly in initiative, self-reliance, and observational skills. The book's popularity with young boys surprised him. He adapted the book as ''Scouting for boys''.''<ref name="surprise">{{cite web |last=Walker |first=Johnny |year=2006 |url=http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/sfb.htm |title=''Scouting for Boys'' – the Influences, the Means, the Process and its Success |publisher=Scouting Milestones |access-date=December 5, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614024123/http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/sfb.htm|archive-date=June 14, 2011}}</ref>

"Duty to God" is a principle of the Scout Movement, though it is applied differently in various countries.<ref name="faqs">{{cite web |year=1998 |url=http://www.faqs.org/faqs/scouting/rec.scouting.issues/section-11.html |title=What was Baden-Powell's position on God and Religion in Scouting? |publisher=Faqs |access-date=December 3, 2006}}</ref><ref name="inquiry">{{cite web|last=Baden-Powell |first=Robert |year=1912 |url=http://www.inquiry.net/ideals/b-p/religion.htm |title=Baden-Powell on Religion |publisher=Inquiry.net |access-date=December 3, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115192441/http://www.inquiry.net/ideals/b-p/religion.htm |archive-date=November 15, 2006 }}</ref> [[Scouting America]] takes a strong position, excluding [[atheism|atheists]].<ref name="duty">{{cite web|url=http://www.bsalegal.org/duty-to-god-cases-224.asp |work=BSA Legal Issues |title=Duty to God |publisher=Boy Scouts of America |access-date=December 3, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509074048/http://www.bsalegal.org/duty-to-god-cases-224.asp |archive-date=May 9, 2008 }}</ref> [[The Scout Association]] in the United Kingdom permits variations to its Promise, in order to accommodate different religious obligations.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/por/2005/1_5.htm#rule_1.1|title= Rule 1.1: Variations to the wording of the Promises|access-date= December 23, 2009|publisher= The Scout Association|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081202131520/http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/por/2005/1_5.htm#rule_1.1|archive-date= December 2, 2008|df= mdy-all}}</ref> While for example in the predominantly atheist Czech Republic the Scout oath does not mention God altogether with the organization being strictly irreligious,<ref>Štogr, Josef, ed. Význam slibu: sborník. Praha: Libri prohibiti, 2011. 50 s. {{ISBN|978-80-904778-5-8}}</ref> in 2014, United Kingdom Scouts were given the choice of being able to make a variation of the Promise that replaced "duty to God" with "uphold our Scout values",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/10/09/uk_scouting_opens_the_doors_to_unbelievers/|title= Be prepared... to give heathens a badge: UK Scouts open doors to unbelievers|access-date=October 10, 2013 |first=Bill |last=Ray |website= The Register}}</ref> [[Scouts Canada]] defines Duty to God broadly in terms of "adherence to [[spirituality|spiritual]] principles" and leaves it to the individual member or leader whether they can follow a Scout Promise that includes Duty to God.<ref name="canadareligion">{{cite web |year=2005 |url=http://sunshine.scouts.ca/bpp/Section%205000.pdf |title=Standard Operating Procedures, Section 5000 – Scouts Canada's Programs |publisher=Scouts Canada |access-date=May 31, 2007 |archive-date=January 4, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060104012402/http://sunshine.scouts.ca/bpp/Section%205000.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Worldwide, roughly one in three Scouts are Muslim.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9173946/New-uniforms-help-Muslim-girl-Scouts-to-be-better-prepared.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9173946/New-uniforms-help-Muslim-girl-Scouts-to-be-better-prepared.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=New uniforms help Muslim girl Scouts to be better prepared |author=Hough, Andrew |date=March 30, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>