Figure 1.--American Scours in the 1930s mostly wore knickers, but some Scout units wore short pants like European Scouts. Shorts were also worn at camp and other events.

American Scouts in the 1930s still wore the olive green military style uniform with the smokey bear style hats. Knickers were most commonly worn, reflecting what most American boys were wearing. Some some Scouts wore short pants and knee socks like scouts in most other countries. This was primarily the Scouts participating in camps and jamborees. Scouts attending weekly meetings and engaging in activities around the neighborhood mostly wore knickers. There were sime exceptions to this. Boys in wealthy neighborhoods were more likely to wear short pants as were boys in the South.

One California Scout recalls wearing both the knickers and short pants Boy Scout uniforms. He wore short pants during the warm weather, jamboree's and the knickers in the winter. When he went to summer camp at Lake Sequoia, all the boys wore short pants, it was the required camp uniform. It was just the basic khaki uniform with the wide brim hat.

The Boy Scout Association in the 1930s and 40s promoted the short pants uniform. Apparently the BSA wanted American Scouts to be more like the Scouts in other countries. The monthly magazine, especially during the summer months, would often have a full page showing the merits of wearing the short pants uniform. The promotions, however, do not seem to have been very effective, especially in the In the 1930s. A HBC reader writes, "The Boy Scout magazine had a full page in each issue pushing short pants as part of their uniform. The promotions explained why it was best to wear short pants. as their scout uniform. Again, my Boys Scout troop the majority wore short pants as part of their scouting uniform. As I said previously, my entire Cub Scout pack wore short pants with their Boy Scout uniform."