Figure 1.--These boys were photographed in 1932. Note that there is no uniform jacket. Their names are Joseph Gots, Gilbert Bonnett, George Weinstein, Sol Wefter, Myer Afe, Sidney Koff, an Louis Cohen. The handwriting is hard to read so some of the last name may not be precisely correct. These boys appear to be Jewish. Their troop was probably sposored by a synagog. A pubkic school troop would have been more varied.

The American Boy Scout uniform did not change significantly in the 1930s. There was, however, a major development. The Cubbing program was added by the BSA in the 1930s. The BSA decided to make the style of the Cub uniform similar to the Scout uniform, but to differentiate by color. This was a different approach than in Bitain where Cubbing and Scouting originated. The British Scout Association had made the two uniforms entirely different. This was done so the Scout uniform would not look childish, something the older boys would not like. The BSA in America decided to essentially have the same style of uniform, but to achieve the deifferentiation through color. The only basic difference between the Cub and Scout uniform was the headwear. American Cubs wore a blue uniform done with yellow piping. The cap was the peaked cap worn by British Cubs, only done in blue and gold. American Scouts in the 1930s still wore the olive green military style uniform with red piping. They still wore 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.

Cubs Scouts

Cubs Scouts were only established in 1930, more than a decade later than Cubs began in Britain. The uniform of the new American Cubs Scouts was blue and gold. The BSA decided to make the style of the Cub uniform similar to the Scout uniform, but to differentiate by color. This was a different approach than in Bitain where Cubbing and Scouting originated. The British Scout Association had made the two uniforms entirely different. This was done so the Scout uniform would not look childish, something the older boys would not like. The BSA in America decided to essentially have the same style of uniform, but to achieve the deifferentiation through color. While the American uniform was quite different from the British Cubs, they did wear the same peaked cap (rather like a British school cap) introduced for British Cubs, but in the blue and gold American colors. Cubs did not participate in camping like the Scouts and were thus even more likely to wear the knickers uniform. Again there were exceptions and some Cubs did wear short pants. I think this was a relatively small number, although they were more common in some areas like California.

Boy Scouts

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.