Calvin Coolidge

President Coolidge’s two sons were Scouts, and he had many opportunities to see the Scouting program at work. He participated in the 16th Annual Meeting of the National Council in Washington, D.C., in 1926, by presenting the first Silver Buffalo Awards for distinguished service to boyhood.

“The more I have studied this movement, its inception, purposes, organization, and principles, the more I have been impressed. Not only is it based on the fundamental rules of right thinking and acting, but it seems to embrace in its code almost every virtue needed in the personal and social life of mankind. It is a wonderful instrument for good. If every boy in the United States could be placed under the wholesome influences of the Scout program, and should live up to the Scout Oath and rules, we would hear fewer pessimistic words as to the future of our nation.”