AMERICAN LEGION COLORADO BOYS STATE
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Mission Statement
Everything we do has a positive impact on the youth of today and developing patriotic leaders for tomorrow. We accomplish this by giving them knowledge and an appreciation of our American form of government, reasons to love the United States and an appreciation for those who are serving and those who have served our country in both military and public service. We conduct a week-long camp on the UCCS college campus for high school junior boys allowing them to use their leadership skills to create their own functioning state government from city, county and state levels. They share their experience with boys from all across Colorado. Boys campaign for elected offices and write and debate bills to create Boys State law. The program includes opportunities to express patriotism through various group activities and learn to share ideals, thoughts and concerns with young men of the same age.
About This Cause
American Legion Boys State is among the most respected and selective educational programs of government instruction for high school students in the nation. It is a participatory program where each boy becomes a part of the operation of his local, county and state government. All costs for the program are paid by The American Legion. No boy is required to pay any tuition cost. Colorado Boys State has been conducted annually since 1949. More than 20,000 young men participate in the American Legion Boys State programs across the United States each year. Boys State programs now exist in 49 states and the District of Columbia. At American Legion Boys State, participants are exposed to the rights and privileges, the duties and the responsibilities of a franchised citizen. The training is objective and practical with city, county and state governments operated by the students elected to the various offices. Activities include legislative sessions, court proceedings, law enforcement presentations, instruction in patriotism, assemblies and recreational programs. High school juniors are selected by local American Legion Posts to attend the program. Expenses associated with attending this program are paid by a sponsoring American Legion Post, a local business or other community-based organizations. American Legion Colorado Boys State is conducted on the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs campus usually during the first full week of June. During the weeklong program the boys are assigned to cities, counties and a fictitious political party. They create their party platform, conduct party conventions, campaign for office, and nominate and elect officials from the city, county and state levels to form their 51st state. They then serve in elected or appointed positions to manage cities, counties and state government. Experienced public officials and professional leaders make presentations during general assemblies and interact with the boys during the week. Every phase of the program includes practical instruction on the duties and responsibilities both of citizens and of public officials. Boys State is a plan for teaching the fundamental aspects of citizenship. It is a program of education sponsored by the American Legion, Department of Colorado and supported through the 160 American Legion Posts in our state. Its purpose is to teach our youth constructive attitudes toward the American form of government. Boys State attempts to show that a representative democracy needs an intelligent citizenry and a clean, honest, and impartial administration responsive to the will of the people. The objective of Colorado American Legion Boys State is to "Educate our youth in the duties, privileges, rights, and responsibilities of American citizenship." It is wholly a plan for training in the practical aspects of government. It is functional in that applications of the principles of democratic government are made in every way possible. The constitution and statutes of Colorado are the patterns from which the fundamental law of Colorado Boys State has been developed. Boys State should be thought of as being a mythical 51st state with a constitution, statutes, and ordinances constructed by its citizens to govern themselves. Citizens of Boys State not only are required to review knowledge already acquired concerning the political machinery of a state but also will find themselves performing exactly the same functions as real office holders in the everyday world. In Boys State, citizens organize their own city, county, and state governments. They choose their own officials in accordance with regular election procedures. They learn the duties of the various city, county, and state offices, and they introduce and argue their own bills in a legislature. Justice is administered by their own law enforcement agencies. In Boys State, the young citizen has the opportunity to learn for himself that his government is just what he makes it. The entire program is non-partisan. Problems are considered without reference to any existing political party and will be free from propaganda. The sole purpose is to enable the citizen to grasp the meaning of some of the responsibilities that he will be called upon to assume when he becomes an adult. It should be distinctly understood that the selection and assignment of the citizens to parties is in no way connected with existing political parties in Colorado. The "political parties" in Colorado Boys State are called "Nationalists" and "Federalists." They are purely mythical and the parties in Boys State will adopt none of the principles typifying any existing parties. The national organization of The American Legion conducts an annual Boys Nation program in Washington D.C., in July. Two outstanding citizens elected at the Colorado Boys State program will serve as senators to Boys Nation. The citizens of Boys Nation conduct a week long program patterned along the lines of our federal governmental system. All expenses incident to Boys Nation are also borne by The American Legion.