Boys Nation is an annual civic training event run by the American Legion

American Legion

The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...

.

Each year, two delegate

Delegate

A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization at a meeting or conference between organizations of the same level A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization (e.g., a government, a charity, an NGO, or a trade union) at a meeting or conference...

s in the summer after their junior year of high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 are selected from each of the forty-nine American Legion Boys State programs in the U.S. (Hawaii does not host a Boys State). These delegates attend the week-long event in Washington, DC.

The event endeavors to teach delegates about the processes of Federal government of the United States

Federal government of the United States

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

 through taking part in a mock Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 and mock elections of a Boys Nation Senate President Pro Tempore, Senate Secretary, Vice President, and President. Senators also attend lectures and forums, visiting governmental institutions and historical sites. The program has featured such notables as Tom Brokaw and former president Bill Clinton. It is tradition for the student senators to take a private tour of the White House and have a reception with the current president.

Students assume the role of a United States Senator, representing their respective (Boys) State. They write and introduce bills and debate in the senate chambers. Delegates are split into political parties and draft a party platform as well as perform usual party duties like nominations for president and vice-president, along with elected party leadership.

Senators tour D.C. memorials, get private tours of the United States Supreme Court, Congress, and State Department.

Members of this prestigious program are considered to be the future government, business, and military leaders of the United States.

The American Legion Auxiliary

American Legion Auxiliary

The American Legion Auxiliary is a U.S.-headquartered patriotic service organization for women interested in voluntary service. It is a non-profit organization, affiliated with The American Legion...

 runs a similar event called Girls Nation

Girls Nation

Girls Nation is an annual civic training event run by the American Legion Auxiliary. It is analogous to Boys Nation.The first American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation was held August 9-August 14, 1947, with 82 girls and 41 states participating. It has been held each year subsequently...

.

Executive Branch (2010)

• President: Charlie Brown, Florida
• Vice President: Alex Geiger, Arkansas

Executive Branch (2011)

• President: Michael Herbert, Colorado
• Vice President: Benjamin Attia, Delaware

Political Parties (2010)

• Nationalist Party Chairman: John Graziano, Pennsylvania
• Federalist Party Chairman: Even Arbour, Maine

Political Parties (2011)

• Nationalist Party Chairman:: Graham Sparks, Minnesota
• Federalist Party Chairman:Christian Price, Washington

Senate Leadership (2011)

• President Pro-Tempore: William Sadock, Connecticut
• Secretary: Ryan Fulmer, Pennsylvania
• '"Senate Chaplain: Matthew Smith, Rhode Island

Senate Leadership (2010)

• President Pro-Tempore: Joe Kieklak, Arkansas
• Secretary: Ryan Low, California

Senators (2010)

• Senator From New Mexico: Zeke Chavez (F)
• Senator From New York: Ronald Taylor (F)
• Senator From Louisiana: David Holmes (F)
• Senator From Mississippi: Raphael Patton (F)
• Senator From Mississippi: Sabien Ruffin (N)
• Senator From Alaska: David Townsend II (F)
• Senator From Alaska: Iain Miller (N)
• Senator From Arizona: Tom Borns (F)
• Senator From Alabama: Martin Bear (F)
• Senator From Connecticut: Calvin Brown (F)
• Senator From Connecticut: Robert Wendel (F)
• Senator From Nebraska: Alejandro (Alex) Ramirez (F)
• Senator From Nebraska: Benjamin Crelin (N)
• Senator From New York: John Hartunian (N)
• Senator From Maryland: Eric Kyle (F)
• Senator From Maryland: Nathan Chai (N)
• Senator From Vermont: Kyle Hancock (N)
• Senator From Vermont: Iain Axeworthy (F)
• Senator From Virginia: Daniel Rosenfeld (N)
• Senator From Virginia: Erik Bakke (F)

Notable participants

• Tom Brokaw
  Tom Brokaw
  Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...
  
  , Former NBC
  NBC
  The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
  
   anchorman
• Bill Clinton
  Bill Clinton
  William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
  
  , 42nd President of the United States
• Michael Jordan
  Michael Jordan
  Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
  
  , professional NBA player
• John Neely Kennedy, Louisiana State Treasurer and 2008 U.S. Senate candidate
• Donal Logue
  Donal Logue
  Donal Francis Logue is an Canadian actor perhaps most famous for his role as Sean Finnerty in Grounded for Life.-Personal life:...
  
  , actor
• Eric Motley
  Eric Motley
  Dr Eric Lamar Motley Was born near Montgomery, AL, USA in 1972. He currently serves as Vice President of the Aspen Institute as well as the Managing Director of the Henry Crown Fellows Program...
  
  , Former State Department Official
• Gaddi Vasquez
  Gaddi Vasquez
  Gaddi Holguin Vasquez was the 8th United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, in Rome, Italy. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on June 29, 2006. Vasquez was sworn into office on September 7,...
  
  , former Director of the Peace Corps
• Scott Walker
  Scott Walker (politician)
  Scott Kevin Walker is an American Republican politician who began serving as the 45th Governor of Wisconsin on January 3, 2011, after defeating Democratic candidate Tom Barrett, 52 percent to 47 percent in the November 2010 general election...
  
  , current Governor of Wisconsin
• H. Alston Johnson III, former federal judicial nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and longtime friend of Clinton
• Michael S. Lee
  Michael S. Lee
  Michael Shumway "Mike" Lee is the junior United States Senator from Utah and a member of the Republican Party. He is supported by the Tea Party movement....
  
  , United States Senator, Utah

External links

• Boys Nation official website
• American Legion website