American Legion Boys Nation

Success of the Boys State programs throughout the country leads to a national version, which is initially called “The American Legion’s Boys Forum of National Government.” Legionnaire President Harry Truman greets the first class of boys on Aug. 9, 1946, on the final day of the event, conducted at American University. Three years later, in 1949, the program is renamed American Legion Boys Nation. In the years and decades to come, American Legion Boys Nation produces dozens of congressional representatives, governors, judges and one president, Bill Clinton, who famously met President John F. Kennedy while participating in the program on July 24, 1963.