Each year, two delegates in the summer after their junior year of high school 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 endeavours to teach delegates about the processes of Federal government of the United States through taking part in a mock Senate and mock elections of a Boys Nation Senate President Pro Tempore and Secretary, Vice President, and President, attending lectures and fora, and visiting governmental institutions and historical sites.

The American Legion Auxiliary runs a similar event called Girls Nation.

Notable participants

• Tom Brokaw, Former NBC anchorman
• Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
• Michael Jordan, professional NBA player
• John N. Kennedy, Louisiana State Treasurer and 2008 U.S. Senate candidate
• Donal Logue, actor
• Eric Motley, Former State Department Official
• Tommy Thompson, former Governor of Wisconsin and Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Gaddi Vasquez, former Director of the Peace Corps
• H. Alston Johnson III, former federal judicial nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and longtime friend of Clinton

External links

• Boys National page at American Legion site
• Boys Nation 2005 site