When Juliette Gordon Low started the Girl Scouts in 1912, women didn't have the right to vote. From Low's initial gathering of 18 girls in Savannah, Georgia, there are now 2 million girls and 800,000 adult Girl Scout members. As part of the launch of Digital Cookie 2.0, the Girl Scouts agreed to share rarely-seen photos from the group's archives. Click through the gallery to see pictures from every decade of its existence.
When Juliette Gordon Low started the Girl Scouts in 1912, women didn't have the right to vote. From Low's initial gathering of 18 girls in Savannah, Georgia, there are now 2 million girls and 800,000 adult Girl Scout members. As part of the launch of Digital Cookie 2.0, the Girl Scouts agreed to share rarely-seen photos from the group's archives. Click through the gallery to see pictures from every decade of its existence.
Girl Scouts
<strong>1910s:</strong> Juliette Gordon Low hoped to create an organization "that would prepare girls to meet their world with courage, confidence and character." Dorothy Fath, left, Capt. Rhonda Piggot, middle, and Viola Oates from Cleveland Pansy Troop No. 1, shown here around 1919, were some of the first girls to benefit from Low's lofty mission.
1910s: Juliette Gordon Low hoped to create an organization "that would prepare girls to meet their world with courage, confidence and character." Dorothy Fath, left, Capt. Rhonda Piggot, middle, and Viola Oates from Cleveland Pansy Troop No. 1, shown here around 1919, were some of the first girls to benefit from Low's lofty mission.
Girl Scouts
<strong>1920s:</strong> A troop of Girl Scout Brownies is shown wearing the first official Brownie uniform in 1926. Today's Brownies are second and third graders who start learning new skills through earning badges and doing projects to help their community.
1920s: A troop of Girl Scout Brownies is shown wearing the first official Brownie uniform in 1926. Today's Brownies are second and third graders who start learning new skills through earning badges and doing projects to help their community.
Girl Scouts
<strong>1930s: </strong>Girl Scout Jeanne Moy of Chicago is shown around 1930. The Girl Scout troops tended to reflect the waves of immigration to the United States, even printing Girl Scout information in other languages, including Polish, Yiddish and Italian.
1930s: Girl Scout Jeanne Moy of Chicago is shown around 1930. The Girl Scout troops tended to reflect the waves of immigration to the United States, even printing Girl Scout information in other languages, including Polish, Yiddish and Italian.
Girl Scouts
<strong>1940s: </strong>A Girl Scout Brownie from Lake Erie Girl Scout Council in Cleveland, circa 1941, is shown here. (The first African-American troops were established as early as 1917, while one of the first Latina troops was formed in 1922.)
1940s: A Girl Scout Brownie from Lake Erie Girl Scout Council in Cleveland, circa 1941, is shown here. (The first African-American troops were established as early as 1917, while one of the first Latina troops was formed in 1922.)
Girl Scouts
<strong>1950s:</strong> An integrated group of Girl Scout Brownies learned farming firsthand, circa 1950. It wasn't just a fluke. In 1956, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called the Girl Scouts <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.girlscoutshs.org%2Fblog%2Fposts%2Fa-martin-luther-king-jr-day-message-from-anna-maria-chvez" target="_blank" target="_blank">a "force for desegregation." </a>Today, that principle extends to <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2015%2F05%2F20%2Fliving%2Fgirl-scouts-welcomes-transgender-girls-feat%2F">transgender girls</a>.
1950s: An integrated group of Girl Scout Brownies learned farming firsthand, circa 1950. It wasn't just a fluke. In 1956, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called the Girl Scouts a "force for desegregation." Today, that principle extends to transgender girls.
Girl Scouts
<strong>1960s:</strong> In this picture from the 1960s, the four Brownie, Junior, Cadette, Senior and Adult age levels are all represented. There are now six levels for Girl Scouts, starting with Daisies in kindergarten and grade 1, and going up to Ambassadors for grades 10-12.
1960s: In this picture from the 1960s, the four Brownie, Junior, Cadette, Senior and Adult age levels are all represented. There are now six levels for Girl Scouts, starting with Daisies in kindergarten and grade 1, and going up to Ambassadors for grades 10-12.
Girl Scouts
<strong>1970s:</strong> During the 1970s, the Girl Scouts elected Gloria D. Scott, their first African-American national board president.
1970s: During the 1970s, the Girl Scouts elected Gloria D. Scott, their first African-American national board president.
Girl Scouts
<strong>1980s:</strong> A Girl Scout Junior helps Girl Scout Brownies with cookie deliveries, circa 1984. "Cookies are so much more than a fundraiser," says psychologist Andrea Bastiani Archibald, the Girl Scouts' chief girls expert. "When someone buys a box of cookies, they're helping girls develop their financial literacy skills, their social skills ... and their business ethics. Girls can carry these skills into the rest of their lives."
1980s: A Girl Scout Junior helps Girl Scout Brownies with cookie deliveries, circa 1984. "Cookies are so much more than a fundraiser," says psychologist Andrea Bastiani Archibald, the Girl Scouts' chief girls expert. "When someone buys a box of cookies, they're helping girls develop their financial literacy skills, their social skills ... and their business ethics. Girls can carry these skills into the rest of their lives."
Girl Scouts
<strong>1990s:</strong> Girl Scouts introduced the technology badge in the 1980s, signaling the importance of girls' participation in STEM (science, technolgoy, engineering and math) programs.
1990s: Girl Scouts introduced the technology badge in the 1980s, signaling the importance of girls' participation in STEM (science, technolgoy, engineering and math) programs.
Girl Scouts
<strong>2000s</strong>: Girl Scouts who participate in Girl Scout STEM programs show more interest in studying STEM subjects, according to a survey by the Scouts, and most will recommend the Girl Scout STEM program to their friends.
2000s: Girl Scouts who participate in Girl Scout STEM programs show more interest in studying STEM subjects, according to a survey by the Scouts, and most will recommend the Girl Scout STEM program to their friends.
Girl Scouts
<strong>2010s:</strong> Nearly 90% of parents surveyed by the Girl Scouts reported their daughters get a greater variety of experiences from their troops than from other extracurricular activities. These Girl Scouts from 2014 would probably agree. Some 78% of Girl Scouts surveyed report having leadership experiences, compared to a national sample of 55% of girls and 61% of boys.
2010s: Nearly 90% of parents surveyed by the Girl Scouts reported their daughters get a greater variety of experiences from their troops than from other extracurricular activities. These Girl Scouts from 2014 would probably agree. Some 78% of Girl Scouts surveyed report having leadership experiences, compared to a national sample of 55% of girls and 61% of boys.
Girl Scouts