Boys State and Girls State are summertime programs geared towards leadership and citizenship training sponsored by the American Legion for High School students between their junior and senior years. The Boys and Girls State programs are run in 49 of the 50 U.S. states, usually on a college campus within that state. The Girl's and Boy's programs are usually run separately, and at different times within the summer. The American Legion is an organization of veterans of the United States armed forces who served in wartime. ... Japanese high school students in uniform High school, or Secondary school, is the last segment of compulsory education in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan (Republic of China) (only junior high school) and the United States. ... A U.S. state is any one of the 50 states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, together with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ...

The program participants are divided up into smaller groups that are given fictious city names, though the names are sometimes those of cities within that state. The "citizens" of each of these cities then elect mock municipal officials and representatives to the mock State Legislature. If enough "citizens" are present, then a county level is added to the program between city and state. The participants also elect state officials, such as Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and other state-level officials that their real state has. The legislature then meets to organize, elect leaders, and to pass bills, in a way that similar to how their actual legislature operates. A city is an urban area, differentiated from a town, village, or hamlet by size, population density, importance, or legal status. ... A municipality or general-purpose district (compare with: special-purpose district) is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. ... State legislatures are the lawmaking bodies of the 50 states in the United States of America. ... Originally, a county was the land under the jurisdiction of a count (in Great Britain, an earl, though the original earldoms covered larger areas) by reason of that office. ... A governor is also a device that regulates the speed of a machine. ... A Lieutenant Governor is a government official who is the subordinate or deputy of a Governor or Governor-General. ...

Each of these Boys State and Girls State groups sends 2 delegates to Boys Nation and Girls Nation, in Washington, D.C.. These delegates are usually the participants elected to the Governor and Lt. Governor positions. Boys Nation is an annual civic training event run by the American Legion. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the...

External link

Boys State & Girls State Directory (http://www.legion.org/?section=prog_evt&subsection=evt_bs&content=evt_bssitesdates)