The sport of gymnastics has been around for over 2000 years, but was only introduced in the United States in the 1830s. In 1883 the Amature Athletic Union was formed in the United States. AAU took control of competive gymnastics in the United States, much like they had many other sports.
The first Olympics that included gymnastics were in 1896 and only included Men's Gymnastics. In 1924 the Olympics started to resemble more of the events that we see in gymnastics competitions today. The first Women's Gymnastics Team competed in the Olympics in 1936 in Berlin, Germany.
In 1970, the United States Gymnastics Federation (USGF) was formed and is still around today under the name of USAG or USA Gymnastics. USGF (USAG) became (and is still) the governing body for gymnastics in the United States.
