College literary societies
College literary societies in American higher education were a distinctive kind of social organization, distinct from literary societies generally, and they were the precursors of college fraternities and sororities.[1] In the period from the late eighteenth century to the Civil War, collegiate literary societies were an important part of campus social life. College literary societies are often called Latin literary societies because they typically had compound Latinate names.
Since these organizations are virtually the oldest kind of student organization in America, where they have survived, they are seen as ancient institutions. One author from Georgia acknowledged that fact (by parody) in discussing his own society: "The origin of the Washington Society dates back to the glory days of the Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era. It was during this time that great plant-eating dinosaurs roamed the Earth, feeding on lush growths of ferns and palm-like cycads and ennettitaleans. Meanwhile, smaller but vicious carnivores stalked the great herbivores. The oceans were full of fish, squid, and coiled ammonites, plus great ichthyosaurs and the long-necked plesiosaurs. Vertebrates first took to the air, like the mighty pterosaurs and the first true birds. The supercontinent Pangaea began to break up and disperse itself across the Earth's surface, sending a big chunk of land to the very spot where Thomas Jefferson's decomposed old ass lies buried today. And it is on this same chunk of land, a few miles away, that Mr. Jefferson's University sits, home to the Washington Literary Society and Debating Union.[2]
Most literary societies' literary activity consisted of formal debates on topical issues of the day, but literary activity could include original essays, poetry, music, et c. As a part of their literary work, many also collected and maintained their own libraries for the use of the society's members. "[C]ollege societies were the training grounds for men in public affairs in the nineteenth century." [1]
The societies could fufill this function because they were independent organizations, and entirely student run activities. "[T]he societies were virtually little republics, with their own laws and a democratically elected student administration."[1]
In a typical setting, a college would have two competing societies, often but not always with Latin names. The pair of societies were always intense competitors. Some examples include the Social Friends, United Fraternity at Dartmouth College, Cleo of Alpha Chi literary society at Trinity College, the Philorhetorian and Peithologian societies at Wesleyan University, the Philologian and Philotechnian societies at Williams College, the Philomathean and Zelosophic societies at the University of Pennsylvania, the Philolexian and Peithologian societies at Columbia University, the Clariosophic and Euphradian societies at the University of South Carolina, the Demosthenian and Phi Kappa societies at the University of Georgia, the Linonia and Brothers in Unity at Yale University and Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Membership in these societies was not only open to all the students in the college, but in many cases membership was all but required. In some cases, intense recruitment battles would ensue over new students, and to avoid problems some colleges chose to assign incoming students to one or the other literary society. Having two societies on a campus encouraged competition, and a thriving society would have interesting enough meetings to attract full attendance from its membership and perhaps even people from the community. These societies met publicly, sometimes in large lecture rooms, and in most instances the literary exercises would consist of a debate, but could also include speeches, poetry readings, and other literary work.
Topics could include Classical history, religion, ethics, politics, and current events. Controversial topics not covered in the official curriculum were often the most popular. Studies have been done, for example, finding an increasing discussion of slavery at literary society meetings through the 1850s.
Literary Societies & Fraternities
In the 1830s and 1840's, students began to organize private literary societies for smaller groups, and these more intimate associations quickly developed into wholly secret associations. These groups are the earliest college fraternities. Kappa Alpha, Sigma Phi, Delta Phi, Mystical Seven, Alpha Delta Phi, Psi Upsilon, and Delta Kappa Epsilon, in fact, virtually all the pre-Civil War college fraternities were either first organized as literary societies or derived from factions split off of literary societies. These new organizations held meetings and were organized on identical lines to the large literary societies. Soon, the existence of these smaller private Greek letter organizations undermined the large Latin literary societies. Competition from athletics and other entertainments also took a toll, so that many dissolved or existed in name only by the 1880s. A literary society almost always provided its members with an extensive library, either available to members only, or to the campus at large. When the societies dissolved, their libraries were transferred to the college libraries, and in many colleges the acquisition of the literary societies' libraries was a significant change in their collection, usually broadening the colleges libraries' scope into popular literature, but often also adding important and rare works.
Although literary societies had Latin names, and fraternities had Greek names reduced to initials, this is not always the case, however; Phi Phi Society at Kenyon and the Phi Kappa at Georgia are examples of large literary societies with Greek names. The Clariosophic and Euphradian societies at the South Carolina both had Greek letter aliases, Mu Sigma Pi and Phi Alpha Epsilon, respectively, which appeared on their seals, but which were not used in normal conversation or writing.
In the following table, there are two types of literary societies societies listed, the large societies, (frequently half the college's student body), and smaller societies that were private, and were admission by invitation, the private societies at the larger universities operated virtually as fraternities, but without the initiation ceremonial.
Founded | Ended | Society | College or University | Source and notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1750 | 1787 | Flat Hat Club | William and Mary | [3] |
1750 | 1772 | Critonian Society | Yale | [3] |
1753 | (unkn.) | Linonian Society | Yale | [3] |
1765 | 1928 | American Whig Society | Princeton | [3] |
1765 | 1928 | Cliosophic Society | Princeton | [3] |
1768 | (unkn.) | Brothers in Unity | Yale | [3] |
1770 | (unkn.) | Institute of 1770 | Harvard | [3] |
1771 | (unkn.) | Pronouncing Society | Brown | [3] |
1776 | 1786 | Athenian Society | Rutgers | [3] [4] |
1776 | 1787 | Phi Beta Kappa Society | William and Mary | [3] |
1776 | 1782 | Polemical Society | Rutgers | [5] [6] |
1780 | Present | Phi Beta Kappa Society | Yale | [7] |
1781 | Present | Phi Beta Kappa Society | Harvard | [3] |
1783 | Defunct | Social Friends Society | Dartmouth | [3] |
1786 | Present | Belles Lettres Society | Dickinson | [8] [9] |
1786 | Defunct | United Fraternity | Dartmouth | [3] |
1787 | Present | Phi Beta Kappa Society | Dartmouth | [3] |
1789 | Present | Union Philosophical Society | Dickinson | [8] |
1789 | 1795 | Society for Progress in Letters | Columbia | [10] |
1791 | (unkn.) | Franklin Society | Jefferson | [11] |
1791 | (unkn.) | Porcellian Society | Harvard | [12] |
1793 | 1890 | Calliopean Society | Union | [13] |
1794 | 1866 | Philermenian Society | Brown | [3][14] |
1795 | (unkn.) | Dialectic Society | North Carolina | [11] |
1795 | Present | Hasty-Pudding Club | Harvard | [3][15] |
1795 | (unkn.) | Philanthropic Society | North Carolina | [11] |
1795 | (unkn.) | Philologian Society | Williams | [11] |
1795 | (unkn.) | Philotechnian Society | Williams | [11] |
1796 | (unkn.) | Adelphic Society | Union | [11] |
1802 | Present | Philolexian Society | Columbia | [3] [16] |
1802 | (unkn.) | Athenean Society | Bowdoin | [11] |
1803 | Present | Demosthenian Society | Georgia | [11] [17] |
1803 | (unkn.) | Phi Sigma Nu Society | Vermont | [11] |
1805 | (unkn.) | Peucinian Society | Bowdoin | [11] |
1805 | (unkn.) | Philo Society | Jefferson | [11] |
1806 | (unkn.) | Peithologian Society | Columbia | [3] |
1806 | 1970 | Clairosophic Society | South Carolina | [18] [19] |
1806 | 1970 | Euphradian Society | South Carolina | [1] [20] |
1806 | 1866 | United Brothers Society | Brown | [3] [21] |
1807 | (unkn.) | Philological Society | Pennsylvania | [3] |
1810 | Present | Union-Philanthropic Society | Hampden-Sydney | [22] [23] |
1811 | (unkn.) | Hermean Society | Pennsylvania | [24] |
1813 | Present | Philomathean Society | Pennsylvania | [3] |
1814 | (unkn.) | Phoenix Society | Hamilton | [11] |
1814 | (unkn.) | Union Society | Hamilton | [11] |
1817 | Present | Phi Beta Kappa Society | Union | [25] |
1819 | 1853 | Calliopean Society | Yale | [26] [27] |
1819 | 1830 | Patrick Henry Society | Virginia | [28] |
1820 | Present | Phi Kappa Society | Georgia | [29] [30] |
1820 | (unkn.) | Henodelphisterian Society | Indiana | [31] |
1821 | (unkn.) | Alexandrian Society | Amherst | [1] |
1821 | (unkn.) | Athenian Society | Amherst | [1] |
1822 | (unkn.) | Franklin Debating Society | Randolph-Macon | [32] |
1824 | 1834 | Franklin Society | Brown | [33] |
1824 | (unkn.) | Athenaeun Society | Trinity | [1] |
1824 | (unkn.) | Society for Inquiry | Colgate | [1] |
1825 | Present | Jefferson Society | Virginia | [34] [35] |
1825 | Present | Phi Beta Kappa Society | Bowdoin | [36] |
1825 | 1892 | Philoclean Society | Rutgers | [1] |
1825 | (unkn.) | Agatheridan Society | Nashville | [18] |
1825 | 1891 | Peithissophian Society | Rutgers | [1] [37] |
1826 | (unkn.) | Franklin Society | William and Mary | [1] |
1826 | (unkn.) | Philozetian Society | Western Reserve | [38] |
1827 | (unkn.) | Literary Fraternity | Colby | [1] |
1827 | (unkn.) | Parthenon Society | Trinity | [1] |
1827 | (unkn.) | Philomathesian Society | Kenyon | [39] |
1828 | (unkn.) | Nu Pi Kappa Society | Kenyon | [39] |
1828 | (unkn.) | Philomathean Society | College of Charleston | [40] |
1829 | (unkn.) | Beth-Hacma | Maryville | [41] |
1829 | (unkn.) | Sophirodelphian Society | Maryville | [41] |
1829 | (unkn.) | Transylvania Whig Society | Transylvania | [42] |
1829 | (unkn.) | Union Philosophical Society | Transylvania | [43] |
1829 | (unkn.) | Zelosophic Society | Pennsylvania | [1] |
1830 | Present | Phi Beta Kappa Society | Brown | [44] |
1830 | Present | Philodemic Society | Georgetown | [45] [46] |
1830 | (unkn.) | Athenian Society | Indiana | [31] |
1830 | (unkn.) | Calliopean Society | Maine Wesleyan | [1] |
1830 | (unkn.) | Philosophronian Society | Hanover | [47] |
1830 | (unkn.) | Union Literary Society | Hanover | [47] |
1831 | Present | Washington Literary Society and Debating Union | Virginia | [48] [49] |
1831 | (unkn.) | Adelphic Society | Western Reserve | [38] |
1831 | (unkn.) | Erosophic Society | Alabama | [1] |
1831 | (unkn.) | Euphradian Society | College of Charleston | [40] |
1831 | (unkn.) | Franklin Society | Western Reserve | [38] |
1831 | (unkn.) | Peithologian Society | Wesleyan | [1] |
1831 | (unkn.) | Philomathean Society | Indiana | [31] |
1831 | (unkn.) | Philorhetorian Society | Wesleyan | [1] |
1832 | (unkn.) | Philomathic Society | Alabama | [1] |
1833 | 1834 | Franklin Polemic Society | Mercer | [50] |
1833 | Present | Washington Society | Randolph-Macon | [51] |
1834 | 1943 | Eucleian Society | New York | [1] |
1834 | 1888 | Philomathean Society | New York | [52] |
1834 | (unkn.) | Beth-Hacma ve Berith | Maryville | [41] |
1834 | Defunct | Ciceronian Society | Mercer | [53] |
1834 | (unkn.) | Ladies' Literary Society | Oberlin | [54] |
1834 | Defunct | Phi Delta Society | Mercer | [55] |
1834 | (unkn.) | Philo-Franklin Society | Allegheny | [1] |
1834 | (unkn.) | Philomathean Society | Wabash | [56] |
1835 | (unkn.) | Allegheny Society | Allegheny | [1] |
1835 | (unkn.) | Calliopean Society | Denison | [38] |
1835 | (unkn.) | Diagnothian Society | Franklin & Marshall | [1] |
1835 | (unkn.) | Erosophian Adelphoi Society | Colby | [1] |
1835 | (unkn.) | Euphronean Society | Wabash | [56] |
1835 | (unkn.) | Euzelian Society | Wake Forest | [57] |
1835 | (unkn.) | Philomathesian Society | Wake Forest | [57] |
1835 | (unkn.) | Society for Religious Inquiry | Vermont | [1] |
1836 | (unkn.) | Chi Delta Society | East Tennessee | [58] |
1836 | (unkn.) | Philomathesian Society | East Tennessee | [58] |
1836 | (unkn.) | Union Litarary Society | Muskingum | [18] |
1837 | Present | Philanthropic Society | Davidson | [18] [59] |
1837 | Present | Eumenean Society | Davidson | [18] [60] |
1837 | Defunct | Phi Gamma Society | Emory | [18] |
1837 | (unkn.) | Philosophian Society | McKendree | [18] |
1838 | (unkn.) | Cliosophic Society | College of Charleston | [40] |
1838 | (unkn.) | Platonian Society | Indiana Asbury | [18] |
1839 | (unkn.) | Alpha Kappa Society | Marietta | [18] |
1839 | (unkn.) | Dialectic Society | Oberlin | [54] |
1839 | Present | Euphemian Society | Erskine | [61] [62] |
1839 | Defunct | Few Society | Emory | [63] |
1839 | (unkn.) | Licivyronian Society | William and Mary | [1] |
1839 | (unkn.) | Phi Delta Society | Oglethorpe | [64] |
1839 | (unkn.) | Philological Society | Indiana Asbury | [18] |
1839 | (unkn.) | Philomathesian Society | Oberlin | [54] |
1839 | (unkn.) | Psi Gamma Society | Marietta | [18] |
1839 | Defunct | Thalian Society | Oglethorpe | [64] |
1840 | (unkn.) | Adelphian Society | Colgate | [1] |
1840 | (unkn.) | Aeonian Society | Colgate | [1] |
1840 | (unkn.) | Calliopean Society | Emory and Henry | [65] |
1840 | Defunct | Hermesian Society | Emory and Henry | [65] |
1840 | (unkn.) | Phi Delta Society | Western Reserve | [38] |
1840 | (unkn.) | Philalethian Society | Hanover | [66] |
1840 | (unkn.) | Tau Chi Society | William and Mary | [1] |
1841 | (unkn.) | Philopaedian Society | St. Xavier | [18] |
1842 | (unkn.) | Adelphi Society | Howard | [67] |
1842 | (unkn.) | Franklin Society | Howard | [67] |
1842 | (unkn.) | Phi Phi Alpha Society | Michigan | [1] |
1843 | (unkn.) | Alpha Nu Society | Michigan | [18] |
1843 | (unkn.) | Franklin Society | Denison | [1] |
1843 | Present | Sigma Pi Society | Illinois | [18] [68] |
1844 | (unkn.) | Clever Fellows Society | Albion | [69] |
1844 | (unkn.) | Clever Girls Society | Albion | [69] |
1845 | (unkn.) | Adelphi Society | Knox | [70] |
1845 | (unkn.) | Atheniaedes Society | Albion | [71] |
1845 | Defunct | Calliopean Society | Citadel | [72] [73] |
1845 | (unkn.) | Eclectic Society | Albion | [71] |
1845 | (unkn.) | Excelsior Society | Wittenberg | [18] |
1845 | (unkn.) | Hermean Society | Geneva | [1] |
1845 | Present | Phi Alpha Society | Illinois | [18] [74] |
1845 | (unkn.) | Zetagathea Society | Ohio Wesleyan | [18] |
1846 | (unkn.) | Alfreidian Lyceum Society | Alfred | [18] |
1846 | (unkn.) | Philomathean Society | Muskingum | [18] |
1846 | (unkn.) | Philosophian Society | Wittenberg | [18] |
1847 | (unkn.) | Calliopean Society | Wabash | [18] |
1847 | (unkn.) | Chrestomathean Society | Ohio Wesleyan | [18] |
1847 | (unkn.) | Lyceum Society | Wabash | [18] |
1847 | Present | Polytechnic Literary Society | Citadel | [75] [76] |
1848 | 1948 | Chrestomathic Society | College of Charleston | [77] [78] |
1848 | (unkn.) | Philomatic Society | Spring Hill | [79] |
1848 | (unkn.) | Tripartite Union | Lycoming | [1] |
1849 | (unkn.) | Alethearian Society | Geneva | [80] |
1849 | (unkn.) | Gnothautii Society | Knox | [18] |
1849 | 1946 | Hermaean Society | Mississippi | [81] |
1849 | 1934 | Phi Sigma Society | Mississippi | [82] |
1849 | (unkn.) | Philo-Christomathean Society | Geneva | [80] |
1849 | Defunct | Platonian Society | McKendree | [18] |
1850 | (unkn.) | Athenean Society | Wisconsin | [83] |
1850 | (unkn.) | Belles Letters Society | Lycoming | [1] |
1850 | (unkn.) | Ciceronian Society | Roanoke | [18] |
1850 | Defunct | Columbian Society | Carson-Newman | [84] |
1850 | (unkn.) | Delphic Society | Rochester | [1] |
1850 | (unkn.) | Demosthenean Society | Roanoke | [18] |
1850 | (unkn.) | Eupia Society | Bucknell | [18] |
1850 | (unkn.) | Orophilian Lyceum Society | Alfred | [18] |
1850 | Defunct | Philomathean Society | Carson-Newman | [85] |
1850 | (unkn.) | Philophrenian Society | Columbian | [18] |
1850 | (unkn.) | Pithonian Society | Rochester | [1] |
1850 | (unkn.) | Soverville Society | Ohio Female | [18] |
1850 | (unkn.) | Theta Alphea Society | Bucknell | [18] |
1851 | (unkn.) | Addisonian Society | Kentucky Military | [18] |
1851 | (unkn.) | Adelphean Society | Wesleyan | [18] |
1851 | (unkn.) | Alleghenian Lyceum Society | Alfred | [18] |
1851 | (unkn.) | Amphictyon Society | Lawrence | [1] |
1851 | (unkn.) | Athenian Society | Ohio Wesleyan | [18] |
1851 | (unkn.) | Belles Letters Society | MacMurray | [86] |
1851 | (unkn.) | Clionian Society | Free Academy | [1] |
1851 | Present | Excelsior Men's Society | Heidelberg | [18] [87] |
1851 | (unkn.) | Philolexian Society | Kalamazoo | [18] |
1851 | (unkn.) | Philomathean Society | Waynesburg | [1] |
1851 | (unkn.) | Philophronean Society | Otterbein | [18] |
1851 | (unkn.) | Sherwood Rhetorical Society | Kalamazoo | [18] |
1851 | (unkn.) | St. Aloysius Philodemic Society | Notre Dame | [18] |
1851 | (unkn.) | Students Philomathean Society | Hartsville | [18] |
1851 | (unkn.) | Union Society | Waynesburg | [1] |
1852 | Present | Philomathean Society | Wesleyan | [18] |
1852 | (unkn.) | Gamma Epsilon Society | Lycoming | [1] |
1852 | (unkn.) | Ladies Literary Society | Milton | [18] |
1852 | (unkn.) | Philaletha Society | Otterbein | [18] |
1852 | (unkn.) | Philomathean Society | Hiram | [88] |
1852 | (unkn.) | Philomathian Society | Mississippi | [18] |
1852 | (unkn.) | Philomethean Society | Wesleyan | [18] |
1852 | (unkn.) | Phrenocosmian Society | Free Academy | [1] |
1853 | (unkn.) | Amphictyon Society | Cornell | [18] |
1853 | (unkn.) | Chrestomathian Society | Grinnell | [18] |
1853 | (unkn.) | Clio Society | Capital | [18] |
1853 | (unkn.) | Emma Willards Society | Waynesburg | [1] |
1853 | (unkn.) | Hentz Society | La Grange | [89] |
1853 | (unkn.) | Judson Society | La Grange | [89] |
1853 | (unkn.) | Parthenian Society | Baltimore | [18] |
1853 | (unkn.) | Periclesian Society | Franklin | [90] |
1853 | (unkn.) | Phi Nu Society | MacMurray | [86] |
1853 | (unkn.) | Phileans Society | Waynesburg | [1] |
1853 | (unkn.) | Union Literary Society | Geneva | [80] |
1853 | (unkn.) | Webster Society | Franklin | [90] |
1854 | (unkn.) | Alethezethian Society | Antioch | [91] |
1854 | (unkn.) | Archanian Society | Univ. of the Pacific | [18] |
1854 | (unkn.) | Aristotelian Society | Central | [1] |
1854 | (unkn.) | Calhoun Society | Wofford | [92] |
1854 | (unkn.) | Delphic Society | Hiram | [93] |
1854 | (unkn.) | Erodelphian Society | Burlington | [18] |
1854 | (unkn.) | Hamline Society | Iowa Wesleyan | [94] |
1854 | (unkn.) | Hesperian Society | Hiram | [93] |
1854 | (unkn.) | Hesperian Society | Wisconsin | [83] |
1854 | (unkn.) | Linnaen Society | Mount Union | [18] |
1854 | (unkn.) | Phi Alpha Society | Central | [1] |
1854 | (unkn.) | Philomathian Society | Bethel | [18] |
1854 | (unkn.) | Washington Society | Bethel | [18] |
1855 | (unkn.) | Alethean Society | Baldwin | [18] |
1855 | (unkn.) | Calliope Academy | Spring Hill | [79] |
1855 | (unkn.) | Crescent Society | Antioch | [91] |
1855 | (unkn.) | Curious Society | Milwaukee | [18] |
1855 | (unkn.) | Erosophian Society | Marshall | [1] |
1855 | (unkn.) | Hyperion Society | Marshall | [1] |
1855 | (unkn.) | Philalethean Society | Lawrence | [90] |
1855 | (unkn.) | Philologian Society | Richmond | [18] |
1855 | (unkn.) | Philopenthean Society | Geneva | [1] |
1855 | (unkn.) | Phoenix Society | Lawrence | [90] |
1855 | (unkn.) | Star Society | Antioch | [91] |
1856 | Defunct | Beltionian Society | Wheaton | [95] |
1856 | (unkn.) | Hinman Society | Northwestern | [93] |
1856 | (unkn.) | Mathesian Society | Northwestern Christian | [96] |
1856 | (unkn.) | Philadelphian Society | Monmouth | [18] |
1856 | (unkn.) | Philalethic Society | Santa Clara | [18] |
1856 | (unkn.) | Philomathean Society | Willamette | [97] |
1856 | (unkn.) | Philoneikean Society | Moores Hill | [98] |
1856 | (unkn.) | Phoenix Band Society | Earlham | [18] |
1857 | (unkn.) | Alpha Kappa Phi Society | Hillsdale | [18] |
1857 | (unkn.) | Amphictyon Society | Hillsdale | [18] |
1857 | (unkn.) | Eurodelphian Society | Spring Hill | [79] |
1857 | (unkn.) | Hesperian Society | Ohio Female | [18] |
1857 | (unkn.) | Ionian Society | Earlham | [18] |
1857 | (unkn.) | Ladies Literary Union | Hillsdale | [18] |
1857 | (unkn.) | Literary Adelphi Society | Michigan | [18] |
1857 | (unkn.) | Philomathean Society | Otterbein | [18] |
1857 | (unkn.) | Phreno-Cosmian Society | Baldwin | [18] |
1857 | (unkn.) | Pythonian Society | Northwestern Christian | [96] |
1857 | (unkn.) | Sigournean Society | Moores Hill | [98] |
1858 | (unkn.) | Adelphian Society | Cornell | [18] |
1858 | (unkn.) | Athena Society | Lawrence | [1] |
1858 | (unkn.) | Excelsior Society | Albright | [1] |
1858 | (unkn.) | Preston Society | Wofford | [92] |
1858 | (unkn.) | Rhizomian Society | Univ. of the Pacific | [18] |
1859 | (unkn.) | Alethean Society | Beloit | [18] |
1859 | (unkn.) | Archaean Society | Beloit | [18] |
1859 | (unkn.) | Belles Letters Society | Illinois Wesleyan | [99] |
1859 | (unkn.) | Belles Letters Society | Southern | [100] |
1859 | (unkn.) | Clariosophic Society | Southern | [100] |
1859 | (unkn.) | Delean Society | Beloit | [18] |
1859 | (unkn.) | German Verein | German Wallace | [18] |
1859 | (unkn.) | Germanae Sodales Society | Hillsdale | [18] |
1859 | (unkn.) | Literary Society | Maryland | [101] |
1859 | (unkn.) | Neocosmian Society | Albright | [1] |
1859 | (unkn.) | Philestorian Society | Santa Clara | [18] |
1859 | (unkn.) | Ruthean Society | Iowa Wesleyan | [102] |
1859 | (unkn.) | Sophronikopean Society | Missionary | [18] |
1859 | (unkn.) | Star Society | Adrian | [18] |
1859 | (unkn.) | Webster Society | Michigan | [18] |
1860 | (unkn.) | Adelphian Society | Furman | [103] |
1860 | (unkn.) | Adelphic Society | Northwestern | [93] |
1860 | (unkn.) | Athenaeum Society | Chicago | [18] |
1860 | (unkn.) | Erosophian Society | Lombard | [18] |
1860 | (unkn.) | Eulexian Society | St. Stephens | [18] |
1860 | (unkn.) | Franklin Reading Society | Furman | [103] |
1860 | (unkn.) | Philomathean Society | Milton | [18] |
1860 | (unkn.) | Philosophian Society | Furman | [103] |
1860 | (unkn.) | Reynolds Society | Stockwell | [18] |
1861 | (unkn.) | Addisonian Society | Wayland | [18] |
1861 | (unkn.) | Berean Society | Chicago | [104] |
1861 | (unkn.) | Phi Alpha Pi Society | Olivet | [18] |
1861 | (unkn.) | Tri Kappa Society | Chicago | [104] |
1861 | (unkn.) | Zetagathian Society | State U. Iowa | [105] |
1865 | (unkn.) | De La Salle Club | Manhattan | [18] |
1865 | (unkn.) | Erosophian Society | Baylor | [1] |
1865 | (unkn.) | Irving Society | Andalusia | [18] |
1865 | (unkn.) | Philalethian Society | Vassar | [18] |
1866 | (unkn.) | Alka Society | Willamette | [97] |
1866 | (unkn.) | Brown Debating Society | Stockwell | [18] |
1866 | (unkn.) | Clionian Society | Almira | [18] |
1866 | (unkn.) | Garnet Society | Lincoln | [1] |
1866 | (unkn.) | Lincoln Association | Illinois Soldiers' | [18] |
1866 | (unkn.) | Philomathean Society | Union Christian | [18] |
1866 | (unkn.) | Robert E. V. Rice Society | Niagara | [1] |
1866 | (unkn.) | Scientific Society | Wilberforce | [18] |
1866 | (unkn.) | Semicentenary Society | Wilberforce | [18] |
1866 | (unkn.) | St Joseph Society | St. Joseph | [18] |
1866 | (unkn.) | Stonewall Society | Baylor | [1] |
1866 | (unkn.) | Themian Society | Quincy | [18] |
1867 | (unkn.) | Aristotelian Society | Harlem Springs | [18] |
1867 | (unkn.) | Athenian Society | East Tennessee Wesleyan | [1] |
1867 | (unkn.) | Byronic Society | Harlem Springs | [18] |
1867 | (unkn.) | Erosophian Society | Albion | [18] |
1867 | (unkn.) | Eulexian Society | St. Augustine | [18] |
1867 | (unkn.) | Euterpean Society | Muhlenberg | [106] |
1867 | (unkn.) | Neotrophian Society | Bethel | [1] |
1867 | (unkn.) | Philokosmian Society | Lebanon Valley | [18] |
1867 | (unkn.) | Philosophian Society | Lincoln | [1] |
1867 | (unkn.) | Sophronian Society | Muhlenberg | [106] |
1867 | (unkn.) | Zetalethean Society | Simpson Centenary | [18] |
1868 | (unkn.) | Adelphene Society | Union Christian | [18] |
1868 | (unkn.) | Alpha Delta Society | Hiram | [88] |
1868 | (unkn.) | German Society | St. Xaviers | [18] |
1868 | (unkn.) | Irving Society | Cornell | [18] |
1868 | (unkn.) | Lehigh Junto | Lehigh | [18] |
1868 | (unkn.) | Phi Delta Society | Berea | [1] |
1868 | (unkn.) | Philocurian Society | Northwestern Christian | [18] |
1868 | (unkn.) | Philomathean Society | Iowa State | [1] |
1868 | (unkn.) | Philomathian Society | Illinois Industrial | [18] |
1869 | (unkn.) | Athenian Society | Kings | [1] |
1869 | (unkn.) | Basilian Society | Niagara | [1] |
1869 | Defunct | Clionian Society | McKendree | [107] |
1869 | (unkn.) | Orthopatetic Society | Blackburn | [1] |
1869 | (unkn.) | Philomathean Society | East Tennessee Wesleyan | [1] |
1869 | (unkn.) | Photozotean Society | Moore's hill | [98] |
1869 | (unkn.) | Zenobian Society | Minnesota | [18] |
1870 | Defunct | Aristonian Society | Wheaton | [95] |
1870 | (unkn.) | Atheneum Society | Willamette | [97] |
1870 | (unkn.) | Bachelor Society | Iowa State | [1] |
1870 | (unkn.) | Castelian Society | Rockford | [1] |
1870 | (unkn.) | Crescent Society | Iowa State | [1] |
1870 | (unkn.) | Erodelphian Society | Highland | [18] |
1870 | (unkn.) | Grinnell Institute | Grinnell | [18] |
1870 | (unkn.) | Irving Society | Wooster | [18] |
1870 | (unkn.) | Philologian Society | St Stephens | [18] |
1870 | (unkn.) | Philotechnic Society | Louisiana State | [1] |
1870 | (unkn.) | Union Society | Washington and Jefferson | [18] |
1870 | (unkn.) | Vesperian Society | Rockford | [1] |
1870 | (unkn.) | Wayland Society | Brown | [18] |
1871 | (unkn.) | Bettina Society | German Wallace | [18] |
1871 | (unkn.) | Bonhommian Society | Highland | [18] |
1871 | (unkn.) | Cliolian Society | Iowa State | [1] |
1871 | (unkn.) | Sodalian Society | Wilberforce | [18] |
1872 | (unkn.) | Adelphic Society | Geneva | [80] |
1872 | Defunct | Excelsior Society | Wheaton | [95] |
1873 | Defunct | Alamo Society | Southwestern | [108] [109] |
1874 | (unkn.) | Ossoli Society | Northwestern | [93] |
1875 | Defunct | San Jacinto Society | Southwestern | [110] [111] |
1876 | (unkn.) | Eutaxian Society | Oregon | [112] |
1876 | (unkn.) | Laurean Society | Oregon | [112] |
1881 | Defunct | Alethean Society | Southwestern | [113] [114] |
1885 | Defunct | Clio Society | Southwestern | [115] [116] |
1889 | Present | Winthrop Literary Society | Winthrop | [117] |
1897 | Present | Gamma Nu Society | Illinois | [118] [119] |
1911 | Present | Elizabethan Club | Yale | [120] |
1911 | Present | Gamma Delta Society | Illinois | [121] |
1912 | 1913 | Hesperian Society | Heidelberg | [122] [123] |
1912 | present | Philomathean Society | Univ. of the Pacific | [124] |
1913 | Present | Euglossian Society | Heidelberg | [125][126] |
1913 | Present | Philalethean Society | Heidelberg | [127] |
1913 | Present | Philalethean Society | Rutgers | [128] |
1915 | Defunct | Hypatian Society | South Carolina | [129] |
1916 | Present | Sigma Phi Epsilon Society | Illinois | [130] [131] |
1920 | Present | Chi Beta Society | Illinois | [132] [133] |
1924 | Present | Euphrosynean Society | South Carolina | [134] |
1928 | Present | American Whig-Cliosophic Society | Princeton | [135] [136] |
1929 | Present | Pi Pi Rho Society | Illinois | [137] [138] |
1991 | Present | Philomathean Society | Union | [11] [139] |
College literary societies today
The Philomathean Society (1813) of the University of Pennsylvania is the oldest continuously-existing literary society in the United States. The University of Georgia hosts two literary societies (both of which were temporarily disbanded during the Civil War and the subsequent Union occupation): the Demosthenian Literary Society, founded in 1803, and the Phi Kappa Literary Society, founded in 1820 and dormant from the 1970s until its official reestablishment in 1991. Similarly, the Philolexian Society of Columbia University, established in 1802, operated more or less continuously until the early 1950s when it sputtered out and, except for a brief revival in the early 1960s, was not revived until 1985.
Some early college social fraternities still meet in a literary society format, including Kappa Alpha, Alpha Delta Phi, and Mystical 7.
There are seven literary societies at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois where they take the place of fraternities; these include: Phi Alpha Literary Society, Chi Beta Literary Society and Sigma Pi Literary Society.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs College Literary Societies: Their Contribution to Higher Education in the United States, 1815-1876 by Thomas S. Harding
- ^ http://scs.student.virginia.edu/~wash-soc/history.html
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u David Potter, Debating in the colonial chartered colleges; an historical survey, 1642 to 1900, (New York: Teacher's College, Columbia Survey, 1642 to 1900, (New York: Teacher's College, Columbia University, 1944), pgs. 67-70.
- ^ http://www2.scc.rutgers.edu/ead/uarchives/peithof.html
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www2.scc.rutgers.edu/ead/uarchives/peithof.html
- ^ Phi Beta Kappa was only a private literary society, and only until ca. 1831.
- ^ a b Morgan, James Henry, Dickinson College: the History of One Hundred and Fifty Years, 1783-1933, (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College, 1933), pg. 401.
- ^ http://www.dickinson.edu/stulife/orgdetail.cfm?oid=64
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Storie, Catherine Penniman, "The American College Society Library and the College Library," College and Research Libraries, VI (June 1945), pgs. 242-47.
- ^ Morison, Samuel Elliot, Three Centuries of Harvard, 1636 - 1936,(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1936).
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- ^ This was a private literary society only.
- ^ http://www.columbia.edu/cu/philo/
- ^ http://www.demosthenian.org/
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq Seeley, I. C., Manual of College Literary Societies with Statistical Table, (Kalamazoo: Chaplin & Ihling Bro's Book and Job Printers, 1871), pgs. 19-135.
- ^ http://www.sc.edu/carolinian/features/fea_01apr_01.html
- ^ http://www.sc.edu/carolinian/features/fea_01apr_01.html
- ^ http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=P0190
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- ^ http://people.hsc.edu/organizations/upls/
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- ^ http://www.library.yale.edu/mssa/elms/19th.htm
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- ^ http://www.phikappa.org/
- ^ a b c Woodburn, James Albert, History of Indiana University, (Bloomington, Indiana University, 1940), I, 24, 77.
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- ^ http://www.jeffersonsociety.org/
- ^ Phi Beta Kappa was only a private literary society, and only until ca. 1831.
- ^ http://www2.scc.rutgers.edu/ead/uarchives/peithof.html
- ^ a b c d e Potter, David, "The Literary Society", History of Speech Education in America; Background Studies, ed. Karl R. Wallace, (New York, New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1954), p. 241
- ^ a b Parker, Wyman W., "The College Reading of a President", Library Quarterly, XXI, (April, 1951).
- ^ a b c Easterly, James Harold, History of the College of Charleston, Founded 1770, (Charleston, S.C., 1935), pp. 82-83, 137-138.
- ^ a b c Wilson, Samuel Tyndale, Century of Maryville College, (Maryville, Tennessee, 1916), pg. 199.
- ^ Transylvania Whig Society, Records, May 11, 1829 - July 25, 1834, MC, May 11, 1829.
- ^ Union Philosophical Society, Records, May 11, 1829 - July 25, 1834, MC, May 11, 1829.
- ^ Phi Beta Kappa was only a private literary society, and only until ca. 1831.
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- ^ http://philodemic.wordpress.com/
- ^ a b Hanover College, The Crow, 1890-91, (Hanover, Indiana), pg. 59.
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- ^ http://scs.student.virginia.edu/~wash-soc/history.html
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- ^ a b c Fletcher, Robert Samuel, A History |- of Oberlin College from its Foundation Through the Civil War, (Oberlin, Ohio: Oberlin College, 1943), II, pg. 761.
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- ^ a b Osborne, James insley, and Gronert, Theodore Gregory, Wabash College: the First Hundred Years, 1832-1932, (Crawfordsville, Indiana: R. E. Banta, 1932), p. 103.
- ^ a b Paschal, George Washington, History of Wake Forest College, (Wake Forest, N. C.: Wake Forest College, 1935), I, pg. 490.
- ^ a b White, Moses, Early History of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville: By Order of the Board of Trustees, 1879), pgs. 32-33.
- ^ http://library.davidson.edu/archives/ency/euphi.asp
- ^ http://library.davidson.edu/archives/ency/euphi.asp
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- ^ http://www.euphemian.org/
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- ^ a b Tankersley, Allen P., College Life at Old Oglethorpe, (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1951), pgs. 45-46.
- ^ a b Callipoean Society, Emory and Henry College, Catalogue of the Library of the Calliopean Society of Emory and Henry College, (Wytheville, Virginia: D. A. St. Clair, 1872), passim; Hermesian Society, Emory and Henry College, 1872Catalogue of the Library of the Calliopean Society of Emory and Henry College, (Bristol, Virginia: Bristol News Book and Job Office, 1872), passim.
- ^ Philalethean Society, Records, MS, I, Oct 30 & Nov. 5, 1840.
- ^ a b Howard College Bulletin, XXXV (October, 1927), pg. 22.
- ^ http://www.ic.edu/studentlife/litsocieties.asp
- ^ a b Erosophian Society, Catalogue of the Officers, Members, Graduates, and Library of the Erosophian Society of Albion College, (Albion: Cole's Steam Printing House, 1879), p. 3.
- ^ Calkins, Earnest Elmo, They Broke the Prairie; Being an Account of the Settlement of the Upper Mississippi Valley by Religious and Educational Pioneers, Told in Terms of One City, Galesburg, and of One College, Knox, (New York: Charles Scribner's Sone, 1937), pg+N167s. 131-32.
- ^ a b Eclectic and Atheniaedes Societies, Catalogue of the Officers, Members, and Library of the Eclectic and Atheniaedes Societies of Albion College, Together with the Constitutions and By-laws, (Albion: F. F. Cole, 1877), pg. 3.
- ^ [22]
- ^ http://www.citadel.edu/citadel-history/brief-history.html
- ^ http://www.ic.edu/studentlife/litsocieties.asp
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- ^ http://www.citadel.edu/citadel-history/brief-history.html
- ^ [24]
- ^ http://www.cofc.edu/chrestomathy/
- ^ a b c Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama, 1830-1905, (Mobile, Alabama: Commmercial printing Company, 1906), pg. 128.
- ^ a b c d Downie, James Vale, "Old Literary Societies," Geneva Alumnus, July, 1945, pgs. 4-5.
- ^ [25]
- ^ [26]
- ^ a b Curti, Merle, and Carstensen, Vernon, The University of Wisconsin, 1848 - 1925, a History, (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1949), I, 423-424.
- ^ [27]
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- ^ a b Waters, Mary, First Hundred Years of MacMurray College, (Springfield, Illinois: Williamson Priinting & Publishing Co., 1947), pgs. 102-103.
- ^ http://www.heidelberg.edu/studentlife/studentactivities/greeklife/fraternities
- ^ a b Stein, John H., "The Development of the Hiram College Library from the Literary Society Libraries Which Formed its Nucleus," (unpublished Masters' thesis, Kent State university, 1950), pgs. 23-31.
- ^ a b LaGrange Female College, Catalog of the Faculty, Pupils, and Patrons of the LaGrange Female College, at LaGrange, Ga., for the Scholastic Year Closing July 13th, 1853, (New York: John F. Trow, Printer, 1853), pgs. 21-22.
- ^ a b c d Cady, John F., Centennial History of Franklin College, (Franklin: Franklin College of Indiana, 1934), pg. 128.
- ^ a b c Lyle, Guy R., "College Literary Societies in the Fifties," Library Quarterly, IV, (July, 1934), pgs. 488-489.
- ^ a b Wallace, David Duncan, History of Wofford College, 1854 - 1949, (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press), pg. 79.
- ^ a b c d e Wilde, Arthur Herbert, Northwestern University, a History, 1855 - 1905, (New York: University Publishing Society, 1905), III, 31, 49.
- ^ Hamline Literary Society, Regular Open Session of the Hamline Literary Society at University Chapel, Friday evening, June 2nd, 1876.
- ^ a b c Gardiner, Gordon P., History of the Beltionian Literary Association, (Wheaton: Wheaton College, 1936), pgs. 11-13.
- ^ a b Smith, Leland R., The early Days of the Pythonian Society, MS, pg. 1.
- ^ a b c Gatke, Robert Moulton, Chronicles of Willamette, the Pioneer University of the West, (Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort, 1943), pg. 179.
- ^ a b c Warneke, Omer E., "A History of Moores Hill College", (unpublished Master's thesis, College of Education, Butler University, 1942), pgs. 121-122. Cite error: The named reference "Warneke" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Watson, Elmo Scott, Illinois Wesleyan Story, 1850 - 1950, (Bloomington, Ill.: Illinois Wesleyan University Press, 1950), pgs. 38, 62, 68.
- ^ a b Perry, Wilbur Dow, History of Birmingham-Southern College, 1856 - 1931, (Methodist Publishing House, 1931), pgs. 16-17.
- ^ Cordell, E. F., Univeristy of Maryland (1807-1907)), (New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1907), I, pg. 475.
- ^ Ruthean Literary Society, Eighteenth Anniversary of theRuthean Literary Society, Union Hall, Friday Evening, June 15th, 1877.
- ^ a b c McGlothlin, W. J., Baptist Beginnings in Education: a History of Furman University, (Nashville: Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Church, 1926), pg. 115.
- ^ a b University of Chicago, Index Universitatis, Vol. I, No. 1, March 1862.
- ^ Zetagathian Society, Constitution, By-laws, and History of the Zetagathian Society, S. U. I., (1908).
- ^ a b davidson, John s., "Literary Society Libraries at Muhlenberg College," College and Research Libraries, XVII, (April, 1955), pg. 184.
- ^ Walton, William Clarance, Centennial McKendree College with St. Clair County History, (Lebanon, Ill.: McKendree, 1928), pgs. 310- 312.
- ^ [29]
- ^ http://impactnews.com/georgetown-hutto-taylor/history/1193-the-establishment-of-southwestern-university
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- ^ a b Sheldon, Henry D., The University of Oregon Library, 1882 - 1942, ("studies in Bibliography, no. 1"; Eugene: University of Oregon Library, 1942), pg. 3.
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- ^ http://impactnews.com/georgetown-hutto-taylor/history/1193-the-establishment-of-southwestern-university
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- ^ http://www.heidelberg.edu/studentlife/studentactivities/greeklife/societies
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- ^ http://www.heidelberg.edu/studentlife/studentactivities/greeklife/societies
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- ^ http://whigclio.princeton.edu/
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- ^ http://www.ic.edu/studentlife/litsocieties.asp
- ^ http://www.vu.union.edu/~philo/