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Brothers in Unity
Founded1768; 256 years ago (1768)–1878; revived 2021
Yale University
TypeSenior secret society
AffiliationIndependent
StatusActive
EmphasisPublic and military service
ScopeLocal
MottoE parvis oriuntur magna
"From small things come great things"
Member badge
Chapters1
Members150 active
NicknameBrothers
Full NameThe Society of Brothers in Unity
HeadquartersNew Haven, Connecticut
United States
Websitewww.brothersinunity.org

Brothers in Unity (formally, the Society of Brothers in Unity) is an undergraduate literary and debating society at Yale University.[1] Founded in 1768 as a literary and debating society that encompassed nearly half the student body at its 19th-century peak, the group disbanded in the late 1870s after donating its collection of books to help form Yale's central library.[2][3][4]

It was revived in 2021 as a secret society by members of the senior class and alumni.[5][6]

References to Brothers in Unity can be found throughout Yale's campus, including several within the courtyards of Branford College
Brothers in Unity and Linonia Society memorial
Linonia and Brothers Room, Sterling Memorial Library

History

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First incarnation

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The Society of Brothers in Unity at Yale College was founded in 1768 by 21 members of the Yale classes of 1768, 1769, 1770, and 1771. The society was founded chiefly to reduce class separation among literary societies; at the time, Yale freshmen were not "received" into any society, and junior society members were forced into the servitude of seniors "under dread of the severest penalties".[7]

David Humphreys, a freshman of the class of 1771, persuaded two members of the senior class, three junior class members, two sophomores, and 14 freshmen to support the establishment of a new society.[7] Its founding members were:[8]

  • Joseph Barker
  • Lewis Beebe
  • John Brown
  • William Burrall
  • David Close
  • Josiah Cotton
  • Henry Daggett
  • Phinehas Fanning
  • John Hart
  • Levi Hubbell
  • David Humphreys
  • Mark Leavenworth
  • Achilles Mansfield
  • Allyn Mather
  • Sylvester Muirson
  • James Nichols
  • Josiah Pomeroy
  • Seth Sage
  • Oliver Stanley
  • Simeon Tryon
  • Joseph Woodbridge

The group picked Stanley as its first president.[8]

The notion of including freshmen was challenged by two or three existing literary groups that waged "an incessant war" against the new society, as described in Brothers in Unity's 1841 catalog of members. But within a year, Brothers became fully independent, its popularity influencing other societies to reconsider their exclusion of first-year students. The Yale College freshman class of 1771 ultimately yielded 15 members to the new group, while the older Linonian Society accepted four—the first recorded time in which underclassmen were publicly accepted into a Yale society.[7] It is speculated that this struggle launched the Brothers' century-long rivalry with Linonia.

Through at least 1841, the society is said to have followed the template of other debating societies, although operating under "Masonic secrecy," according to 19th-century Yale historian Ebenezer Baldwin.[9] Baldwin wrote that the group, in conjunction with Linonia and the Calliopean Society, discussed scientific questions and gravitated towards literary pursuits. This is substantiated by the Brothers' public documentation, which says the society sought "lofty places in science, literature, and oratory" fields, as well as general "intellectual improvement."[7] It also produced plays, including contemporary British dramas and works by its members.[10]

By the beginning of the 19th century, most Yale College students joined either the Brothers or Linonia.[11] "While the official curriculum remained extraordinarily rigid, the student body built a rich extra-curriculum through the literary societies that allowed them to explore subjects that would normally have no place in the college," wrote Elizabeth James in 2015. "Research papers, debates, and literary exercises gave vitality to intellectual life within the college. The societies provided a place where student voices and opinions could be heard, and their questions or thoughts about the world around them interrogated by their classmates."[2] These societies helped pave Yale's way toward a broader European model of education.[2]

Both groups held expansive literary collections, which they used to compete against each other. Between 1780 and 1841, the Brothers claimed to own more volumes than Linonia, although these assertions are disputed.[7][9] Despite their rivalry, the two societies described each other as "ornaments" of Yale and "generous rivals."[12][13][7]When Yale built its first central library in 1846, Linonia and Brothers in Unity accepted the library's invitation to house their collections in the new building. For several decades, the collections were maintained separately, each with a librarian, staff, catalogs, and building entrance. However, the society declined during the Civil War and against the competition of newer secret societies such as Skull and Bones.[8] Linonia and Brothers proposed donating their collections to Yale in 1860, and this was finally done in 1872.[2][8][3] These donations are commemorated in the Linonia and Brothers Room of Yale's Sterling Memorial Library. The reading room contains the Linonia and Brothers (L&B) collection, a travel collection, a collection devoted to medieval history, and books recently added to Sterling's collections.

Brothers in Unity disbanded after the library donation; various sources say this happened in 1871, 1872, or 1878.[2][3][4]

Second incarnation (2021-present)

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Brothers in Unity, December 2021

In 2021, 21 Yale undergraduates revived the defunct society in a different form.[8] While the original Brothers had a relatively open admissions policy and a large membership, its new incarnation follows the model of Yale's restrictive and smaller senior secret societies.[9]

The new group says it seeks members with professional experience in, or simply passion for, certain types of public service, including the U.S. armed forces, U.S. Congress, the U.S. foreign service, and U.S. intelligence community;[5] and, in "exceptional circumstances", people who demonstrate business leadership or entrepreneurship.[14]

The society is funded by the 1768 Foundation Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity administered by alumni.[15]

Symbols and traditions

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Internally, members call the society the Brotherhood.[5] In 1768 or 1769, the Brothers adopted the motto E parvis oriuntur magna, meaning "From small things come great things". Its values are chivalry, openness, and selflessness.[8]

Activities

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Brothers in Unity holds debates and invites speakers to discuss contemporary entrepreneurship, foreign policy, literature, and politics.[8] In 2021, it hosted a lecture named for Morrison Waite, the seventh chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, who helped strike down the Civil Rights Act of 1875.[8] The Brothers also award the David Humphreys Prize for a valedictory oration.[8]

In 2022, the Brothers donated photographs and documents concerning its revival to the Yale University Library's Manuscript and Archives collection.[16]

Membership

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Membership in Brother in Unity admits 10 new members each spring.[8] A current Yale professor acts as an ex-officio member to advise the society. As of October 2023, it had 120 alumni and current members.[8]

Members of the group between 1768 and 1841 include 26 Yale valedictorians, several Supreme Court justices, one Chief Justice, six governors, 13 Senators, 45 Congressional representatives, a Secretary of the Navy, a Secretary of the Treasury, a Postmaster General, 14 presidents of colleges and universities, two U.S. Attorneys General, and a U.S. Vice President.[7][17] By 1841, a total of 2,828 students had belonged to the group.[17]

Notable members

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Name Class Year Notability References
George Edmund Badger 1816 U.S. Secretary of the Navy, U.S. Senator
Henry Baldwin 1797 Supreme Court justice and U.S. Representative
Leonard Bacon 1820 Abolitionist and congregational preacher
Joel Barlow 1778 Ambassador to France, drafted the Treaty of Tripoli [8]
John Brown of Pittsfield 1771 Revolutionary War officer, a state legislator, and a Berkshire County judge
John M. Clayton 1815 18th U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Senator
Moses Cleaveland 1777 Founded Cleveland, Ohio; Brigadier General of Connecticut militia
Mason Fitch Cogswell 1780 Surgeon, pioneer of French sign language in the United States
Carroll Cutler 1854 President of the Case Western Reserve University [18]
John Davis 1812 Governor of Massachusetts, U.S. senator and Representative
Henry Durant 1827 Founded the University of California, Mayor of Oakland, California
William Edmond 1778 politician
Christopher Ellery 1787 U.S. Senator
John Elliott 1794 U.S. Senator from Georgia.
William Ely 1787 U.S. Representative from Massachusetts
Jeremiah Evarts 1802 Missionary, reformer, and activist for the rights of Native Americans
Stephen Clark Foster 1840 Mayor of Los Angeles.
James Gadsden 1806 Adjutant General of the U.S. Army
Ezekiel Gilbert 1778 U.S. Representative from New York
Thomas R. Gold 1786 U.S. Representative
Chauncey Goodrich 1776 U.S. Senator, 8th lieutenant governor of Connecticut
Gideon Granger 1787 U.S. Postmaster General
Richard Henry Green 1857 First African American to graduate from Yale [8][19]
Ray Greene 1784 U.S. Senator and Attorney General
Thomas H. Hubbard 1799 U.S. Representative
William Hull 1772 General in the War of 1812, Governor of Michigan
David Humphreys 1771 American Revolutionary War colonel, Ambassador to Portugal [8]
James Lanman 1788 U.S. Senator from Connecticut, Secretary of State of New York. U.S. Representative
Henry Meigs 1799 U.S. Senator from New York
Samuel Morse 1810 Inventor of Morse code
Thomas J. Oakley 1801 U.S. Representative from New York, Attorney General for New York.
Peter Buell Porter 1791 12th U.S. Secretary of War
Israel Smith 1781 Governor of Vermont, senator, and U.S. representative
Benjamin Silliman 1796 chemist, first to distill petroleum, and a founder of the American Journal of Science
John William Sterling 1864 Founder of Shearling & Sterling
William Strong 1828 Supreme Court justice
Alphonso Taft 1833 U.S. Secretary of War, U.S. Attorney General, founder of Skull and Bones
Benjamin Tallmadge 1773 Spymaster and leader of the Culper Ring, Continental Army captain, U.S. representative
Thomas Thacher 1872 lawyer
Uriah Tracy 1778 U.S. senator [8]
Morrison Waite 1837 Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
Noah Webster 1778 founding father, author of Merriam-Webster dictionary [8]
Yung Wing 1854 First Chinese student to graduate from an American university, businessman [8]
Oliver Wolcott Jr. 1778 U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and 24th governor of Connecticut [8]
William Channing Woodbridge 1812 Geographer and educational reformer
Chauncey Langdon 1787 United States Representative from Vermont (1815-1817 [8]
Theodore Dwight Woolsey 1820 President of Yale College, author, and academic

References

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  1. ^ "Home". Brothers in Unity. Archived from the original on 2023-05-30. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  2. ^ a b c d e James, Elizabeth (2015-05-01). "The True University: Yale's Library from 1843 to 1931". MSSA Kaplan Prize for Yale History. Archived from the original on 2022-10-27. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  3. ^ a b c "Yale University Library Research Guides: Yale History Timeline: 1870 - 1879". Yale Library. Archived from the original on 2022-10-27. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  4. ^ a b Havemayer, Loomis (January 1961). "Yale's Extracurricular and Social Organizations 1780-1960". Eli Scholar's Page. Yale University. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "About". Brothers in Unity. 2021-11-28. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  6. ^ "Linonian and Brothers in Unity: The Societies that Built Yale University's Library". Connecticut History.Org. CT State Government. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Robinson, W.E. (1841). "Preface". A Catalogue of the Members of the Society of Brothers in Unity, Yale College, 1841. New Haven, Connecticut: Hitchcock & Stafford. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "History". Brothers in Unity. Archived from the original on 2023-05-30. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  9. ^ a b c Ebenezer Baldwin (1841). History of Yale College: From Its Foundation, A.D. 1700, to the Year 1838. B. and W. Noyes. pp. 235–236 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ Tsourapas, Gerasimos (April 2004). "The History of the Yale Dramatic Association, 1900-1980s". Yale Dramatic Association. Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  11. ^ "An Irrepressible Urge to Join". Yale Alumni Magazine. March 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-10-28. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  12. ^ The Linonian Society Library of Yale College: The First Years, 1768—1790
  13. ^ Kathy M. Umbricht Straka The Yale University Library Gazette, Vol. 54, No. 4 (April 1980), pp. 183-192
  14. ^ "Membership". Brothers in Unity. 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-28. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  15. ^ "1768 Foundation". Guidestar. October 31, 2022. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  16. ^ "Series Accession 2023-A-0011: Brothers in Unity photographs, 2021-2022". Yale University Library. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  17. ^ a b "Brothers In Unity, Yale College". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. 1841-12-10. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-07-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Death of Dr. Carroll Cutler". The Morning Journal-Courier. New Haven, Connecticut. 1894-01-26. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-07-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Bass, Carole; Branch, Mark Alden (February 28, 2014). "Yale College's first black grad: it's not who you think". Yale Alumni Magazine. Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
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