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 often 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.

Literary and other activities

Most literary societies' literary activity consisted of formal debates on topical issues of the day, but literary activity could include original essays, poetry, music, etc. 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 fulfill 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]

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.

Demosthenian Hall at the University of Georgia, built in 1824

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]

Libraries

Since every college literary society saw itself as complementing the classical curriculum with the knowledge of current events, the societies also had libraries. "At a number of Northern colleges...the society libraries were larger than the college libraries. The society libraries were also high in quality, as shown by their printed catalogs... Rivalry between the two societies at each college extended to their libraries; each tried to have a larger library than the other."[1] A number of societies, especially in the South, would build separate buildings for the societies and their libraries.[1] On the austere college campus of two centuries ago, "the only fairly comfortable and attractive places were the rooms of the literary societies. Their members,... raised money for rugs, draperies, and comfortable, even luxurious, furniture." [1]

In relation to campuses

Members of the Miami University Erodelphian Literary Society, 1906.
Members of the Miami University Adelphic Association, 1913.

Typically, a college would have two or more competing societies. The campus societies were generally intense competitors. Some examples include the Philodemic and Philonomosian Societies at Georgetown University, the American Whig and Cliosophic Societies at Princeton University, Social Friends and United Fraternity at Dartmouth 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 Phi Kappa and Demosthenian societies at the University of Georgia, the Linonia and Brothers in Unity at Yale University, the Miami Union and Erodelphian (previously Adelphic) societies at Miami University and Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These societies were usually in a limited adversarial role; at Columbia University the Peithologian and Philolexian were competitors, and they maintained a rivalry that was friendly at best and highly charged at worst. In his famous diary, George Templeton Strong recorded that a Philolexian gathering was disrupted by "those rascally Peithologians"; and firecrackers and stink bombs, tossed into the midst of each other's meetings, were usually the weapons of choice.

Membership in these societies was not only open to all the students in the college, but in many cases membership was all but required. At the opening of University of South Carolina virtually all students were members of the Philomathic Society which was soon divided by lot into the Clariosophic and Euphradian societies. 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. This pattern was followed, for example, at Dartmouth, where the faculty imposed rule was "The students of College shall be assigned according to the odd or even places which their names shall hold on an alphabetical list of the members of each successive class..."[3] 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.

Private literary societies

There also is a fundamentally distinct type of literary society, that, although formed at a college and following the same forms and kinds of literary exercises, were limited to a small subset of the college. These are private literary societies, such as Phi Beta Kappa or Yale's Elizabethan Club. Membership is usually by invitation. They share all the characteristics with a college literary society, except that they are not open to all students; and they share many of the characteristics of a college fraternity.

Literary societies and fraternities

In the 1830s and 1840s, 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 South Carolina both had Greek letter aliases, Mu Sigma Phi 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 listed together, the college literary societies, (frequently half the college's student body), and smaller private societies, and were admission by invitation. Some of these societies are still active.

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 expiring in the early 1950s and, except for a brief revival in the early 1960s, was not revived until 1985. The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were founded in 1795, closed for approximately four years when the university was shuttered during Reconstruction, and reopened. These societies merged in 1959 and still meet today as a "joint senate." The Euphradian Society at the University of South Carolina, established in 1806, was deactivated sometime during the late 1970s; it was reactivated by alumni in 2011. The Linonian Society at Yale University is the oldest society to still be in existence, founded in 1753, the society went defunct sometime in the 1890s and was revamped at the beginning of the 21st century making it with over a century of dormancy the oldest literary society in the United States.

In recent years, the Philodemic Society of Georgetown University has attempted to resuscitate the long tradition of intercollegiate debate between collegiate literary societies with the Annual East Coast Conference of Collegiate Literary Debate Societies, held in conjunction with a masked ball known as the Kai Yai Yai ball. The competition is held at the beginning of October and has in recent years included the Philomathean Society, the American Whig-Cliosophic Society of Princeton University, the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies of the University of North Carolina, the Demosthenian Literary Society and Phi Kappa Literary Society of The University of Georgia in Athens, the Enosinian Society of The George Washington University and the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society of the University of Virginia.[4]

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 have remained despite the nationwide trend of developing into fraternities and sororities; these include: Phi Alpha Literary Society, Chi Beta Literary Society, Sigma Pi Literary Society, Gamma Nu Literary Society, Sigma Phi Epsilon Literary Society, Pi Pi Rho Literary Society, and Gamma Delta Literary Society.

List of literary societies in the United States

FoundedEndedSocietyCollege or UniversitySource and notes
1750 1787 F. H. C. William & Mary [5]
1750 1772 Crotonia Society Yale [5]
1753 Present Linonian Society Yale [5]
1765 1928 American Whig Society Princeton [5]
1765 1928 Cliosophic Society Princeton [5]
1768 (unkn.) Brothers in Unity Yale [5]
1770 (unkn.) Institute of 1770 Harvard [5]
1771 (unkn.) Pronouncing Society Brown [5]
1773 1781 P. D. A. William & Mary [6]
1776 1786 Athenian Society Rutgers [5][7]
1776 1787 Phi Beta Kappa Society William & Mary [5]
1776 1782 Polemical Society Rutgers [7][7]
1780 Present Phi Beta Kappa Society Yale [8]
1781 Present Phi Beta Kappa Society Harvard [5]
1783 Defunct Social Friends Society Dartmouth [5]
1786 Present Belles Lettres Society Dickinson [9][10]
1786 Defunct United Fraternity Dartmouth [5]
1787 Present Phi Beta Kappa Society Dartmouth [5]
1789 Present Union-Philanthropic Society Hampden-Sydney [11][12]
1789 Present Union Philosophical Society Dickinson [9]
1789 1795 Society for Progress in Letters Columbia [13]
1791 (unkn.) Porcellian Society Harvard [14]
1793 1890 Calliopean Society Union [15]
1794 1866 Philermenian Society Brown [5][16]
1795 Present Dialectic Society North Carolina [17]
1795 Present Philanthropic Society North Carolina [17]
1795 (unkn.) Philologian Society Williams [17]
1795 (unkn.) Philotechnian Society Williams [17]
1796 (unkn.) Adelphic Society Union [17]
1797 Present Franklin Literary Society Jefferson [18]
1797 (unkn.) Philo Literary Society Jefferson [18]
1802 Present Philolexian Society Columbia [5][13]
1802 1887 Athenian Society Bowdoin [17]
1803 Present Demosthenian Literary Society Georgia [11][17]
1803 (unkn.) Phi Sigma Nu Society Vermont [17]
1805 Present Peucinian Society Bowdoin [17]
1806 (unkn.) Peithologian Society Columbia [5]
1806 1983 Clariosophic Society South Carolina [19][20]
1806 Present Euphradian Society South Carolina [1][20]
1806 1866 United Brothers Society Brown [5][16]
1807 (unkn.) Philological Society Pennsylvania [5]
1809 (unkn.) Union Literary Society Washington [18]
1811 (unkn.) Hermean Society Pennsylvania [11]
1813 Present Philomathean Society Pennsylvania [5]
1814 (unkn.) Washington Literary Society Washington [18]
1814 (unkn.) Phoenix Society Hamilton [17]
1814 (unkn.) Union Society Hamilton [17]
1817 Present Phi Beta Kappa Society Union [8]
1819 Present Calliopean Society Yale [11][21]
1819 1830 Patrick Henry Society Virginia [11]
1820 Present Phi Kappa Literary Society Georgia [11][22]
1820 (unkn.) Henodelphisterian Society Indiana [23]
1821 (unkn.) Alexandrian Society Amherst [1]
1821 (unkn.) Athenian Society Amherst [1]
1822 Present Enosinian Society George Washington [24]
1822 (unkn.) Franklin Debating Society Randolph-Macon [11]
1823 (unkn.) Ciceronian Society George Washington [24]
1824 1834 Franklin Society Brown [25]
1824 (unkn.) Athenaeum Society Trinity [1]
1824 (unkn.) Society for Inquiry Colgate [1]
1825 Present Jefferson Society Virginia [11][26]
1825 Present Phi Beta Kappa Society Bowdoin [8]
1825 1892 Philoclean Society Rutgers [1]
1825 (unkn.) Agatheridan Society Nashville [19]
1825 1891 Peithissophian Society Rutgers [1][7]
1825 (unkn.) Erodelphian Literary Society Miami University [27]
1826 (unkn.) Franklin Society William & Mary [1]
1826 (unkn.) Philozetian Society Western Reserve [28]
1827 (unkn.) Literary Fraternity Colby [1]
1827 (unkn.) Parthenon Society Trinity [1]
1827 (unkn.) Philomathesian Society Kenyon [29]
1828 (unkn.) Nu Pi Kappa Society Kenyon [29]
1828 (unkn.) Philomathean Society College of Charleston [30]
1829 (unkn.) Beth-Hacma Maryville [31]
1829 (unkn.) Sophirodelphian Society Maryville [31]
1829 (unkn.) Transylvania Whig Society Transylvania [32]
1829 (unkn.) Union Philosophical Society Transylvania [33]
1829 (unkn.) Zelosophic Society Pennsylvania [1]
1830 Present Phi Beta Kappa Society Brown [8]
1830 Present Philodemic Society Georgetown [11][34]
1830 (unkn.) Athenian Society Indiana [23]
1830 (unkn.) Calliopean Society Maine Wesleyan [1]
1830 (unkn.) Philosophronian Society Hanover [35]
1830 (unkn.) Union Literary Society Hanover [35]
1831 Present Washington Literary Society and Debating Union Virginia [2][11]
1831 1840 Adelphic Society Western Reserve [28]
1831 1933 Erosophic Society Alabama [1][36]
1831 (unkn.) Euphradian Society College of Charleston [30]
1831 1840 Franklin Society Western Reserve [28]
1831 (unkn.) Peithologian Society Wesleyan [1]
1831 (unkn.) Philomathean Society Indiana [23]
1831 (unkn.) Philorhetorian Society Wesleyan [1]
1831 (unkn.) Miami Union Literary Society Miami University [27]
1832 1943 Philomathic Society Alabama [1][36]
1833 1834 Franklin Polemic Society Mercer [11]
1833 Present Washington Society Randolph-Macon [11]
1834 1943 Eucleian Society New York [1]
1834 1888 Philomathean Society New York [11]
1834 (unkn.) Beth-Hacma ve Berith Maryville [31]
1834 Defunct Ciceronian Society Mercer [11]
1834 (unkn.) Ladies' Literary Society Oberlin [37]
1834 Defunct Phi Delta Society Mercer [11]
1834 (unkn.) Philo-Franklin Society Allegheny [1]
1834 (unkn.) Philomathean Society Wabash [38]
1835 (unkn.) Allegheny Society Allegheny [1]
1835 (unkn.) Calliopean Society Denison [28]
1835 (unkn.) Diagnothian Society Franklin & Marshall [1]
1835 (unkn.) Erosophian Adelphoi Society Colby [1]
1835 (unkn.) Euphronean Society Wabash [38]
1835 Present Euzelian Society Wake Forest [39]
1835 (unkn.) Philomathesian Society Wake Forest [39]
1835 (unkn.) Society for Religious Inquiry Vermont [1]
1836 (unkn.) Chi Delta Society East Tennessee [40]
1836 (unkn.) Philomathesian Society East Tennessee [40]
1836 (unkn.) Union Literary Society Muskingum [19]
1837 Present Philanthropic Society Davidson [19][41]
1837 Present Eumenean Society Davidson [19][41]
1837 Defunct Phi Gamma Society Emory [19]
1837 (unkn.) Philosophian Society McKendree [19]
1838 (unkn.) Cliosophic Society College of Charleston [30]
1838 (unkn.) Platonian Society Indiana Asbury [19]
1839 (unkn.) Alpha Kappa Society Marietta [19]
1839 (unkn.) Dialectic Society Oberlin [37]
1839 Present Euphemian Society Erskine [11][42]
1839 Defunct Few Society Emory [11]
1839 (unkn.) Licivyronian Society William & Mary [1]
1839 (Defunct 1863) Phi Delta Society Oglethorpe [43]
1839 (unkn.) Philological Society Indiana Asbury [19]
1839 (unkn.) Philomathesian Society Oberlin [37]
1839 (unkn.) Psi Gamma Society Marietta [19]
1839 Present Thalian Society Oglethorpe [43]
1840 (unkn.) Adelphian Society Colgate [1]
1840 (unkn.) Aeonian Society Colgate [1]
1840 (Present) Calliopean Society Emory & Henry [44]
1840 Present Hermesian Society Emory & Henry [44]
1840 (unkn.) Phi Delta Society Western Reserve [28]
1840 (unkn.) Philalethian Society Hanover [45]
1840 (unkn.) Tau Chi Society William & Mary [1]
1841 (unkn.) Philopaedian Society St. Xavier [19]
1842 (unkn.) Adelphi Society Howard [46]
1842 (unkn.) Franklin Society Howard [46]
1842 Present Philomathean Society Erskine [47]
1842 (unkn.) Phi Phi Alpha Society Michigan [1]
1843 (unkn.) Alpha Nu Society Michigan [19]
1843 (unkn.) Franklin Society Denison [1]
1843 Present Sigma Pi Society Illinois [19][48]
1844 (unkn.) Clever Fellows Society Albion [49]
1844 (unkn.) Clever Girls Society Albion [49]
1845 (unkn.) Adelphi Society Knox [50]
1845 (unkn.) Atheniaedes Society Albion [51]
1845 Defunct Calliopean Society Citadel [11][52]
1845 (unkn.) Eclectic Society Albion [51]
1851 Present Excelsior Men's Society Heidelberg [19]
1845 (unkn.) Hermean Society Geneva [1]
1845 Present Phi Alpha Society Illinois [19][48]
1845 (unkn.) Zetagathea Society Ohio Wesleyan [19]
1846 (unkn.) Alfreidian Lyceum Society Alfred [19]
1846 (unkn.) Philomathean Society Muskingum [19]
1846 (unkn.) Philosophian Society Wittenberg [19]
1847 (unkn.) Calliopean Society Wabash [19]
1847 (unkn.) Chrestomathean Society Ohio Wesleyan [19]
1847 (unkn.) Lyceum Society Wabash [19]
1847 Present Polytechnic Literary Society Citadel [11][52]
1861 Present Phi Alpha Pi Literary Society Olivet College [53]
1847 Present St. Anthony Hall Columbia
1848 1948 Chrestomathic Society College of Charleston [11][54]
1848 (unkn.) Philomatic Society Spring Hill [55]
1848 (unkn.) Tripartite Union Lycoming [1]
1849 (unkn.) Alethearian Society Geneva [56]
1849 (unkn.) Gnothautii Society Knox [19]
1849 1946 Hermaean Society Mississippi [11]
1849 1934 Phi Sigma Society Mississippi [11]
1849 (unkn.) Philo-Christomathean Society Geneva [56]
1849 Defunct Platonian Society McKendree [19]
1850 (unkn.) Athenian Society Wisconsin [57]
1850 (unkn.) Belles Letters Society Lycoming [1]
1850 (unkn.) Ciceronian Society Roanoke [19]
1850 Defunct Columbian Society Carson-Newman [11]
1850 1865 Delphic Society Rochester [1][58]
1850 (unkn.) Demosthenean Society Roanoke [19]
1850 (unkn.) Eupia Society Bucknell [19]
1850 (unkn.) Orophilian Lyceum Society Alfred [19]
1850 Defunct Philomathean Society Carson-Newman [11]
1850 (unkn.) Philophrenian Society Columbian [19]
1850 (unkn.) Pithonian Society Rochester [1]
1850 (unkn.) Soverville Society Ohio Female [19]
1850 (unkn.) Theta Alphea Society Bucknell [19]
1851 (unkn.) Addisonian Society Kentucky Military [19]
1851 (unkn.) Adelphean Society Wesleyan [19]
1851 (unkn.) Alleghenian Lyceum Society Alfred [19]
1851 (unkn.) Amphictyon Society Lawrence [1]
1851 (unkn.) Athenian Society Ohio Wesleyan [19]
1851 (unkn.) Belles Letters Society MacMurray [59]
1851 (unkn.) Clionian Society Free Academy [1]
1851 (unkn.) Philolexian Society Kalamazoo [19]
1851 (unkn.) Philomathean Society Waynesburg [1]
1851 (unkn.) Philophronean Society Otterbein [19]
1851 (unkn.) Sherwood Rhetorical Society Kalamazoo [19]
1851 (unkn.) St. Aloysius Philodemic Society Notre Dame [19]
1851 (unkn.) Students Philomathean Society Hartsville [19]
1851 (unkn.) Union Society Waynesburg [1]
1852 Present Philomathean Society Wesleyan [19]
1852 (unkn.) Gamma Epsilon Society Lycoming [1]
1852 (unkn.) Ladies Literary Society Milton [19]
1852 (unkn.) Philaletha Society Otterbein [19]
1852 (unkn.) Philomathean Society Hiram [60]
1852 (unkn.) Philomathian Society Mississippi [19]
1852 (unkn.) Philomethean Society Wesleyan [19]
1852 (unkn.) Phrenocosmian Society Free Academy [1]
1853 (unkn.) Amphictyon Society Cornell College [19]
1853 (unkn.) Chrestomathian Society Grinnell [19]
1853 (unkn.) Clio Society Capital [19]
1853 (unkn.) Emma Willards Society Waynesburg [1]
1853 (unkn.) Hentz Society La Grange [61]
1853 (unkn.) Judson Society La Grange [61]
1853 (unkn.) Parthenian Society Baltimore [19]
1853 (unkn.) Periclesian Society Franklin [62]
1853 (unkn.) Phi Nu Society MacMurray [59]
1853 (unkn.) Phileans Society Waynesburg [1]
1853 (unkn.) Union Literary Society Geneva [56]
1853 (unkn.) Webster Society Franklin [62]
1854 (unkn.) Alethezethian Society Antioch [63]
1854 Present Archanian Society Univ. of the Pacific [19]
1854 (unkn.) Aristotelian Society Central [1]
1854 (unkn.) Calhoun Society Wofford [64]
1854 1875 Delphic Society Hiram [65][66]
1854 (unkn.) Erodelphian Society Burlington [19]
1854 (unkn.) Hamline Society Iowa Wesleyan [67]
1854 (unkn.) Hesperian Society Hiram [65]
1854 (unkn.) Hesperian Society Wisconsin [57]
1854 (unkn.) Linnaen Society Mount Union [19]
1854 (unkn.) Phi Alpha Society Central [1]
1854 (unkn.) Philomathian Society Bethel [19]
1854 (unkn.) Washington Society Bethel [19]
1855 (unkn.) Alethean Society Baldwin [19]
1855 (unkn.) Calliope Academy Spring Hill [55]
1855 (unkn.) Crescent Society Antioch [63]
1855 (unkn.) Curious Society Milwaukee [19]
1855 (unkn.) Erosophian Society Marshall [1]
1855 (unkn.) Hyperion Society Marshall [1]
1855 (unkn.) Philalethean Society Lawrence [62]
1855 (unkn.) Philologian Society Richmond [19]
1855 (unkn.) Philopenthean Society Geneva [1]
1855 (unkn.) Philophrenian Society George Washington [24]
1855 (unkn.) Phoenix Society Lawrence [62]
1855 (unkn.) Star Society Antioch [63]
1856 Defunct Beltionian Society Wheaton [68]
1856 (unkn.) Hinman Society Northwestern [65]
1856 (unkn.) Mathesian Society Northwestern Christian [69]
1856 (unkn.) Philadelphian Society Monmouth [19]
1856 (unkn.) Philalethic Society Santa Clara [19]
1856 (unkn.) Philomathean Society Willamette [70]
1856 (unkn.) Philoneikean Society Moores Hill [71]
1856 (unkn.) Phoenix Band Society Earlham [19]
1857 (unkn.) Alpha Kappa Phi Society Hillsdale [19]
1857 (unkn.) Amphictyon Society Hillsdale [19]
1857 (unkn.) Eurodelphian Society Spring Hill [55]
1857 (unkn.) Hesperian Society Ohio Female [19]
1857 (unkn.) Ionian Society Earlham [19]
1857 (unkn.) Ladies Literary Union Hillsdale [19]
1857 (unkn.) Literary Adelphi Society Michigan [19]
1857 (unkn.) Philomathean Society Otterbein [19]
1857 (unkn.) Phreno-Cosmian Society Baldwin [19]
1857 (unkn.) Pythonian Society Northwestern Christian [69]
1857 (unkn.) Sigournean Society Moores Hill [71]
1858 (unkn.) Adelphian Society Cornell College [19]
1858 (unkn.) Athena Society Lawrence [1]
1858 (unkn.) Excelsior Society Albright [1]
1858 (unkn.) Preston Society Wofford [64]
1858 (unkn.) Rhizomian Society Univ. of the Pacific [19]
1859 (unkn.) Alethean Society Beloit [19]
1859 (unkn.) Archaean Society Beloit [19]
1859 (unkn.) Belles Letters Society Illinois Wesleyan [72]
1859 (unkn.) Belles Letters Society Southern [73]
1859 (unkn.) Clariosophic Society Southern [73]
1859 (unkn.) Delean Society Beloit [19]
1859 Present German Verein (now the Alpha Omega Chapter of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity) German Wallace [19]
1859 (unkn.) Germanae Sodales Society Hillsdale [19]
1859 (unkn.) Literary Society Maryland [74]
1859 (unkn.) Neocosmian Society Albright [1]
1859 (unkn.) Philestorian Society Santa Clara [19]
1859 (unkn.) Ruthean Society Iowa Wesleyan [75]
1859 (unkn.) Sophronikopean Society Missionary [19]
1859 (unkn.) Star Society Adrian [19]
1859 (unkn.) Webster Society Michigan [19]
1860 (unkn.) Adelphian Society Furman [76]
1860 (unkn.) Adelphic Society Northwestern [65]
1860 (unkn.) Athenaeum Society Chicago [19]
1860 (unkn.) Erosophian Society Lombard [19]
1860 (unkn.) Eulexian Society St. Stephens [19]
1860 (unkn.) Franklin Reading Society Furman [76]
1860 (unkn.) Philomathean Society Milton [19]
1860 (unkn.) Philosophian Society Furman [76]
1860 (unkn.) Reynolds Society Stockwell [19]
1860 Defunct Philomathean Literary Society Phi Kappa Sigma Male College
1861 (unkn.) Addisonian Society Wayland [19]
1861 (unkn.) Berean Society Chicago [77]
1861 (unkn.) Phi Alpha Pi Society Olivet [19]
1861 (unkn.) Tri Kappa Society Chicago [77]
1861 (unkn.) Zetagathian Society University of Iowa [78]
1862 (unkn.) Erodelphian Society University of Iowa [79]
1865 (unkn.) De La Salle Club Manhattan [19]
1865 (unkn.) Erosophian Society Baylor [1]
1865 (unkn.) Irving Society Andalusia, (Pa.) [19]
1865 Present Philalethean Society (now the Philaletheis Society) Vassar [19][80]
1866 (unkn.) Alka Society Willamette [70]
1866 (unkn.) Brown Debating Society Stockwell [19]
1866 (unkn.) Clionian Society Almira [19]
1866 (unkn.) Garnet Society Lincoln [1]
1866 (unkn.) Lincoln Association Illinois Soldiers' [19]
1866 (unkn.) Philomathean Society Union Christian [19]
1866 (unkn.) Robert E. V. Rice Society Niagara [1]
1866 (unkn.) Scientific Society Wilberforce [19]
1866 (unkn.) Semicentenary Society Wilberforce [19]
1866 (unkn.) St Joseph Society St. Joseph College, New York [19]
1866 (unkn.) Stonewall Society Baylor [1]
1866 (unkn.) Themian Society Quincy [19]
1867 (unkn.) Aristotelian Society Harlem Springs [19]
1867 (unkn.) Athenian Society Tennessee Wesleyan [1]
1867 (unkn.) Byronic Society Harlem Springs [19]
1867 (unkn.) Erosophian Society Albion [19]
1867 (unkn.) Eulexian Society St. Augustine College, California [19]
1867 (unkn.) Euterpean Society Muhlenberg [81]
1867 (unkn.) Neotrophian Society Bethel [1]
1867 (unkn.) Philokosmian Society Lebanon Valley [19]
1867 (unkn.) Philosophian Society Lincoln [1]
1867 (unkn.) Sophronian Society Muhlenberg [81]
1867 (unkn.) Zetalethean Society Simpson [19]
1868 (unkn.) Adelphene Society Union Christian [19]
1868 (unkn.) Alpha Delta Society Hiram [60]
1868 (unkn.) German Society St. Xaviers [19]
1868 1888[82] Irving Society Cornell University [19]
1868 (unkn.) Lehigh Junto Lehigh [19]
1868 (unkn.) Phi Delta Society Berea [1]
1868 (unkn.) Philocurian Society Northwestern Christian [19]
1868 (unkn.) Philomathean Society Iowa State [1]
1868 (unkn.) Philomathian Society Illinois [19]
1869 (unkn.) Athenaean Society Kings College, Tennessee [1]
1869 (unkn.) Basilian Society Niagara [1]
1869 Still active Clionian Literary Society McKendree [83]
1869 (unkn.) Orthopatetic Society Blackburn [1]
1869 (unkn.) Philomathean Society Tennessee Wesleyan [1]
1869 (unkn.) Photozotean Society Moore's hill [71]
1869 (unkn.) Zenobian Society Minnesota [19]
1870 Defunct Aristonian Society Wheaton [68]
1870 (unkn.) Atheneum Society Willamette [70]
1870 (unkn.) Bachelor Society Iowa State [1]
1870 1906 Baconian Society Potsdam [84][85]
1870 (unkn.) Castelian Society Rockford [1]
1870 (unkn.) Crescent Society Iowa State [1]
1870 (unkn.) Erodelphian Society Highland [19]
1870 (unkn.) Grinnell Institute Grinnell [19]
1870 (unkn.) Irving Society Wooster [19]
1870 (unkn.) Philologian Society St Stephens [19]
1870 (unkn.) Philotechnic Society Louisiana State [1]
1870 Present Signet Society Harvard
1870 (unkn.) Vesperian Society Rockford [1]
1870 (unkn.) Wayland Society Brown [19]
1871 (unkn.) Bettina Society German Wallace [19]
1871 (unkn.) Bonhommian Society Highland [19]
1871 (unkn.) Cliolian Society Iowa State [1]
1871 1889 Delphic Society Geneseo [86][87]
1871 (unkn.) Sodalian Society Wilberforce [19]
1872 (unkn.) Adelphic Society Geneva [56]
1872 Defunct Excelsior Society Wheaton [68]
1873 Defunct Clariosophic Literary Society University of Arkansas
1873 Defunct Alamo Society Southwestern [11][88]
1874 (unkn.) Ossoli Society Northwestern [65]
1875 Defunct San Jacinto Society Southwestern [11][88]
1876 (unkn.) Eutaxian Society Oregon [89]
1876 (unkn.) Laurean Society Oregon [89]
1879 Defunct Arkansas Literary and Debating Society Lyon College
1881 Defunct Alethean Society Southwestern [11][88]
1883 Defunct Philomathean Society Lyon College
1885 Defunct Clio Society Southwestern [11][88]
1886 Defunct Garland Literary Society University of Arkansas
1886 Defunct Adelphian Circle Ouachita Baptist University
1888 Defunct Hermesian Literary Society Ouachita Baptist University
1888 Defunct Philomathean Literary Society Ouachita Baptist University
1889 Present Winthrop Literary Society Winthrop [11]
1891 Defunct Gamma Sigma Literary Society Henderson State University
1891 Defunct Erosophic Society Lyon College
1892 Defunct Delta Sigma Society Lyon College
1895 Defunct Grady Literary Society University of Arkansas
1897 Present Gamma Nu Society Illinois [11][48]
1898 Defunct Franklin Literary Society Hendrix College
1899 Defunct Harlan Literary Society Hendrix College
1900 Defunct Athenian Literary Society Ouachita Baptist University
1900 Defunct Periclean Literary Society University of Arkansas
1905 Defunct Garland Literary Society Henderson State University
1906 Defunct Lee Literary Society University of Arkansas
1907 Defunct Demosthenean Literary Society University of Arkansas
1908 Defunct Franklin Literary Society University of Arkansas
1911 Present Elizabethan Club Yale [11]
1911 Present Gamma Delta Society Illinois [48]
1912 Defunct Hesperian Society Heidelberg [11][90]
1912 Present Philomathean Society Univ. of the Pacific [91]
1913 Present Euglossian Society Heidelberg [11][90]
1913 Present Philalethean Society Heidelberg [11]
1913 Present Philalethean Society Rutgers [11]
1914 Defunct Adelphian Society Mountain Home College
1915 Defunct Athenian Society Mountain Home College
1915 Defunct Hypatian Society South Carolina [11]
1916 Present Sigma Phi Epsilon Society Illinois [11][92]
1920 Present Chi Beta Society Illinois [11][48]
1921 Present Aptonalton Literary Society Heidelberg University
1923 Defunct Daedalian Literary Society Indiana State Normal School [93][94][95]
1924 Present Euphrosynean Society South Carolina [11]
1926 Defunct Delta Rho Society Lyon College
1928 Present American Whig-Cliosophic Society Princeton [11][96]
1929 Present Pi Pi Rho Society Illinois [11][48]
1991 Present Philomathean Society Union [17][97]

Image gallery

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 College Literary Societies: Their Contribution to Higher Education in the United States, 1815-1876 by Thomas S. Harding
  2. 1 2 "The Washington Literary Society and Debating Union - History". Scs.student.virginia.edu. 1979-11-16. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  3. ↑ Lord, John King, A History of Dartmouth College, 1815, 1909, (Concord, N. H.: The Rumford Press, 1913), p. 515.
  4. ↑ Ringwald, Madeleine. "PHILODEMIC WELCOMES GROUPS FROM UGA, UPENN, AND GWU". philodemicsociety.org. The Philodemic Society. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 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.
  6. ↑ Carson, Jane, "James Innes and His Brothers of the F.H.C."; (Charlottesville, Virginia: The University Press of Virginia, 1965)
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Inventory to the Records of the Peithessophian Society of Rutgers College, 1825-1927". .scc.rutgers.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Phi Beta Kappa was only a private literary society, and only until ca. 1831.
  9. 1 2 Morgan, James Henry, Dickinson College: the History of One Hundred and Fifty Years, 1783-1933, (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College, 1933), pg. 401.
  10. ↑ "Dickinson College - Campus Life". Dickinson.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 "www.demosthenian.org". www.demosthenian.org. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  12. ↑ "UPLS - Home". People.hsc.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  13. 1 2 The Philolexian Society (2009-11-25). "Philowixian - The Philolexian Society". Columbia.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  14. ↑ Morison, Samuel Eliot, Three Centuries of Harvard, 1636 - 1936,(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1936).
  15. ↑ "Philomathean Society - History". Vu.union.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  16. 1 2 "Encyclopedia Brunoniana | Philermenian Society". Brown.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Storie, Catherine Penniman, "The American College Society Library and the College Library," College and Research Libraries, VI (June 1945), pgs. 242-47.
  18. 1 2 3 4 McClelland, W.C. (1903). "A History of Literary Societies at Washington & Jefferson College". The Centennial Celebration of the Chartering of Jefferson College in 1802. Philadelphia: George H. Buchanan and Company. pp. 111–132.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 Seeley, I. C., Manual of College Literary Societies with Statistical Table, (Kalamazoo: Chaplin & Ihling Bro's Book and Job Printers, 1871), pgs. 19-135.
  20. 1 2 "Carolinian: Campus Traditions". Sc.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  21. ↑ "Elms and Magnolias: The 19th Century". Library.yale.edu. 1996-08-12. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  22. ↑ "News - Phi Kappa Literary Society at UGA, The University of Georgia". Phikappa.org. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  23. 1 2 3 Woodburn, James Albert, History of Indiana University, (Bloomington, Indiana University, 1940), I, 24, 77.
  24. 1 2 3 "Student Organizations: Enosinian Society". Retrieved 2012-12-06.
  25. ↑ "Encyclopedia Brunoniana | Franklin Society". Brown.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  26. ↑ "Jefferson Society". Jefferson Society. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  27. 1 2 private society
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 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
  29. 1 2 Parker, Wyman W., "The College Reading of a President", Library Quarterly, XXI, (April, 1951).
  30. 1 2 3 Easterly, James Harold, History of the College of Charleston, Founded 1770, (Charleston, S.C., 1935), pp. 82-83, 137-138.
  31. 1 2 3 Wilson, Samuel Tyndale, Century of Maryville College, (Maryville, Tennessee, 1916), pg. 199.
  32. ↑ Transylvania Whig Society, Records, May 11, 1829 - July 25, 1834, MC, May 11, 1829.
  33. ↑ Union Philosophical Society, Records, May 11, 1829 - July 25, 1834, MC, May 11, 1829.
  34. ↑ "Philodemic Society of Georgetown University". Philodemic.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  35. 1 2 Hanover College, The Crow, 1890-91, (Hanover, Indiana), pg. 59.
  36. 1 2 Wolfe, Suzanne Rau (1983). The University of Alabama: A Pictorial History. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0-8173-0119-4.
  37. 1 2 3 Fletcher, Robert Samuel, A History of Oberlin College from its Foundation Through the Civil War, (Oberlin, Ohio: Oberlin College, 1943), II, pg. 761.
  38. 1 2 Osborne, James insley, and Gronert, Theodore Gregory, Wabash College: the First Hundred Years, 1832-1932, (Crawfordsville, Indiana: R. E. Banta, 1932), p. 103.
  39. 1 2 Paschal, George Washington, History of Wake Forest College, (Wake Forest, N. C.: Wake Forest College, 1935), I, pg. 490.
  40. 1 2 White, Moses, Early History of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville: By Order of the Board of Trustees, 1879), pgs. 32-33.
  41. 1 2 "Literary Societies". Library.davidson.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  42. ↑ "Euphemian Literary Society". Euphemian.org. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  43. 1 2 Tankersley, Allen P., College Life at Old Oglethorpe, (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1951), pgs. 45-46.
  44. 1 2 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.
  45. ↑ Philalethean Society, Records, MS, I, Oct 30 & Nov. 5, 1840.
  46. 1 2 Howard College Bulletin, XXXV (October, 1927), pg. 22.
  47. ↑
  48. 1 2 3 4 5 6
  49. 1 2 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.
  50. ↑ 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 Sons, 1937), pg+N167s. 131-32.
  51. 1 2 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.
  52. 1 2 "Brief History of The Citadel". Citadel.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  53. ↑ "STUDENT CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS". Olivet College. Retrieved 2012-04-29. Phi Alpha Pi was founded in 1847...In 1861, Phi Alpha Pi became a literary society.
  54. ↑ "Chrestomathy". Cofc.edu. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  55. 1 2 3 Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama, 1830-1905, (Mobile, Alabama: Commercial printing Company, 1906), pg. 128.
  56. 1 2 3 4 Downie, James Vale, "Old Literary Societies," Geneva Alumnus, July, 1945, pgs. 4-5.
  57. 1 2 Curti, Merle, and Carstensen, Vernon, The University of Wisconsin, 1848 - 1925, a History, (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1949), I, 423-424.
  58. ↑ "Delphic Society Records, 1850-1865". Dev.library.rochester.edu. 2005-07-19. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  59. 1 2 Waters, Mary, First Hundred Years of MacMurray College, (Springfield, Illinois: Williamson Priinting & Publishing Co., 1947), pgs. 102-103.
  60. 1 2 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.
  61. 1 2 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.
  62. 1 2 3 4 Cady, John F., Centennial History of Franklin College, (Franklin: Franklin College of Indiana, 1934), pg. 128.
  63. 1 2 3 Lyle, Guy R., "College Literary Societies in the Fifties," Library Quarterly, IV, (July, 1934), pgs. 488-489.
  64. 1 2 Wallace, David Duncan, History of Wofford College, 1854 - 1949, (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press), pg. 79.
  65. 1 2 3 4 5 Wilde, Arthur Herbert, Northwestern University, a History, 1855 - 1905, (New York: University Publishing Society, 1905), III, 31, 49.
  66. ↑ "A memorial.: The reunion of the Delphic literary society, of Hiram college, 1854-1875". Quod.lib.umich.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  67. ↑ Hamline Literary Society, Regular Open Session of the Hamline Literary Society at University Chapel, Friday evening, June 2nd, 1876.
  68. 1 2 3 Gardiner, Gordon P., History of the Beltionian Literary Association, (Wheaton: Wheaton College, 1936), pgs. 11-13.
  69. 1 2 Smith, Leland R., The early Days of the Pythonian Society, MS, pg. 1.
  70. 1 2 3 Gatke, Robert Moulton, Chronicles of Willamette, the Pioneer University of the West, (Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort, 1943), pg. 179.
  71. 1 2 3 Warneke, Omer E., "A History of Moores Hill College", (unpublished Master's thesis, College of Education, Butler University, 1942), pgs. 121-122.
  72. ↑ Watson, Elmo Scott, Illinois Wesleyan Story, 1850 - 1950, (Bloomington, Ill.: Illinois Wesleyan University Press, 1950), pgs. 38, 62, 68.
  73. 1 2 Perry, Wilbur Dow, History of Birmingham-Southern College, 1856 - 1931, (Methodist Publishing House, 1931), pgs. 16-17.
  74. ↑ Cordell, E. F., University of Maryland (1807-1907), (New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1907), I, pg. 475.
  75. ↑ Ruthean Literary Society, Eighteenth Anniversary of theRuthean Literary Society, Union Hall, Friday Evening, June 15th, 1877.
  76. 1 2 3 McGlothlin, W. J., Baptist Beginnings in Education: a History of Furman University, (Nashville: Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Church, 1926), pg. 115.
  77. 1 2 University of Chicago, Index Universitatis, Vol. I, No. 1, March 1862.
  78. ↑ Zetagathian Society, Constitution, By-laws, and History of the Zetagathian Society, S. U. I., (1908).
  79. ↑ Hevel, Michael (2011). "Public Displays of Student Learning: The Role of Literary Societies in Early Iowa Higher Education". The Annals of Iowa 70 (1).
  80. ↑ Lorenzsonn, Erik (January 18, 2011). "From informal beginnings, Vassar theater takes off". The Miscellany News. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  81. 1 2 davidson, John s., "Literary Society Libraries at Muhlenberg College," College and Research Libraries, XVII, (April, 1955), pg. 184.
  82. ↑ Last document public meeting held in May 1887 as a coeducational society. F.E. Moyer, "Cornell Student Activities," Cornell Magazine(8:4)(Jan. 1895) at 192. A fraternity later claimed to be the "custodian" of this society and claims to carry out private literary exercises within one fraternity house.
  83. ↑ Walton, William Clarance, Centennial McKendree College with St. Clair County History, (Lebanon, Ill.: McKendree, 1928), pgs. 310- 312.
  84. ↑ First quarto-centennial history of ... - Google Books. Books.google.com. 2007-01-12. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  85. ↑ "Excerpts from "Normal Magazine" - March 1907". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  86. ↑ The Normalian (1915), SUNY Geneseo Yearbook, p. 57.
  87. ↑ "inter_greek_council | SUNY Geneseo". Geneseo.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  88. 1 2 3 4 "The establishment of Southwestern University". Impactnews.com. 2008-06-13. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  89. 1 2 Sheldon, Henry D., The University of Oregon Library, 1882 - 1942, ("studies in Bibliography, no. 1"; Eugene: University of Oregon Library, 1942), pg. 3.
  90. 1 2 "Heidelberg University. Societies". Heidelberg.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  91. ↑ Archived September 4, 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  92. ↑ "Illinois College-Sigma Phi Epsilon". .ic.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  93. ↑ The Daedalian Literary Society at Indiana State became Delta Lambda Sigma in 1923; Delta Lambda Sigma affiliated with Lambda Chi Alpha in 1952. http://cougar.indstate.edu/u?/isuarchive,6581
  94. ↑ http://cougar.indstate.edu/u?/isuarchive,9518
  95. ↑ http://cougar.indstate.edu/u?/isuarchive,15936
  96. ↑ http://whigclio.princeton.edu/
  97. ↑ "Philomathean Society". Vu.union.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
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