Secret Societies
The College of William and Mary has a rich tradition of secret societies and is home to the nation's first academic secret society, the Flat Hat Club. Although the pressures of the American Civil War forced many Societies to disappear, most of them were revived during the 20th Century. Some of the secret societies known to currently exist at the College are the Seven Society (Order of the Crown and Dagger), Wren Society, Bishop James Madison Society, Flat Hat Club, Alpha Club, The Society, 13 Club, the Spades, and W Society. In addition to the popular culture notion of secret societies' wealth and extensive alumni networks, William and Mary's focus on the betterment of the College through philanthropy of a clandestine nature.
John Heath and William Short (Class of 1779) founded the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society at William & Mary on December 5, 1776, as a secret literary and philosophical society. Additional chapters were soon established at Yale and at Harvard, and there are now 270 chapters nationwide. Alumni John Marshall and Bushrod Washington were two of the earliest members of Phi Beta Kappa, elected in 1778 and 1780, respectively.
Read more about this topic: History Of The College Of William & Mary
Famous quotes containing the words secret and/or societies:
“Nor even thy virtues, tyrant, shall avail
To save thy secret soul from nightly fears,
From Cambria’s curse, from Cambria’s tears!’”
—Thomas Gray (1716–1771)
“In countries where associations are free, secret societies are unknown. In America there are factions, but no conspiracies.”
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)