History of North American College Fraternities and Sororities - The Civil War and Aftermath

The Civil War and Aftermath

The early 1860s were unsurprisingly uneventful when it comes to fraternities due to the American Civil War. Many colleges, and subsequently undergraduate chapters, would temporarily close during the war. Only one organization, Theta Xi, was founded (at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1864) and it was the first professional fraternity. One very important event during the war was the passage of the Morrill Act of 1862. This act would lead to new colleges, new educational opportunities, and greater student enrollment.

After the war, the system would begin encountering racial, religious, and gender diversity and new colleges would be founded or reformed throughout the south and west. Growth in the fraternity system overall during this period would lead some to label the last third of the nineteenth century as "The Golden Age of Fraternities."

The so-called Lexington Triad would begin its formation when Alpha Tau Omega was founded in 1865 at the Virginia Military Institute. Fraternities being founded at military-oriented schools in the south was unsurprising given the recent end of the war. The founding of Kappa Alpha Order at Washington and Lee University in 1865 and Sigma Nu at VMI in 1869 would complete the triad.

Fraternity creation would slow for a time after 1873 when the third of three secret societies was formed at Massachusetts Agricultural College. The existing fraternities would now seek to expand.