Permanent URL: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/5q47rn73z
American Whig-Cliosophic Society Records, 1908-1992 (bulk 1928-1992): Finding Aid
AC023
Princeton University Shield
65 Olden Street
Princeton, New Jersey 08540 USA
Phone: 609-258-6345
Fax: 609-258-3385
mudd@princeton.edu
http://www.princeton.edu/~mudd
Published in 1997
©2006 Princeton University Library
Summary Information
- Creator:
- American Whig-Cliosophic Society.
- Title and dates:
- American Whig-Cliosophic Society Records, 1908-1992 (bulk 1928-1992)
- Abstract:
- The American Whig-Cliosophic Society (1941-present) is a literary, political and debating society which has had an important impact on the lives of generations of Princeton students. It provides students with both social alternatives and an opportunity to develop skills not emphasized by the University curriculum. The contents of the records were acquired between 1941 and 1993 in agreements between Princeton University and the American Whig-Cliosophic Society. The library initially cataloged some of these records into the P Collection. Subsequently, an attempt was made to organize some of these records in 1975, but it lacked certain archival necessities.
- Size:
- 12 linear feet (21 total containers: 16 boxes, 5 oversize boxes)
- Call number:
- AC023
- Location:
- Princeton University Library. Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library.
Princeton University Archives.
Princeton, New Jersey 08540 USA - Language(s) of material:
- English.
- Storage note:
- This collection is stored onsite at the Mudd Manuscript Library.
History of American Whig-Cliosophic Society
The American Whig Society and the Cliosophic Society, founded in 1769 and 1765 respectively, were student organizations on the Princeton campus from the eighteenth century through the middle of the twentieth. During the eighteenth century and most of the nineteenth, they were the major focus of student life outside of the classroom, fulfilling the students' social needs as well as providing educational opportunities which were not part of the college curriculum. The societies provided fora for public speaking and creative writing, as well as access to extensive libraries for their members. The rivalry between the societies was very intense, and it was forbidden for members of one society to join the other society or even to enter the other's building.
The societies began to lose their monopoly on student life near the end of the nineteenth century as the college grew into a university and other social alternatives appeared, such as athletics and the eating clubs. They declined both in terms of membership and activities. By 1928, the societies were so weak that the undergraduates felt that they could no longer support two separate societies and buildings. The undergraduates merged their societies and conducted activities in Whig Hall. They called themselves the American Whig-Cliosophic Societies, and rented Clio Hall to the university.
The alumni of Whig and Clio did not consider the merger to be constitutional, and some alumni, who remembered the “good old days” considered the very idea of the merger anathema. The alumni, undergraduates, and university eventually came to an agreement in 1941 by which all the property of Whig and Clio was transferred to the university. A new “American Whig-Cliosophic Society” was created as the successor organization, with a board of trustees, appointed by the president of the university, who still control the property transferred to the university.
During the 1930s the undergraduates transformed the structure of the society. Whereas the activities of the halls had previously centered around formal meetings of the entire membership of the society, the society developed during this decade into a decentralized association of committees or subsidiaries. A small central office coordinated the activities of the various subsidiaries, which included the Princeton Debate Panel, the International Relations Club, the Nassau Lit, and the Speakers Bureau. Each subsidiary acted independently of the others, under the supervision of the Governing Council, made up of the central officers and the heads of each subsidiary. The only subsidiary in which the division between Whig and Clio was still maintained as important was the Senate, which served the dual purpose of an assembly for the entire society and a public forum for debate on campus. In the early part of the decade, in order to facilitate debate within the Senate, it was decided that the Whigs would be the liberal party in the society, while the Clios would be the conservatives. This division had no basis in the traditional rivalry between the societies, but it has been maintained for the last sixty years as the criterion for separating Whigs from Clios.
Soon after the official merger in 1941, the activities of the society were curtailed by World War II. Due to the accelerated program which the university adopted during the war, the society was unable to attract enough members and so suspended its activities in 1943 for the first time since the Revolutionary War. For the duration of the war an undergraduate organization called “The Roundtable” met to carry on as a substitute for Whig-Clio, but had no official connection to the society. The trustees revived the society in 1946, and it soon assumed much the same shape as it had had before the war.
Some old subsidiaries gained a new prominence during the postwar period, while others declined, and still others came and went. One subsidiary which became more important was the Speakers' Program, which brought many prominent political and literary speakers to campus. A few of the speakers brought great controversy with them, such as Alger Hiss. When Whig-Clio invited him in the 1950s, there was such an uproar that the Society was condemned on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Another controversial figure was William Schockley, the inventor of the transistor and Nobel Laureate, who, in the 1970s, was a strong proponent of certain racial pseudo-scientific theories.
One of the most disruptive events in the history of the Society was the fire which gutted Whig Hall in 1968. Most of the society's records which were stored in the building were destroyed, along with a large section of its portrait collection. Many of its historic documents had been transferred to University library for safe keeping, however, and thus were saved. However, an unknown amount of the society's records from the post-merger era was destroyed in the fire. The society made its home for several years in offices in Palmer Hall while the University fulfilled the prophecy of Whig-Clio's president that the interior of Whig Hall would be redone “in a charming mix of concrete and plastic.”
During the late 1970s and early 1980s membership in the society reached an all-time high of well over a thousand members and more than a dozen separate subsidiaries. This put considerable strain on the resources of the society, while moving it in many new directions. In 1986 the Governing Council decided to eject several of the subsidiaries from the society because they abused the building, were a financial liability to the society, had offended many people and organizations on campus, and did not help fulfill the society's traditional mission of literary and political education.
Since 1986 the focus of the society's activities has been primarily off campus. While the Speakers Program and the International Relations Council still bring speakers to campus and provide fora for discussion of political issues, competition in intercollegiate debates the Model United Nations conferences, as well as running a Model Congress program in Washington, D.C. for high school students have dominated Whig-Clio activities.
Description
This collection contains minutes and records of the Governing Council and other central officers of the society; correspondence, addresses and colloquia of the Whig-Clio's Speakers Program; correspondence and other material documenting the activities of the Debate Panel and Woodrow Wilson Honorary Debate Panel; records of Whig-Clio subsidiary organizations, specifically the Senate (documents from 1936-1962, still active), the Film Program (documents from 1966, ejected from society 1986), the Madison Debating Society (documents from 1940-1954, defunct), the Speakers' Bureau (documents from 1928-1965, defunct), the Bureau, the Nassau Lit (documents from 1908-1949), and the International Relations Council.
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- Series 1: Central Office Documents, 1928-1992
- Subseries 1A: Final Minutes, 1928-1991
- Subseries 1B: Treasurer's Documents, 1925-1991
- Subseries 1C: Administrative Material, 1928-1991
- Subseries 1D: Constitutions and By-laws, c1936-1992
- Series 2: Trustees, 1940-1989
- Series 3: Speakers Program, 1933-1978
- Subseries 3A: Correspondence, 1933-1978
- Subseries 3B: Addresses to the Society, 1940-1979
- Subseries 3C: Colloquia, 1954-1977
- Series 4: Debate Panel, 1931-1992
- Series 5: Woodrow Wilson Honorary Debate Panel, 1940-1975
- Subseries 5A: Early Material, 1940-1967
- Subsereis 5B: Prize debates, 1929-1975
- Series 6: Other Subsidiaries, 1908-1982
- Series 7: Publications, 1930-1983
- Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1949-1966
- Series 9: Photographs, c1960-1986
Access and Use
Access
Collection is open for research use.
Restrictions on Use and Copyright Information
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the University Archivist. Copyright is held by the Trustees of Princeton University.
Acquisition and Appraisal
Appraisal
In the process of organizing the Whig-Clio records, several items were discarded, including appointment books for the use of Whig Hall and letters to and from individuals who declined the society's invitation to come speak. In addition, the researcher should be aware that the arrangement in this collection does not necessarily reflect the original order in which Whig-Clio maintained its records. As a student organization, there was very little consistency from year to year within the organization as to how it maintained its records and what it decided to keep and record. Also, the attempt in 1975 to organize these records did not give sufficient regard to provenance and order.
Related Materials
Related Archival Material
Related manuscript collections include the Records of the American Whig Society and the Records of the Cliosophic Society.
Processing and Other Information
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Douglas Ray in 1993. Finding aid written by Douglas Ray in 1993.
Descriptive Rules Used
Finding aid content adheres to that prescribed by Describing Archives: A Content Standard.
Encoding
Machine-readable finding aid encoded in EAD 2002 by Techbooks and Cristela García-Spitz on October 20, 2006.
Finding aid written in English.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); American Whig-Cliosophic Society Records, Box and Folder Number; University Archives, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
Subject Headings
These materials have been indexed in the Princeton University Library online catalog using the following terms. Those seeking related materials should search under these terms.
- American Whig Society.
- American Whig-Cliosophic Society.
- Princeton University -- Societies, etc.
- Cliosophic Society (Princeton University)
- Scrapbooks.
- Minutes.
- Correspondence.
- Photographs.
- American Whig Society.
- Cliosophic Society (Princeton University).
Browse other finding aids related to the following terms:
Contents List
Series 1: Central Office Documents, 1928-1992
Series Description
This series contains the records of the Governing Council and other central officers of the society. The Governing Council, usually referred to as the GoCo, is made up of the elected central officers and the heads of the various subsidiaries. It is the body responsible for coordinating the activities of the entire society and running the day to day activities including setting the annual budget. The GoCo has varied in size from 8 members to approximately 25 depending upon the number of subsidiaries which the society had at the time. The central officers are responsible for activities that involve the society as a whole rather than a single subsidiary, such as initiations and the annual banquet.
Series Arrangement
(arranged by subseries)
Subseries 1A: Final Minutes, 1928-1991
Subseries Description
This subseries contains the minutes of the Governing Council from the merger of the undergraduate organizations in 1928 to the present. In addition, the minutes of some Assembly meetings (meetings of the entire Society membership) are interspersed in the early 1930s. The minutes for many years appear to be incomplete and some years are missing altogether.
Subseries Arrangement
(arranged chronologically)
Final Minutes, 1928-1948
Box 1, Folder 1-12 Final Minutes, 1950-1991
Box 2, Folder 1-11 Subseries 1B: Treasurer's Documents, 1925-1991
Subseries Description
The treasurer's documents consist of ledgers, correspondence, and budgets and financial reports. The first ledger, 1925-1939, was an American Whig Society ledger during the period 1925-1928, and then Whig-Clio continued to use it from that point forward.
Subseries Arrangement
(arranged chronologically)
Budgets and Financial Reports, 1929-1958
Box 2, Folder 12-15 Budgets and Financial Reports, 1961-1991
Box 3, Folder 1-3 Correspondence, circa 1950
Box 3, Folder 4 Oversize: Ledgers, 1925-1960
Box 19 Subseries 1C: Administrative Material, 1928-1991
Subseries Description
This subseries contains several different types of material related to running the society. Materials include general correspondence, membership lists, material pertaining to conferences held at Princeton by Whig-Clio, freshman recruiting pamphlets, and the revival of the society after World War II.
Subsubseries Arrangement
(arranged chronologically)
Correspondence, 1928-1959
Box 3, Folder 5-31 Correspondence, 1960-1991
Box 4, Folder 1-11 Officers, 1929-1982
Box 4, Folder 12-13 Organizational Chart, 1941
Box 4, Folder 14 Membership Lists, 1929-1960
Box 4, Folder 15-18 Membership Committee, 1936-1950
Box 4, Folder 19 Conference: FERA Report, circa 1930
Box 4, Folder 20 Conference: Conference on Government and Business, 1935
Box 4, Folder 21 Conference: Model Senate, 1937
Box 5, Folder 1 Conference: Eastern Forensic Association Tournament, 1952
Box 5, Folder 2 Conference: Point Four Youth Conference, 1960
Box 5, Folder 3 Conference: World Youth Forum, 1965
Box 5, Folder 4 Conference: Contemporary and Future African Development, 1966
Box 5, Folder 5 Conference: Conference of the American Successor Generation, 1982
Box 5, Folder 6 Automobile, 1951-1961
Box 5, Folder 7 Election Materials, 1940-1975
Box 5, Folder 8 Ephemera, 1938-1975
Box 5, Folder 9 Freshmen Recruiting, 1931-1959
Box 5, Folder 10 House Committee, 1946
Box 5, Folder 11 Membership Calendars, 1936-1941
Box 5, Folder 12 Membership Questionnaires, 1934-1971
Box 5, Folder 13 News Releases, 1938-1986
Box 5, Folder 14 Portrait Collection, circa 1933
Box 5, Folder 15 Post-War Commission, 1943-1946
Box 5, Folder 16 Squad System, 1936-1937
Box 5, Folder 17 Subseries 1D: Constitutions and By-laws, circa 1936-1992
Subseries Description
The Constitutions and By-laws determine the general organization of the society and the Governing Council. Some of the subsidiaries have constitutions, or charters, of their own, which are included among the materials for the relevant subsidiaries. The set of constitutions in the collection appears to be incomplete.
Subseries Arrangement
(arranged chronologically)
Constitutions and By-laws, circa 1936-1992
Box 6, Folder 1-14 Constitutions and By-laws, undated
Box 6, Folder 15 Parliamentary Procedure, 1939-1954
Box 6, Folder 16 Series 2: Trustees, 1940-1989
Series Description
The Board of Trustees is made up of University faculty, staff, and Whig-Clio alumni, appointed to three year terms by the President of the University. They are responsible for supervising the undergraduate officers, making long-term policy decisions, negotiating with the University administration when conflicts arise, and overseeing the society's endowment. The documents in this series deal with the initial organization of the board in 1940 and 1941 and the problems which had to be overcome in order to merge Whig and Clio. The series also includes the trustees' minutes and correspondence, and their annual reports to the president of the university. The series also includes reports to the board of trustees made by the undergraduate officers.
Series Arrangement
(arranged chronologically)
Preliminary Organization, 1940
Box 6, Folder 17 Agreements with the University, 1941-1983
Box 6, Folder 18 Minutes, 1941-1986
Box 6, Folder 19-22 Annual Reports, 1941-1972
Box 7, Folder 1-2 Correspondence, 1941-1989
Box 7, Folder 3-7 Reports of Undergraduates, 1930-1975
Box 7, Folder 8-12 Series 3: Speakers Program, 1933-1978
Series Description
Whig-Clio's Speakers Program brings prominent figures in politics, international affairs, and literature to the Princeton campus in order to address the Society. This is one of the major activities open to all members of the society. The Speakers Program has often worked very closely with the International Relations Council, one of Whig-Clio's subsidiaries, in attracting speakers to speak about foreign affairs, and sometimes it is difficult to determine whether a particular speaker was invited by both groups or one or the other. At different times the Speakers Program has been the responsibility of the Secretary of the Society or that of a separate Director of Program.
Series Arrangement
(arranged by subseries)
Subseries 3A: Correspondence, 1933-1978
Subseries Description
This series consists of letters to and from people who addressed the Society. Some form letters which were sent to many different speakers were discarded. Letters to people who either never responded or decided not to accept Whig-Clio's invitation were discarded.
Subseries Arrangement
(arranged alphabetically)
Alinsky, Saul, 1966
Box 8, Folder 1 Alphand, Herve, 1964-1965
Box 8, Folder 2 Alsop, Joseph, 1959-1973
Box 8, Folder 3 Baldwin, Roger, 1935
Box 8, Folder 4 Bennett, Robert L., 1970
Box 8, Folder 5 Best, Hugh, 1976
Box 8, Folder 6 Billington, James, 1965
Box 8, Folder 7 Black, Cyril E., 1965
Box 8, Folder 8 Blake, Eugene, 1963-1978
Box 8, Folder 9 Boggs, Hale, 1960-1972
Box 8, Folder 10 Bolling, Richard, 1961
Box 8, Folder 11 Boorman, Howard L., 1963
Box 8, Folder 12 Broderick, Vincent L., 1966
Box 8, Folder 13 Brohi, A. K., 1955
Box 8, Folder 14 Bromwell, James, 1964
Box 8, Folder 15 Caras, Roger, 1977
Box 8, Folder 16 Carey, James B., 1958
Box 8, Folder 17 Carlucci, Frank, 1965
Box 8, Folder 18 Case, Clifford, 1960-1976
Box 8, Folder 19 Chew, Allen F., 1965
Box 8, Folder 20 Clark, Joseph, 1959-1967
Box 8, Folder 21 Clement, Frank, 1958
Box 8, Folder 22 Cleveland, Harlan, 1963-1965
Box 8, Folder 23 Clubb, O. Edmund, 1965
Box 8, Folder 24 Cohen, Bernard, 1966
Box 8, Folder 25 Cohen, David, 1976
Box 8, Folder 26 Coleman, William, 1976
Box 8, Folder 27 Curtis, Thomas, 1964-1967
Box 8, Folder 28 Dean, Sidney W., 1970
Box 8, Folder 29 DeAndia, Beatrice, 1976-1977
Box 8, Folder 30 DeSapio, Carmine, 1959-1963
Box 8, Folder 31 Dodd, Thomas, 1961-1968
Box 8, Folder 32 Dos Passos, John, 1956
Box 8, Folder 33 Droge, Dolf, 1970-1971
Box 8, Folder 34 Drury, Allen, 1960-1975
Box 8, Folder 35 Dulles, Allen W., 1959-1966
Box 8, Folder 36 Fairbank, John K., 1974-1977
Box 8, Folder 37 Farley, James A., 1940
Box 8, Folder 38 Farmer, James, 1966-1967
Box 8, Folder 39 Feiveson, H. A., 1974
Box 8, Folder 40 Fisher, Frederick, 1933
Box 8, Folder 41 Fisher, O. Clark, 1955
Box 8, Folder 42 Flanigan, Peter, 1973-1978
Box 8, Folder 43 Florovsky, Georges, 1965
Box 8, Folder 44 Folsom, James, 1948
Box 8, Folder 45 Ford, Harold P., 1973
Box 8, Folder 46 Forrester, Jay, 1975-1977
Box 8, Folder 47 Franklin, John Hope, 1975-1977
Box 8, Folder 48 Freedman, Max, 1958-1960
Box 8, Folder 49 Freidel, Frank, 1976-1977
Box 8, Folder 50 Frelinghuysen, Peter H. B., 1966-1971
Box 8, Folder 51 Fuller, R. Buckminster, 1975
Box 8, Folder 52 Fulton, Richard F., 1965
Box 8, Folder 53 Gaitskell, Hugh, 1960
Box 9, Folder 1 Ghorbal, Ashraf, 1975
Box 9, Folder 2 Gilbert, Henry E., 1963
Box 9, Folder 3 Goheen, Robert F., 1971
Box 9, Folder 4 Goldfarb, Ronald, 1977
Box 9, Folder 5 Graham, John, 1978
Box 9, Folder 6 Green, Mark, 1976
Box 9, Folder 7 Hatcher, Richard, 1968-1973
Box 9, Folder 8 Hemenway, John, 1976
Box 9, Folder 9 Henderson, Hazel, 1976
Box 9, Folder 10 Henson, Francis, 1934
Box 9, Folder 11 Herter, Christian, 1977
Box 9, Folder 12 Hilsman, Roger, 1965-1966
Box 9, Folder 13 Hirschman, Ira, 1972-1973
Box 9, Folder 14 Hiss, Alger, 1956
Box 9, Folder 15 Hobby, Oveta, 1954
Box 9, Folder 16 Irwin, Wallace, 1970
Box 9, Folder 17 Kozol, Jonathan, 1976
Box 9, Folder 18 Jackson, Nelson, 1965
Box 9, Folder 19 Jones, Peter T., 1962
Box 9, Folder 20 Joseph, Raymond, 1968
Box 9, Folder 21 Judd, Walter H., 1961-1965
Box 9, Folder 22 Kahn, Herman, 1961-1973
Box 9, Folder 23 Kantor, Mackinlay, 1960
Box 9, Folder 24 Kassof, Allen, 1965
Box 9, Folder 25 Kefauver, Estes, 1956
Box 9, Folder 26 Kerley, Ernest L., 1971-1972
Box 9, Folder 27 Kintner, Earl W., 1960
Box 9, Folder 28 Kissinger, Henry, 1957
Box 9, Folder 29 Lancaster, Bruce, 1966
Box 9, Folder 30 Leonard, James F., 1965
Box 9, Folder 31 McMillan, Brockway, 1966
Box 9, Folder 32 Marshall, F. Ray, 1977
Box 9, Folder 33 Nesta, Perle, 1955
Box 9, Folder 34 Meyner, Robert B., 1960
Box 9, Folder 35 Michael, Franz, 1965
Box 9, Folder 36 Miller, Marvin, 1973-1974
Box 9, Folder 37 Mundt, Karl, 1958-1967
Box 9, Folder 38 Munro, D. G., 1939
Box 9, Folder 39 Murphy, Patrick, 1973
Box 9, Folder 40 Newsom, David, 1979
Box 9, Folder 41 Nizer, Louis, 1974
Box 9, Folder 42 Archduke Otto of Austria, 1943
Box 9, Folder 43 Peck, Walter, 1935
Box 9, Folder 44 Pell, Claiborne, 1961-1975
Box 9, Folder 45 Proxmire, William, 1957
Box 9, Folder 46 Reid, Ogden, 1976
Box 9, Folder 47 Roosevelt, Franklin D., Jr., 1956
Box 9, Folder 48 Rossiter, Clinton, 1956
Box 9, Folder 49 Scribner, Charles, 1939
Box 9, Folder 50 Shockley, William, 1973
Box 9, Folder 51 Sullivan, William C., 1960
Box 9, Folder 52 Taft, Robert, 1948
Box 9, Folder 53 Thomas, Norman, 1955
Box 9, Folder 54 Thornton, Winfred, 1964
Box 9, Folder 55 Wang, David, 1958
Box 9, Folder 56 Wilson, Philip, 1934
Box 9, Folder 57 Subseries 3B: Addresses to the Society, 1940-1979
Subseries Description
A few of the speakers who addressed Whig-Clio gave a copy of the texts of their speeches to the society. Those who addressed the society in single speeches are in this subseries, but those who spoke as part of a colloquium are in the colloquium subseries.
Subseries Arrangement
(arranged alphabetically)
Alsop, Joseph, 1959
Box 10, Folder 1 Farley, Joseph, 1940
Box 10, Folder 2 Kintner, Earl W., 1960
Box 10, Folder 3 Newsom, David, 1979
Box 10, Folder 4 Stokes, Donald, 1951
Box 10, Folder 5 Sullivan, William C., 1960
Box 10, Folder 6 Williams, Gillenen, 1960
Box 10, Folder 7 Subseries 3C: Colloquia, 1954-1977
Subseries Description
During the 1950s, Whig-Clio initiated its Annual Colloquium series. The officers invited several especially prominent speakers, such as Senators John F. Kennedy and Hubert H. Humphrey, to campus during a short period to examine different aspects of the same issue. This program was quite successful for a few years during the mid 1950s, but faded during the early 1960s. It was revived briefly during the mid 1970s in honor of the country's bicentennial. The series contains correspondence with each speaker, as well as the texts of the speeches of the 1954 and 1955 colloquia, and related administrative material.
Subseries Arrangement
(arranged alphabetically)
Administrative Material, 1954-1961
Box 10, Folder 8 Bennett, Wallace F., 1955
Box 10, Folder 9 Cary, Stephen G., 1958
Box 10, Folder 10 Flanders, Ralph E., 1954
Box 10, Folder 11 Hickenlooper, Bourke B., 1954
Box 10, Folder 12 Humphrey, Hubert H., 1955
Box 10, Folder 13 Jenner, William, 1955
Box 10, Folder 14 Kennedy, John F., 1954
Box 10, Folder 15 McKeldin, Theodore, 1955
Box 10, Folder 16 Meyner, Robert B., 1955
Box 10, Folder 17 Monroney, Mike, 1954
Box 10, Folder 18 Morse, Wayne, 1954
Box 10, Folder 19 Wiley, Alexander, 1954
Box 10, Folder 20 Speeches, 1954
Box 10, Folder 21 Speeches, 1955
Box 10, Folder 22 Correspondence, 1954-1957
Box 10, Folder 23 Bicentennial Lecture Series, 1975-1977
Box 10, Folder 24 Book of Guests' signatures, 1962-1966
Box 20, Folder ov Series 4: Debate Panel, 1931-1992
Series Description
The Debate Panel is Princeton University's intercollegiate debating team. The series contains the Panel's correspondence dealing with its competitions against teams from other American colleges and universities as well as activity reports and internal administrative material. Activity reports collect the results and social activites of the panel at all of the tournaments the members attended during a particular academic year; after 1968 these activity reports are called Style Reports. For material dealing with intercollegiate debating at Princeton before 1928, see the Cliosophic Society Records (AC# 016) Series XI: Joint Documents with Whig; Debating Committee, Boxes 85-87. The Guide to North American Platform Debate, published by the Debate Panel in the 1960s and 1970s to help popularize the current [1993] impromptu style of intercollegiate debating can be found in Series VII - Publications.
Series Arrangement
(arranged chronologically)
Correspondence, 1931-1967
Box 11, Folder 1-14 Organizational material, 1930s
Box 12, Folder 1 Membership Lists, 1931-1941
Box 12, Folder 2 Activity Reports, 1936-1947
Box 12, Folder 3 Debate Schedules, 1939-1946
Box 12, Folder 4 Constitution, 1953
Box 12, Folder 5 Activity Reports, 1966-1968
Box 12, Folder 6 Style Reports, 1968-1974
Box 12, Folder 7-8 Press Releases, 1974
Box 12, Folder 9 Style Reports, 1985-1992
Box 12, Folder 10-11 Membership Directory, 1990
Box 12, Folder 12 Series 5: Woodrow Wilson Honorary Debate Panel, 1940-1975
Series Description
The Woodrow Wilson Honorary Debate Panel (commonly abbreviated WWHDP) named after the 28th President of the United States, who was the Speaker of the American Whig Society while an undergraduate at Princeton, was founded in 1940 in order to recognize exceptional prowess in debate among undergraduates in Whig-Clio. Originally membership to this society was determined solely by election of the current members while its activities consisted mostly of an annual banquet in their honor. At some point which the documents do not make clear, this changed, and WWHDP took over responsibility for running the various prize debates and contests sponsored by Whig-Clio and membership is now gained by winning a prize in one of these contests.
Series Arrangement
(arranged by subseries)
Subseries 5A: Early Material, 1940-1967
Subseries Description
The material in this subseries consists of documents from WWHDP's early period, detailing its founding, meetings, membership, and operation.
Subseries Arrangement
(arranged chronologically)
Constitution, 1940
Box 12, Folder 13 Minutes, 1940-1956
Box 13, Folder 1 History, 1941-1947
Box 13, Folder 2 Membership List, 1940-1967
Box 13, Folder 3 Correspondence, 1940-1966
Box 13, Folder 4-5 Subseries 5B: Prize debates, 1929-1975
Subseries Description
These programs were distributed to the audience at the various prize debates and contests conducted by WWHDP, and include the topics and participants in the debates. Researchers interested in the prize debates before 1929 should see Cliosophic Society Records (AC# 016) Series XI: Joint Series with Whig; Interhall Debating Box 84.
Subseries Arrangement
(arranged chronologically)
Class of 1876 Debate, 1939-1940
Box 13, Folder 6 Lynde Prize Debate, 1929-1975
Box 13, Folder 7 Junior Orator Contest, 1932-1940
Box 13, Folder 8 Series 6: Other Subsidiaries, 1908-1982
Series Description
Whig-Clio has or has had many subsidiaries which have left no records behind them, while some have left just a few.
The Senate (documents from 1936-1962, still active) is a forum for public debating on campus. Under the Whig-Clio Constitution it can also meet as the assembly of the entire society.
The Film Program (documents from 1966, ejected from society 1986) offered free movie showings to Whig-Clio members.
The Madison Debating Society (documents from 1940-1954, defunct) was a name shared by two different subsidiaries at two different times, one being a training ground for freshman debaters, the other being a forum for humorous debating on campus.
The Speakers' Bureau (documents from 1928-1965, defunct) not to be confused with the Speakers Program, hired Whig-Clio members out to schools, civic groups, social clubs and other organizations in the New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia areas as speakers for their meetings. The Bureau sent out a brochure each year describing the topics and lengths of the speeches it would be offering that year.
The Nassau Lit (documents from 1908-1949) was founded in 1842 as the Nassua Monthly, a student magazine for prose and poetry. It was separate from Whig-Clio until 1934, when it became a subsidiary. It remained as a subsidiary until 1964, when it once again became a separate organization. Copies of the Nassau Lit are not included in the collection, but are available at Mudd Library.
The International Relations Council (IRC) (documents from 1933-1982, still active) provides a forum for discussion of foreign affairs, as well as operating Princeton's Model United Nations Team. This subsidiary has had several different names including the International Relations Club and the International Affairs Club. At one point Model United Nations was a separate subsidiary, but it has since consolidated with the IRC and the few records it left behind can be found here. Included in the minutes are summaries of the comments made by lecturers who visited IRC meetings, including Albert Einstein, who in 1934 expressed his views on various topics, including Hitler's actions and democracy's future.
Series Arrangement
(arranged alphabetically)
Senate, 1936-1962
Box 14, Folder 1 Film Program, 1966
Box 14, Folder 2 Madison Debating Society, 1940-1954
Box 14, Folder 3-4 Speakers' Bureau, 1928-1965
Box 14, Folder 5 Nassau Lit, 1908-1948
Box 14, Folder 6-8 International Relations Council, 1935-1982
Box 14, Folder 9-10 International Relations Council Minutes, 1933-1937
Box 21 Series 7: Publications, 1930-1983
Series Description
This series contains many of the publications put out by Whig-Clio, including various newsletters, magazines, and books to commemorate special occasions.
Series Arrangement
(arranged chronologically)
Society Newsletters, 1935-1978
Box 15, Folder 1-26 Address to the Society by Frank W. Smith, 1935
Box 15, Folder 29 Conference Reports, 1935-1964
Box 15, Folder 30 Annual Dinner, 1942-1970
Box 15, Folder 31 Sitting Bull, 1948
Box 15, Folder 32 General Catalogue, 1954
Box 15, Folder 33 Bicentennial Book, 1965
Box 15, Folder 34 Guide to North American Platform Debate, 1967-1974
Box 15, Folder 35 Magazines, 1970-1983
Box 15, Folder 36 Calendars of Events, 1977
Box 15, Folder 37 Freshmen Recruiting Information, undated
Box 15, Folder 38 Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1949-1966
Series Description
These scrapbooks containing photographs, articles from the Daily Princetonian, and documents such as Governing Council minutes provide an overview of the many different activities conducted by Whig-Clio during the periods in which they were produced.
Series Arrangement
(arranged by size)
Scrapbooks, 1949-1966
Box 16, Folder 1-5 Oversize: Scrapbooks, 1954-1955, 1965
Box 17 Oversize: Scrapbook, 1954
Box 18 Series 9: Photographs, circa 1960-1986
Series Description
The photographs document the history of the Society, including speakers who addressed the society, trips taken by the Debate Panel, and some of the of the officers of the society.
Series Arrangement
(arranged by size)
Oversize: Assorted photographs of members and guests, circa 1960-1986
Box 18
Permanent URL: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/5q47rn73z