American Whig-Cliosophic Society
Encyclopedia
The American Whig–Cliosophic Society (short form: Whig-Clio) is a political, literary, and debating
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...

 society at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 and the oldest debate union in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Its precursors, the American Whig Society and the Cliosophic Society, were founded at Princeton in 1769 and 1765 by James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...

, William Paterson, and Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...

.

Originally two separate organizations, the American Whig Society and the Cliosophic Society were the primary student organizations at Princeton until the end of the 19th century. Competition from eating clubs
Eating clubs
The eating clubs at Princeton University are private institutions resembling both dining halls and social houses, where the majority of Princeton upperclassmen eat their meals. Each eating club occupies a large mansion on Prospect Avenue, one of the main roads that runs through the Princeton...

, sports teams, and other student activities drew members away from the societies.

Prompted by declining memberships, the societies were merged to form the American Whig–Cliosophic Society in 1928. The organization's modern role is to serve as an umbrella organization for political and debating activity at Princeton. It sponsors influential lecturers and speaking contests. It oversees subsidiary groups such as the International Relations Council (IRC), Princeton's Model Congress (PMC), the Debate Panel, Mock Trial, and Model United Nations organizations.

Today, Whig-Clio's Debate Panel is one of the world's top intercollegiate debating societies, and competes regularly against teams such as the Oxford Union
Oxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...

, the Cambridge Union Society
Cambridge Union Society
The Cambridge Union Society, commonly referred to as simply "the Cambridge Union" or "the Union," is a debating society in Cambridge, England and is the largest society at the University of Cambridge. Since its founding in 1815, the Union has developed a worldwide reputation as a noted symbol of...

, and the Hart House Debating Club. In the 2010 World Rankings it is ranked 20th, up three places on 2009. It competes most frequently in the American Parliamentary Debate Association league, of which it is a founding member. In 1983, 1989, and 1995 Princeton hosted the World Universities Debating Championships.

Princeton Mock Trial (PMT), another Whig-Clio subsidiary, currently ranks among the top 40 mock-trial programs in the nation. It ranked 4th place in the American Mock Trial Association National Championship Tournament in 2008 and won the AMTA Regional Tournament held at Princeton in 2008. It has produced three AMTA All-Americans. It annually hosts a Moot Court tournament for high school students from throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

In the past half decade, the International Relations Council (IRC) has grown to become the biggest subsidiary of Whig-Clio in terms of membership. It hosts Sunday weekly meetings for students to discuss international events and developments. It sponsors two annual international affairs conferences: one for the high school level Princeton Model United Nations Conference (PMUNC) and one for the collegiate Princeton Interactive Crisis Simulation (PICSIM). PMUNC attracts some 1000 high school students from around the world. It has become a renowned conference in Model UN circuits. PICSim boasts a format unique to Princeton IRC: an innovative, crisis-driven international affairs simulation with 11 committees.

Recent past Presidents of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society are Benjamin Weisman '11, Molly Alarcon '10, Alec Williams '09, Aaron Spolin '08, Shriram Harid '08, Matthew MacDonald '07, Karis Gong '06, and Andrew Bruck '05.

Other Historic Societies

  • The Philolexian Society
    Philolexian Society
    The Philolexian Society of Columbia University is one of the oldest college literary societies in the United States, and the oldest student group at Columbia...

     of Columbia University
    Columbia University
    Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

  • The Philomathean Society
    Philomathean Society
    The Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania is a collegiate literary society, the oldest student group at the university, and a claimant to the title of the oldest continuously-existing literary society in the United States.This claim is disputed between the Philomathean Society and...

     of the University of Pennsylvania
    University of Pennsylvania
    The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

  • The Philodemic Society
    Philodemic Society
    The Philodemic Society is a student debating organization at Georgetown University. It was founded in 1830 by Father James Ryder, S.J., in whose honor an award is given every Spring at the Merrick Debate. The Philodemic is among the oldest such societies in the United States and is the oldest...

     of Georgetown University
    Georgetown University
    Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...

  • The Jefferson Literary and Debating Society
    Jefferson Literary and Debating Society
    The Jefferson Literary and Debating Society is a debating and literary society at the University of Virginia. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest organization at The University and one of the oldest continuously existing debating societies in North America....

     of the University of Virginia
    University of Virginia
    The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

  • The Union-Philanthropic (Literary) Society of Hampden-Sydney College
    Hampden-Sydney College
    Hampden–Sydney College is a liberal arts college for men located in Hampden Sydney, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1775, Hampden–Sydney is the oldest private charter college in the Southern U.S., the last college founded before the American Revolution, and one of only three four-year,...

  • The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

  • The Demosthenian Literary Society
    Demosthenian Literary Society
    The Demosthenian Literary Society is a debating society at The University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1803 by the first graduating class of the University's Franklin College. The society was founded on February 19, 1803 and the anniversary is celebrated now with the Society's...

     of The University of Georgia
    University of Georgia
    The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

     in Athens
    Athens, Georgia
    Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...


External links

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