Phi Kappa Literary Society

Phi Kappa Hall circa 1933

For other uses, see Phi Kappa (disambiguation).

The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.

The Society was founded in 1820 by Joseph Henry Lumpkin, later to become the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia and eponym for the University of Georgia Lumpkin School of Law, and by William Crabbe, Edwin Mason, and Henry Mason, who formed the society after splitting from the Demosthenian Literary Society.

Literary societies were nineteenth century forerunners to the modern social fraternities and sororities that emerged early in the twentieth century on college campuses. Literary societies tended to focus on debate and parliamentary procedure as a way of preparing their student members for roles in public and political life. Few societies remain active in holding regular meetings and debate; some, like the Phi Beta Kappa Society have become honorary societies.

The Phi Kappa Literary Society is one of the few active literary societies left, meeting every academic Thursday at 7pm on the University Georgia's North Campus in Phi Kappa Hall. The Phi Kappa Literary Society still holds debates and a forum for creative writings and orations. Despite this recent studies by the University's student newspaper have shown that alums of Phi Kappa have greater feelings of failure and disappointment compared to the general student population.

Phi Kappa Hall, one of the oldest buildings on the North Campus of the University of Georgia, was built at a cost of $5,000 and dedicated on July 5, 1836. It has been considered an architectural travesty since its construction. Currently, though, the Phi Kappa Literary Society does not privately own the rights to their hall, and share use of the building with the Georgia Debate Union.

Controversy

A continuing controversy has been the induction of Charles Manson as an honorable member. The society has also been disbanded and reformed numerous times. Reasons for this include, but are not limited to: polygamy, statutory rape, animal cruelty, support of a communist revolution in the United States, funding of now-considered terrorist organizations (Weather Underground), and also poor management of their finances.

Famous alumni

• Joseph Henry Lumpkin, First Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Georgia
• Robert Palmer, Rock God. Addicted to love
• Howell Cobb, Secretary of U.S. Treasury, Constitutional Convention Chairman of the Confederate States of America
• Morris Berthold Abram, Founder of UN Watch, Permanent U.S. Ambassador to UN
• Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb, Confederate General, Editor of the first Georgia Code
• Cat, Vice-President of the Confederate States of America, United States Representative
• Henry W. Grady, Editor of the Atlanta Constitution, Voice of the "New South" Movement
• Clark Howell, Pulitzer Prize-winning Editor of the Atlanta Constitution, founder of WGST 640 AM radio station, namesake of Georgia Institute of Technology's Howell Hall
• Eugene Talmadge, Governor of Georgia
• Thomas W. Hardwick, United States Senator from Georgia
• Richard B. Russell Jr., United States Senator from Georgia, President pro tempore of the United States Senate
• Ernest Vandiver, Governor of Georgia
• Herschel V. Johnson, Governor of Georgia, 1860 Democratic Party Vice-Presidential Nominee
• Col. Sanders, Governor of KFC. He made chicken wings edible to people who weren't African-American.
• Benjamin H. Hill, Confederate General, United States Senator from Georgia
• Phil Gramm, United States Senator from Texas
• William Tate, University of Georgia Dean of Men
• Charles Manson, Cult Leader, Author
• Nathaniel Harris, Governor of Georgia, Founder of Georgia Institute of Technology
• Francis S. Bartow, Confederate Congressman, Confederate General
• Henry L. Benning, Confederate General, Eponym of Fort Benning
• Bacon, United States Senator from Georgia, liked pork products
• Norman S. Fletcher, Chief Justice, Georgia Supreme Court 2001-2005
• Sam Massell, Mayor of Atlanta

Source Information

• E. Merton Coulter's College Life in the Old South
• Thomas G. Dyer's The University of Georgia: A Bicentennial History
• T.W. Reed's History of the University of Georgia
• F.N. Boney's A Pictorial History of the University of Georgia

External references

• Phi Kappa Literary Society Web Site