Irving Literary Society (Cornell University)
Formation | October 20, 1868 |
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Dissolved | 1887 |
Purpose | College literary society |
Headquarters | Society Hall (Room 10, White Hall), Cornell University |
Location |
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The Irving Literary Society (also known as the Irving Literary Association or simply The Irving) was a
History
Founding
A preliminary meeting chaired to organize the Society was held Room No. 4, Cascadilla Place, on October 20, 1868, some thirteen days after Cornell University opened its doors.[3] The second business meeting followed on November 7 with George F. Behringer as President when the society's name was discussed with members equally between the John Bright Brotherhood, honoring the English orator John Bright and others favoring the Irving Literary Association after Washington Irving. A compromise was struck in which the society was named after Irving, while Bright and the American orator, Charles Sumner, were admitted as the first honorary members. Each of the early sessions was opened with prayer.[3] In 1930 John Andrew Rea recalled:
What I was thinking of most at that time was founding a fraternity and a literary society. I was Phi Kappa Psi, and wanted
Foraker and Buchwalter to come on and join me in founding the New York Alpha, which we did, and we had a great bunch of boys. The literary society was first in time. Mr. Williams of our class agitated for the organization of a society under the name "Philanthea". I was appointed on the committee to report on the name for the second society. We did not want a Latin or Greek name, for this was a new institution, one that had never existed before. After much discussion, we went to Mr. White [ Andrew Dickson White ] and told him we were starting a society and he suggested we use the name of "Irving", after the founder of American literature. The committee accepted it and reported it to the boys and so it was called the Irving Literary Society. I have no record of the demise of the Irving . . . . There were no other activities than those of the fraternity and the literary society. That was all we knew anything about; no athletics the first year. The literary society had public exhibitions with essays, orations, and debates. They were held downtown.[5]
The first question 'put to the house' in 1869 was "Resolved, the erection of a theatre was not in the interest of promoting correct morals within the University community." The answer was nodded in the affirmative.[3] The Irving was not to be the venue for the theatre arts at Cornell. Beginning in February 1870, the Irving and the Philaletheian held their annual contest against each other. That event has been noted as one reason the quality of debate was so high between 1869 and 1884.[6] Initially, the Irving's proceedings were held on Friday evenings at Deming Hall, on what is now the Ithaca Commons.[7] Special events were held at the Cornell Public Library around the corner. Later it shared Society Hall with the other literary societies at Cornell. The Irving was initially a male-only society, but following the lead of Cornell's Curtis Literary Society (founded in 1872), membership in the Irving became open to women students and remained so throughout its existence.[8] In 1873, members of the Curtis, Irving and Philaletheian societies jointly founded and ran the Cornell Review, "a repository of original articles, essays, stories, Woodford orations, elaborate discussions, and poems."[9]
Washington Irving's birthday and Cornell's first commencement
The Irving’s first major event was a celebration of Washington Irving’s Birthday on April 3, 1869, at the Cornell Public Library in downtown Ithaca, New York. Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White both attended.[10] This event was so well regarded that it was added to the University's annual calendar until the event was eclipsed by the creation of Spring Break.[citation needed]
The first oration "Aristocracy of Sex" explored the natural law-based presumption of male supremacy in American and concluded that the assumption was based solely on "the prejudice of man." After a musical interlude came an essay on "Our Capital and the War", recalling Washington, D.C. during the
The orator noted that some favored the gloomy side of human nature, believing man totally depraved. Others, he said, dwell in the sunshine, seeing nothing but loveliness and purity. The truth lies somewhere between these extremes. The easy grace of the speaker, the melody of his voice, and the sparkling thought of the oration, captivated the audience.[10]
During the 1869 Commencement Week, the Irving Literary Society invited
President White in the presentation of the diplomas used these words, "Let your course be true." He also said, having in mind Buchwalter's speech, that the young men who made the talks were speaking their own thoughts and that the University was in no way responsible for their sentiments.[12]
Other early exercises
In mid-October 1869, the first regular meeting of the Irving Literary Society
Later exercises
Entering its third decade, the Irving was the largest of the three Cornell literary societies. It enrolled 26 members during the Fall Term 1880. The Cornell Daily Sun noted the benefit of the training provided by the experience, the pleasant rooms assigned by University administrators, and the hearty support provided by the Cornell Faculty. Despite these benefits, the Irving and its peers were losing the interest of the Cornell Student body. That only fourteen percent of Cornell students were active in the societies was seen as an intellectual weakness.[20] Chief among the greatest distractions were the Greek letter fraternities, whose members lacked time or interest in activities outside their fraternal societies. With insufficient numbers, society members were required to present or compete every three weeks. The resulting literary activity was thought to be accordingly weak, further impacting on the quality and subsequent attendance of the meetings.[20] In this environment, the Irving members invited the Cornell community to listen to debates over questions such as "Which has done most toward the promotion of civilization, Art or Science?"[21] The elocutionist Robert P. Williams of New York City read before the Irving the same season.[22] At the same time, Cornell students attending the University of Michigan noted that for all their weaknesses, the Irving and its peers compared well against Michigan's literary societies:
"The literary societies—The Webster and The Jeffersonian—are well attended, but neither have as good or as pleasant rooms as the Irving or Curtis. The grade of exercises is, if anything, lower than in those just mentioned.".[23]
The following Spring 1881 term, the Irving and the Cornell Club (a debating society) resumed their "union meetings" to bring the best of both organizations together for one evening's entertainment.
Final years
By 1885, the other main literary societies at Cornell, the Adelpi, Curtis and Philalatheian had ceased to exist. Around the time of the Curtis' demise in 1881, an address by President White attributed the general decline in student interest for these societies to the growth of fraternities and sororities, decreasing importance placed on the power of oratory, and the development of the seminar system in the University.[3] The Irving continued until 1887, but in 1884 the Ithaca Daily Democrat was already lamenting its decline as well:
The Irving literary society met last evening, but was poorly attended. This institution should be one of the most prosperous student societies in the college, but strange to say, it has deteriorated in point of numbers, and its management has fallen into the hands of technical instead of literary students.[29]
With the move away from the English collegiate model and toward the German seminar system and a greater dedication of resources to the sciences and engineering (including agricultural sciences), campus leaders increasingly expressed concern about falling standards of recitation, elocution and oratory at Cornell. The quickened pace of Irving exercises during the academic years 1885, 1886 and 1887 coincided with public expression of these concerns, one of which was an editorial in The Cornell Era of October 1, 1886:
The character and quality of the literary work done by Cornell students is inferior, in many respects, to that done by students of other colleges. The reason of this is two-fold and arises from a lack of opportunity and a want of interest, on the part of the students, in that direction. Who is there among us that does not realize the value of being able to address the people on questions of public moment! Our classes in Elocution and Oratory go a great ways, but the work of the literary society ought to begin here and supplement the work of the class room. Irving Society and the Mock Congress are steps in the right direction, but their influence does not reach far enough. Either the character of their work is not such as to merit the attention of the students, or there is a disability arising from the lack of numbers. In other colleges there are societies that have large circulating libraries and that hold annual society contests. In addition to this, there are inter-collegiate contests and the matter goes so far even, that contestants meet from different states to determine where is the 'prince of college orators'. We have our Inter-collegiate Athletic Sports, why can we not have Intercollegiate Oratorical Contests ?[30]
To appeal to broader audiences, the Irving sponsored events that would be more properly defined as 'popular entertainment' rather than of the traditional literary society genre. During the Fall Term, 1886, the society hosted Professor Spenser Baird Newberry and his stereopticon entertainments, most notably show featuring vistas of Athens, Constantinople and Egypt. Newberry’s presentations proved popular enough for the Irving to charge admission.[31] But the more social activities were still balanced by the more traditional format. By the winter of 1887, the members settled on a two-part presentation. The first part would include exercises in parliamentary practice, a paper reading, and perhaps a recitation or debate. Part two would include a social hour with music. Papers included topics such as "Cornell University Lake Survey", "Political History of Japan", "Small Nations", "Influence of the Jesuits on the Five Nations", and "Etching".[32]
The Irving Literary Society's last public meeting was held on May 23, 1887.
Revival application 2014
A group of Cornell University students, not affiliated with the NY Alpha chapter of Phi Kappa Psi, made application in 2014 to revive The Irving. Its status as a recognized student organization had been pending as of May 2014, but the revised group appears to have ceased activity shortly thereafter.[35]
Members' later careers
After graduating from Cornell, a number of Irving member had careers reflecting the literary and oratorical activities of the Society.
John Bogert Laurence (1872) was a newspaper man known throughout the West. At Cornell he was elected president of his class in his junior year and was a member of the
"[we] had no intercollegiate football. We played rugby, which is something like soccer. Drilling was the principal exercise. We had literary societies. Mine was called the Irving Literary Society, and in my Junior year I was editor of its Literary Review. Boys then were much the same as now as regards mischief, but the pranks were different. Ours would probably seem too tame today."[38]
The Irving produced at least one member who later excelled in the mechanics of literary production. William Henry French became a
Several of the Irving's former members and orators entered the legal profession. The third president of the Irving Literary Society, Judge
References
- ^ United States Bureau of Education, Contributions to American Educational History No. 28: History of Higher Education in New York, Circular of Information No. 3, (H.B. Adams, ed. 1900) at 393.
- ^ R.W., “The infancy of Cornell Journalism,” The Era (1900) at 74.
- ^ a b c d e f Moyer, Fayette E. (1896). "Cornell Student Activities: Literary Societies", Cornell Magazine, Vol 8, October 1895-June, 1896 pp. 187-194
- ^ a b New York Alpha chapter of Phi Kappa Psi, "Homecoming 2010, September 24-26"
- ^ John Andrew Rea, "The Immortal Eight" in A Half-Century at Cornell, pp. 91-92. Cayuga Press, 1930
- ^ F.E. Moyer, ”Cornell Student Activities,” Cornell Magazine (8:4)(Jan. 1895) at 187–194.
- ^ The Cornell Era (Sept. 22, 1869) at 12.
- ^ "A New Wrinkle at Sage", The Cornell Era (29:2)(Sep. 24, 1886), p. 19 (Quote: "Besides these secret societies there is the Irving Literary Society which is open to both ladies and gentlemen of the college. All are cordially invited to become members. Meetings are held every Friday evening during the college year.")
- ^ Hewett, Waterman Thomas (1905). Cornell University, a History, The University Publishing Society, pp. 6 and 39
- ^ a b c Farnham, G.W. and O'Neil, J.. "Irving Literary Association, April 3, 1869", The Cornell Era (Apr. 3, 1869) pp. 5–6.
- ^ First Commencement Exercises, The Ithacan (June 22, 1869); see also The Cornell Era (Sept. 15, 1869) at 3.
- ^ John Andrew Rea, "The Immortal Eight", A Half Century at Cornell (Cornell Daily Sun)(Cayuga Press, 1930) pp. 90-91.
- ^ The name changes to ‘Society” in its second year.
- ^ The Cornell Era (Oct. 20, 1869) at 43.
- ^ The Cornell Era (Nov. 3, 1869) at 59.
- ^ The Cornell Era (March 23, 1870) at 189.
- ^ The Cornell Era (June 29, 1870) at 277.
- ^ The Cornell Era (Nov. 25, 1870) at 82.
- ^ "Sunbeams," Cornell Daily Sun (6:80)(Feb. 15, 1886) at 3.
- ^ a b Editorial, The Cornell Daily Sun (10:2)(Oct. 1, 1880) at 18.
- ^ Cornelliana, The Cornell Daily Sun (13.9)(Nov. 19, 1880) at 108.
- ^ The Cornell Era (13:4)(Oct. 1, 1880) at 45.
- ^ "The University of Michigan", The Cornell Era (13:10) (Nov. 16, 1880) p. 117
- ^ Cornelliana, The Cornell Era (13:20)(Feb. 25, 1881) at 236.
- ^ Professor Shackford at Association Hall, Cornell Daily Sun (2:140)(May 22, 1882) at 1.
- ^ The Daily Democrat (Ithaca, N.Y.)(Oct. 31, 1884) at 2.
- ^ "Sunbeams," Cornell Daily Sun 6:68 (Jan. 28, 1886) at 3. See also, U.S. Patent Nos. 730852 (improvement to Edison's incandescent bulb), 768847 (an electric lamp).
- ^ See History of Washington (Julian Hawthorne, ed.)(1893) at 496.
- ^ Daily Democrat 2 (Sept. 27, 1884)
- ^ Editorial, The Cornell Era (29:3)(Oct. 1, 1886) at 19.
- ^ Cornelliana, The Cornell Era (29:5)(Oct. 15, 1886) at 19; id. (29:6)(Oct. 22, 1886) at 64.
- ^ "Irving Literary Society", The Cornell Era (29:14) (Jan. 21, 1887) p. 162; "Cornelliana", The Cornell Era (29:16) (Feb. 4, 1887) p. 176; "Cornelliana", The Cornell Era (29:16) (Apr. 29, 1887) p. 296; "Cornelliana", The Cornell Era (29: 27) (May 13, 1887) p. 318. (All these sources can be found using the search term "Irving" in The Cornell Era, Vol. 19 (1886-1887).)
- ^ Schedule I, Appendix A, Cornell University Residence Plan of 1966, at 1
- ^ New York Alpha chapter of Phi Kappa Psi. About The NY Alpha Chapter. Retrieved 2011-4-16. Note, however, that in another section of the chapter's website, Our Story, the founding date is given as 1869. The Cornell University Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs also lists the founding date as 1869.
- ^ Student Life website listing. Accessed 15 May 2014.
- ^ Cornell Alumni News (39:6)(Oct. 29, 1936) at 76.
- ^ Cornell Alumni News (20:27 )( March 28, 1918 ) at 316.
- ^ Cornell Alumni News (42:35)(Aug. 1940) at 491.
- ^ The Book of Chicagoans: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men (John W. Leonard, ed.) (1905) at 218.
- ^ Cornell Alumni News (20:34)(May 16, 1918) at 402.
- ^ Cornell Alumni News (25:34))(May 31, 1923) at 422.
- ^ Psi Upsilon Fraternity, The twelfth general catalogue of the Psi Upsilon Fraternity (Leo Weldon Werthheimer, ed.) (1917) at 605.
- ^ History of Washington (Julian Hawthorne, ed.)(1893) at 496.