The Daniel Webster Debate Society at

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

is the oldest secondary school student debate union and literary club in the United States. Established in 1818 as ''The Golden Branch Literary Society'', a secret society, the club later changed its name to honor Senator Daniel Webster, who attended the Academy. The club's primary focus today is on parliamentary-style debate, with some focus on policy debate and speechmaking.

Name

The previous name of the society was taken from

The Golden Bough ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion'' (retitled ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion'' in its second edition) is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by the Scottish anthropologist Sir ...

of the

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

's Aeneid. When the society merged with the Gideon L. Soule Literary Society, its name was changed to the Branch-Soule Debating Society. In October, 2000, several speaking clubs, including the Debate Team, Branch-Soule Society, Mock Trial Team, and Junior Statesmen of America, merged to form the Golden Branch Society, due to low attendance. The society later changed its name to the Daniel Webster Debate Society in honor of Daniel Webster.

History

The society was founded on July 16, 1818. It was preceded by the Rhetorical Society of the Phillips Exeter Academy, founded in 1807, which counted among its members many future founders of the Golden Branch. It was dissolved in 1820. Professor Hosea Hildreth, the second professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, performed the initiating ceremonies for the Golden Branch, which then elected Charles Soule, the founder, as its first president. On August 19, 1841, the constitution of the society was amended by the trustees of Exeter in order to prevent the students from meeting in secret. In one instance where several students attempted to form a rival society, the club was disbanded and the students were promptly expelled by Principal

Gideon Lane Soule Gideon Lane Soule (; July 25, 1796 – May 28, 1879) was an American educator, and the third principal of Phillips Exeter Academy. Soule was born in Freeport, Maine, in 1796 to Moses and Martha Soule. He was descended from George Soule, a May ...

. On June 12, 1878, an address on education was presented to the Golden Branch by

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

. Another rival society, named the Gideon L. Soule Literary Society, was founded on November 19, 1881. The two societies merged in 1959, forming the Branch-Soule Society, and later merged in 2000 with more clubs, forming again the Golden Branch Society. The society, now named for Daniel Webster, currently concentrates in parliamentary and other impromptu debate formats in the Debate Association of New England Independent Schools and National Speech and Debate Association .

Leadership

Honorary members of the society include

Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He w ...

, Daniel Webster, Charles Sumner,

John G. Palfrey John Gorham Palfrey (May 2, 1796 – April 26, 1881) was an American clergyman and historian who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. A Unitarian minister, he played a leading role in the early history of Harvard Divinity ...

Theodore Parker Theodore Parker (August 24, 1810 – May 10, 1860) was an American transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian church. A reformer and abolitionist, his words and popular quotations would later inspire speeches by Abraham Lincol ...

, Jared Sparks,

James T. Fields James Thomas Fields (December 31, 1817 – April 24, 1881) was an American publisher, editor, and poet. His business, Ticknor and Fields, was a notable publishing house in 19th century Boston. Biography Early life and family He was born in ...

John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...

Dan Brown Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author best known for his Thriller (genre), thriller novels, including the Robert Langdon novels ''Angels & Demons'' (2000), ''The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), ''The Lost Symbol'' (2009), ''In ...

, and Phillips Brooks.

In popular culture

The society was mentioned during the July 14, 2015 episode of

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...

in the final Jeopardy question: The debate team at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire is named for this man who entered the Academy in 1796.

References

{{Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy Student debating societies Organizations established in 1818 Youth organizations based in New Hampshire

Name

History

Leadership

In popular culture

See also

References