The Jefferson Literary and Debating Society (commonly known as "Jeff Society" or "Jeff Soc") is the oldest continuously existing collegiate debating society in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The society was founded on July 14, 1825, in Room Seven, West Lawn at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

by 16 disgruntled members of the Patrick Henry Society. Named for the founder of the university,

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

, the society regularly meets on Friday evenings at " The Hall" in the

Lawn A lawn () is an area of soil-covered land planted with Poaceae, grasses and other durable plants such as clover lawn, clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawn mower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic an ...

. The society's members have included several

Presidents of the United States The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the officeholder leads the executive bra ...

, a

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...

as well as

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

s, senators and congresspeople. Its motto, , is taken from Virgil's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'' and roughly translates to, "In the future it will be pleasing to remember these things." Its Greek name , initials for (', or "brotherhood, fatherland, divinity"), makes the society the second-oldest Greek-lettered organization in the United States. Jeff Hall 2015

History

Membership in the society grew rapidly in the early years after its founding. By 1855, the University of Virginia was the second largest university in the nation after

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, enrolling 645 students. That school year, the society admitted 155 new members: nearly a quarter of the student body of the university. In the hotheaded antebellum years, the society could become raucous. Its elections were condemned by the faculty for "such turbulence as to degrade the reputation of the University."Dabney, p. 12 An especially coveted honor was to be selected as "final orator," a post comparable to that of a valedictorian today. The society played a key role in establishing student journalism at the university, founding the ''University Magazine'' as early as 1856. Later known as the ''Virginia Spectator'', the paper played a major part in University life for a century, with its profile ranging from high seriousness to satire, until being shut down by the president of the university in the late 1950s for obscenity. The Jefferson Society sponsored the magazine for many decades. Also in 1856, the society expressed its approval of the

caning of Charles Sumner The caning of Charles Sumner, or the Brooks–Sumner Affair, occurred on Thursday, May 22, 1856, in the United States Senate chamber, when Representative Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, used a walking cane to attac ...

by sending

Preston Brooks Preston Smith Brooks (August 5, 1819 – January 27, 1857) was an American slaver, politician, and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina, serving as a member of the Democratic Party from 1853 until his resignation i ...

a new gold-headed cane to replace his broken one. During the Civil War period (1861-1865), the membership of the society at that time, committed to the defense of the Southern States, decided to donate its entire treasury to the Confederate cause. While the University remained open during the Civil War, the society was asked to leave Jefferson Hall temporarily in order to make way for the Charlottesville General Hospital established by the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

and serving injured Confederate soldiers. A number of students withdrew from the University during the War in order to volunteer in this Hospital, where both enslaved and free African-Americans also labored. Since the antebellum and Civil War periods, the society has grown with the larger American and world culture — in the beginning, with difficulty. When Dr. Wesley L. Harris, the society's first African-American Member, and The Honorable Barbara M. G. Lynn, the society's first female Member, were inducted into the society following the successful completion of their probationary periods in 1963 and 1972, respectively, a significant number of Regular Members protested. Today, commissioned portraits of both Dr. Harris and Judge Lynn, alongside portraits of President Woodrow Wilson (photo), Mr. Edgar Allen Poe (photo), President James Madison, and President James Monroe, grace The Hall, now hosting a still dynamic and more diverse society membership. In addition to its traditional meetings in the The Hall, Room Seven, West Lawn, is maintained by the Jefferson Society, selecting a fourth-year student to live there. The society hosts several events throughout the year including its Distinguished Speaker Series, for which it invites prominent scholars and speakers across academic disciplines to address students. The society also hosts formal social events including Wilson's Day, the Restoration Ball, and Founder's Day, first held in 1832.

Art Collection and Archive (Selected)

* ''The Sully Portrait'' is one of the only surviving life portraits of Thomas Jefferson. It was painted by artist

Thomas Sully Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783November 5, 1872) was an English-American portrait painter. He was born in England, became a naturalized American citizen in 1809, and lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including in the Thomas Sull ...

in 1819, and is presently loaned by the society to the University of Virginia for exhibition in the Rotunda. Thomas Sully is also linked to the society in other ways. In 1852, he painted a portrait of Pocahontas / Rebecca Rolfe (née Amonute, Matoaka), whose descendants went on to marry Mary Jefferson, the sister of Thomas Jefferson, and Woodrow Wilson, a notable society Member. * Edgar Allan Poe signed a minutes book one evening during which he served as secretary pro tem. His signature was later clipped out by Lancelot Blackford in the 1850s, stealing it, yet also saving it from the Great Rotunda Fire in 1895. Society alumni raised money to buy the signature from a collector in the early 1980s, in honor of their friend and fellow alumnus, James F. Perz. The signature is kept in secure storage as part of the university library's special collections. * Thomas Woodrow Wilson signed one of the roll books during his tenure as the society's President. Furthermore, the society's minute books also contain many sets of handwritten minutes signed by Wilson when he was the society's Secretary.

Notable Members

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

, author of "

The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a visit ...

" *

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

, 28th President of the United States * Edward Stettinius Jr., Secretary of State and Ambassador to the United Nations * Hugh Scott, United States Representative and Senator from Pennsylvania * Colgate W. Darden, Governor of Virginia * John T. Casteen III, University of Virginia President * James Gilmore III, Governor of Virginia * Roxane Gilmore, First Lady of Virginia * Deidre Downs, Miss America 2005 *

Jamelle Bouie Jamelle Antoine Bouie (; born April 12, 1987) is an American columnist for ''The New York Times''. He was formerly chief political correspondent for ''Slate''. In 2019, writing in the ''Columbia Journalism Review'', David Uberti called Bouie "o ...

, political correspondent and journalist * Wesley L. Harris, Charles Stark Draper Prof. of Aeronautics and Astronautics,

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

* Barbara M.G. Lynn, Chief United States District Judge

Honorary Members

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

, 4th President of the United States *

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

, 5th President of the United States * Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette * Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, former First Lady of the United States *

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...

, Nobel Prize for Literature recipient *

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

turned down an invitation for honorary membership in a letter dated August 12, 1825, citing his need to avoid altering his relationship with the university and its students.

References

* Carrier, Jerry and Stewart, Michael (1984)
''Hotel C, West Range, University of Virginia''
(Master's Thesis under the direction of Prof. K. Edward Lay).

. * * *

External links