Kuklos Adelphon (also known as Kappa Alpha or ΚΑ) was an American social fraternity founded at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

in 1812. It was also known as old Kappa Alpha, K.A., Circle of Brothers, and the Alpha Society. The main archive URL i
The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage
Boyd, Leroy Stafford
''The original Kappa Alpha''
p. 1. (Reprinted from ''Banta's Greek exchange'', v. 7, no. 4, September 1919). via Hathi Trust. The organization expanded throughout the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, not only on college campuses but also in cities where alumni settled. The society began to decline during the 1850s and disappeared after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

History

Kuklos Adelphon was established at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1812. Its founders were four members of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

.Shepard, Francis W., ed. (1927)
''Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities'' (11th ed.)
Menasha, Wisconsin: George Banta Publishing Company. p. 535-536. via Google Books. As a result, its rituals, secrets, and constitution were similar to Phi Beta Kappa. Kuklos Adelphon expanded throughout the

, not only on college campuses but also in cities where alumni settled. It did not have a centralized operation and allowed each chapter to amend its constitution and ritual as desired by its members.Boyd, Leroy Stafford.
The Original Kappa Alpha
', p. 2. (Reprinted from ''Banta's Greek exchange'', v. 7, no. 4, September 1919). via Hathi Trust. In the spring of 1855, secessionist politics caused a rift at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

.Boyd, Leroy Stafford
The Original Kappa Alpha
p. 3. (Reprinted from ''Banta's Greek exchange'', v. 7, no. 4, September 1919). via Hathi Trust. The minority unionist faction of the chapter disclosed the secrets of the order which were published by another fraternity, leading to the chapter's dissolution. The ''Alpha chapter'' of Kuklos Adelphon dissolved in 1855 but was revived in 1858 as Kappa Alpha. In 1858, the chapter at the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

led a reorganization of the order and it was reconstituted as Phi Mu Omicron () but this order did not outlast the Civil War. The last Kappa Alpha chapter proper, that at the University of North Carolina, dissolved in 1866.

Symbols and traditions

The fraternity's name is derived from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

Κύκλος Ἀδελφών, meaning "Circle of Brothers." Its motto was "''Nil ego contulerim sanus jucundo amico"'' or "Nothing can I prefer, when sane, to a companionable friend", which is a quote from the poet

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

. Its badge was a diamond with a circle in its center.Boyd, Leroy Stafford.
The Original Kappa Alpha
', p. 3. (Reprinted from ''Banta's Greek exchange'', v. 7, no. 5, September 1919). via Hathi Trust.Boyd, Leroy Stafford.
The Original Kappa Alpha
', p.11. (Reprinted from ''Banta's Greek exchange'', v. 7, no. 5, September 1919). via Hathi Trust. There was a capital letter A inside the circle and the phrase Κύκλος Ἀδελφών around the outside of the circle. The initials of the fraternity's Latin motto, NECSJA, were on the right leg of the letter A, while an image of clasping hands was on the crossbar of the letter A. The badge was supposed to be worn suspended from a blue ribbon from the member's right lapel. The constitution specified that the badge was to be silver; however, examples in other metals are also found. Variations (pictured here) include the circle and letter A in black enamel on a white enamel background, or a diamond frame with a circle frame. The fraternity's seal was an equilateral triangle, with the Greek letters ΚΑ below and an open eye above.

Chapters

Chapters of the society were called circles. If chapters were named in order of the Greek alphabet, there were 21 collegiate chapters established. However, the order in which the chapters were chartered is unknown. Following is a list of Kuklos Adelphon or Kappa Alpha chapters that were active in 1855.

Controversies

John Lester, a founder of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

, claimed that the Klan's

initiation ritual Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformatio ...

was based on a popular collegiate fraternal order, and it has been speculated by Allen Trelease that "Kuklos Adelphon almost certainly provided the model" for the early Klan. In disagreement, Albert Stevens in hi
Cyclopaedia of Fraternities
(1907), a more contemporary reference document to the date for the founding, declares the Klan took portions from the initiation ceremony of the Sons of Malta and leaves absent the name "Kuklos Adelphon."

Notable members

* John C. Bush, mayor of

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

* Wiliam Wallace Duncan, Bishop of the

Methodist Episcopal Church, South The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...

* Robert Kennon Hargrove, Bishop of the

* William M. Lowe,

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

* John Mason Martin,

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

* Thomas R. Stockdale, justice of the

Supreme Court of Mississippi The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the Supreme court, highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was established in 1818 per the terms of the first constitution of the state and was known as the High Court of Errors and Appeals from 1832 to 1 ...

and

* William H. Whitsitt, president of

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...

References

{{reflist Defunct fraternities and sororities Fraternities and sororities in the United States Organizations disestablished in the 1860s Student organizations established in 1812 1812 establishments in North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill