The first Greek fraternity Phi Beta Kappa “fat hat club”, which was founded on December 5, 1776 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, the second oldest university, but the oldest is Harvard. Phi Beta Kappa had all the characteristics of today's fraternities a motto, a ritual, a badge, and principals of high idealism, a bond of friendship, and an urge to share the organization's values through expansion to other college campuses. The society was formed for social and literary purposes, they also held regular meetings where members discussed highly charged and important subjects like taxation and freedom. In this era, these debates could only be held secretly. In December 1779, the parent chapter authorized the establishment
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The new fraternity was much like Phi Beta Kappa except that its purpose was social more than literary. Although the university opposed the new society, students encouraged the new fraternity and created two more the Sigma Phi on March 4, 1827 and Delta Phi on November 17, 1827. These three fraternities formed the Union Triad and was the big reason for the expansion of the American college fraternity. All of the women's groups were called fraternities in the beginning because no other word existed. Then in 1882, Gamma Phi Beta was named a "sorority", a coined word suggested by their advisor who was a professor of Latin, and who thought the word "fraternity" wasn’t right for a group of ladies. However, the Greek-letter societies for women had already been incorporated as fraternities.
In 1909, the men's groups formed the Inter-fraternity Council (IFC) aimed at the same goals as the NPC. The men, too had held several previous meetings to discuss inter-fraternity rivalry versus cooperation. Today, the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) sponsors a variety of fraternity programming aimed at educating Greek undergraduates on topics such as alcohol awareness, inter-fraternity recruitment, membership education, and other important
The new fraternity was much like Phi Beta Kappa except that its purpose was social more than literary. Although the university opposed the new society, students encouraged the new fraternity and created two more the Sigma Phi on March 4, 1827 and Delta Phi on November 17, 1827. These three fraternities formed the Union Triad and was the big reason for the expansion of the American college fraternity. All of the women's groups were called fraternities in the beginning because no other word existed. Then in 1882, Gamma Phi Beta was named a "sorority", a coined word suggested by their advisor who was a professor of Latin, and who thought the word "fraternity" wasn’t right for a group of ladies. However, the Greek-letter societies for women had already been incorporated as fraternities.
In 1909, the men's groups formed the Inter-fraternity Council (IFC) aimed at the same goals as the NPC. The men, too had held several previous meetings to discuss inter-fraternity rivalry versus cooperation. Today, the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) sponsors a variety of fraternity programming aimed at educating Greek undergraduates on topics such as alcohol awareness, inter-fraternity recruitment, membership education, and other important