Demosthenian Literary Society

The Demosthenian Literary Society is a debate society at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. It is among the oldest literary societies in the English-speaking world and was founded on February 19, 1803, by the first graduating class of the university's Franklin College. The object of the society is "to promote the cause of science and truth by the cultivation of oratory and the art of debate at weekly meetings." It is named after the Greek orator Demosthenes.

The society meets every week during the academic school year in Demosthenian Hall on UGA's North Campus. In addition to its relations with other organizations at the University of Georgia, like the Phi Kappa Literary Society, the society maintains relationships with other Literary and Debate societies across the United States, including the Philodemic Society at Georgetown University, the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies at UNC-Chapel Hill and the Philolexian Society at Columbia University.

History

Augustin Clayton, James Jackson, and Williams Rutherford are recognized as the founding fathers of Demosthenian. Clayton became the first student to receive his diploma from Franklin College and went on to become a federal judge and a U.S. Representative from Georgia, with Georgia's Clayton County being named in his honor. Rutherford and Jackson went on to become professors at Franklin College.

After 167 years of male-only membership, the first female members of the society were inducted on March 4, 1970. President Sherrill Watkins presided over the initiation of Kathy Conrad, a freshman from Atlanta, and Bebe Herring, a junior from Athens. By the late 1970s, female members were heavily active in the society and held numerous offices—even the President. Today, the society has slightly more female than male members.

Citing issues of student disenfranchisement within the UGA and U.S. political systems, the society voted in 2012 to secede from the United States of America as the micronation 'Demosthenia.' This resolution was acknowledged as a move to raise the society's profile and to encourage lively debate.

In the wake of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017, the society removed their portrait of Confederate general and honorary member Robert E. Lee from their building. The debate attracted significant media attention, with various newspapers such as the Red and Black appearing for the debate. The motion was passed by a unanimous vote of 27–0.

Demosthenian Hall

thumb|Demosthenian Hall, circa 1934

Demosthenian Hall was constructed by Dr. James Tinsley in 1824. It is the fourth oldest building at the University of Georgia and was placed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1971. The construction was financed by the society's members, alumni, and friends. It remains the only building on the UGA campus that was privately financed and is not wholly owned by the university.

In 1997, Demosthenian Hall received $200,000 in donations to restore the hall. The construction work restored the ceiling medallion and the rest of the Upper Chamber to its original 1824 layout and color scheme. The original hardwood floors were uncovered and restored in the Lower Chamber.

The Lower Chamber

The Lower Chamber is in one main room, flanked on the right by two smaller rooms - designated the President's Office and the Library. Containing mostly donated furniture constructed in the late 18th and early 19th century, the society has endeavored to maintain the historic feel of the rooms.

The Library

The society has maintained an extensive library since its founding and currently owns over 2,000 volumes. Its collection surpassed that of the university's main library for the majority of the 19th century. Upon the reopening of the university after the Civil War, the society donated its books to the university to replace the library collection that had been burned. Demosthenian maintains extensive archives of past meeting minutes, society business, and members. In addition, the most recent minutes and some historical minutes from 1829 are available online.

Organization

Meetings

The Demosthenian Literary Society was founded for the specific purpose of promoting the art of extemporaneous speech. During meetings, members introduce original resolutions that have not been shared with others before their presentation. This method of debate challenges members and guests to formulate speeches based solely on prior knowledge and without extensive preparation. Speakers are also subject to questions from the audience and are limited to speeches of up to five minutes in length.

Officers

After being active members for a designated amount of time and completing adequate service to the society, members are eligible to run for officer positions. The society has 13 officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, Chief Justice, two Associate Justices, Treasurer, Hall Administrator, Hall Preservationist, Historian, Sergeant-at-Arms, Librarian, and Custodian. The offices of Treasurer, Hall Administrator, Hall Preservationist, and Historian are all year-long positions elected every Spring, while the others are elected each semester.

Intersociety debate

Each spring, the Demosthenian and the Phi Kappa Literary Societies hold a debate to highlight the oratory skills of the societies' best speakers. Due to a change in relations between the two societies, the 2020 Intersociety Debate would have been held between the Demosthenian Literary Society and the Georgia Debate Union until COVID-19 suspended the society's operations. The Debate is usually held in the Hatton-Lovejoy courtroom at the University of Georgia School of Law. Judges are randomly selected for the debate from a pool of nominations submitted by members of both societies.

Notable members

Rachel Aaron, fantasy and science fiction author
William Yates Atkinson, Governor of Georgia
John Barrow, U.S. Congressman
Pope Barrow, U.S. Senator
Robert Benham, first African-American chief justice, Georgia Supreme Court
William Tapley Bennett Jr., diplomat
D. W. Brooks, founder of Gold Kist
John A. Campbell, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
William Ragsdale Cannon, American United Methodist bishop
Augustin Clayton, Statesman, Judge, U.S. Congressman from Georgia
Hugh M. Dorsey, Governor of Georgia
Tim Echols, Georgia Public Service Commissioner
Joel Furr, the first person to refer to junk e-mail as "spam"
Benjamin Harvey Hill, U.S. and Confederate States Senator
Phil Kent, political consultant
Jack Kingston, U.S. Congressman
Crawford Long, physician, best known for the first use of inhaled sulfuric ether as an anesthetic, first obstetric anesthetist
Eugene Patterson- civil Rights activist, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and publisher of the Pentagon Papers
Count Emilio Pucci, fashion designer
Ralph Reed, political consultant
Charles Henry Smith, better known as writer Bill Arp
Herman E. Talmadge, U.S. Senator and former governor of Georgia
Robert Toombs, first Secretary of State of the Confederate States of America, U.S. Senator and Congressman
Beth Shapiro, Rhodes Scholar and recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant"
Emory Speer, post-civil war equal rights advocate and federal judge
A.E. Stallings, poet & translator (recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant")
Bob Trammell, former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives