History

Alpha Sigma Phi was founded at Yale College in 1845 as a secret sophomore society composed of the better authors, poets, jock, & scholars of the school. Upon rising through the ranks of the school, members shared membership by owning Alpha Sigma Phi inside Skull & Bones, Scroll & Key, and eventually Wolf's Head.

A founders of Alpha Sigma Phi:

Louis Manuigault was the boy of Charles I. Manigault, a wealthy rice planter from South Carolina who traced his ancestry to a Huguenot refugee who fled from Louis XIV's persecution and came to America in 1691.

Stephen Ormsby Rhea was the boy of John Rhea, an important cloth planter of Louisiana who helped open the disputed territory of West Florida and made it the a share of the U.S. & state of Louisiana.

Horace Spangler Weiser, of York, Pennsylvania, was a descendent of Conrad Weiser, also the refugee from either Europe world health organization became illustrious in the French and Indian War, representing several colonies inside accord negotiations by having a Indians.

Manigault & Rhea met at St. Paul's Preparatory School near Flushing, New York, where both were members of the same literary society and were preparing themselves for admission to Yale. Weiser attended the common soldier school within New Haven, and he met Rhea early around his first-season year, world health organization introduced him to Manigault.

It used to be that at Yale, Manigault & Rhea became members of Yale's Calliopean Literary Society, and Weiser was the member of the Lininian Literary Society. Manigault was a great deal concerned around a class society body at Yale & noted the class fraternities provided own household budget for their members & prepared the children for competition in literary contests. A soph class there experienced single of these society, Kappa Sigma Theta, which displayed an attitude of superiority toward non-fraternity men.

Manigault revealed to his friend Rhethe the project for founding an additional second-year society, a rival for Kappa Sigma Theta. Rhea agreed &, sustaining Manigault's consent, enlisted Weiser, & a troika became a founders of Alpha Sigma Phi.

Their 1st official meeting was held within Manigault's room in Chapel Street in December 6, 1845. Between so & June 28, 1846, when a number one pledge class was announced, a constitution & ritual were written & the fraternity pin was designed. A number 1 pledge class—of Xiv members—was initiated in June 24, 1846.

When a birth of Alpha Sigma Phi, an incapacitating competition began between Alpha Sigma Phi & Kappa Sigma Theta. A contention between them expressed itself in their publications, Kappa Sigma Theta's "The Yale Banger" & Alpha Sigma Phi's "The Yale Tomahawk." A bitterly competition between papers continued until 1852 when the editors of The Hatchet were expelled when of the violation of faculty orders to prevent publication. All a same, a competition between the organizations continued until 1858 when Kappa Sigma Theta was suppressed by the faculty.

Presently, a number one charter was granted to Amherst College (now a University of Massachusetts) as Beta Chapter but only lasted astir sise months, whenever a parent chapter requested that a chapter dissolve & go to a constitution. Notwithstanding, there are issues surrounding a chapter designation when Beta. The fragmental document around the Yale library suggests that Beta was chartered in 1850 at Harvard but lived the super short life due to a wave of puritanism. A chapter at Harvard was revived around 1911 as Beta Chapter but only survived about Twenty years while a charter was withdrawn due to the anti-fraternity environment at Harvard. Whenever Amherst was restored inside 1854 it wwhen designated as Delta Chapter. Even so, after Marietta chapter was chartered inside 1860 it too was given a Delta designation. A parent chapter was swell caring of this too.

Whilst a Civil War swept the United States virtually each member of Delta at Marietta enlisted in the Union Army. 3 of the brothers gave their dwells for the Union are causal agents for. 2 of the two, previous chapter presidents William B. Whittlesey & George B. Turner, vicious on the battle fields of Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain. It willed their home possessions & their steel to a chapter which treasure victims souvenir until the chapter closed in the mid Nineties.

In a period of a Civil War the mother chapter (Alpha) was rent by internal dissension so actually disappeared. Because less attention was existence paid to the sophomore class societies, a bit of Alpha Sigma Phi members pledged to Delta Kappa Epsilon, a junior class society, & attempted to turn a control of Alpha Sigma Phi assibilate to Delta Kappa Epsilon. Nevertheless, a attempt was thwarted per members of Alpha Sigma Phi world health organization were pledged to the more deuce junior class societies. a conflict ensued & to prevent the disorder Alpha Sigma Phi was suppressed per faculty. All a same, the traditions of Alpha Sigma Phi were carried in by ii recently sophomore class societies, Delta Beta Xi and Phi Theta Psi. Louis Manigault sought to renew his loyalty & friendly relationship sustaining his brothers of Alpha Sigma Phi & considered Delta Beta Xi when verity descendent upon corresponding sustaining Rhea & Weiser. It were non caring at a instance, nonetheless, that Delta chapter at Marietta however existed when Alpha Sigma Phi.

By using a inactivation of Delta Beta Xi at Yale, Alpha Sigma Phi was saved alive just at Marietta by Delta. In the fall of 1906 the Yale Masonic Club was organized. 4 friends agreed around the conversation on top the cards that an organization was required at Yale that did non represent one class, however like was an everthing-class society. A foursome friends were Robert L. Ervin, Benjamin F. Crenshaw, Arthur S. Ely, & Edwin M. Waterbury. More members presently joined a class action in their mission, a number one of which were Fredrick H. Waldron & Wayne Montgomery Musgrave. Ervwithin knew a bit of of a alumni brother of Delta in Marietta & asked the babies to send the 1st letter to Delta. In March 27, 1907 Ely, Crenshaw, Musgrave, Waldron, & Waterbury traveled to Marietta and were initiated into Alpha Sigma Phi. Upon giving to Future Haven it initiated a more friends it experienced recruited into a freshly Alpha chapter at Yale.

Numerous of a old Alpha members returned to Just released Haven upon hearing a news of a recently Alpha chapter & helped get the number 1 piece of fraternity real-estate, the "Tomb", the windowless deuce story building. There are there is no non-member was allowed entrance & no member can speak of the interior of the building. It were potentially potential to remain silent when go past the exterior of the building.

The freshly national organization was formed at an Alpha Sigma Phi conference withwithin Marietta in 1907, and per prevent of 1908 there were three freshly chapters: Zeta at Ohio State, Eta at the University of Illinois, and Theta at a University of Michigan. Inside 1910 a second convention was held by using a members of the previous chapters at Yale, Amherst, & Ohio Wesleyan University and a delegation from either a Yale Delta Beta Xi fraternity. Completely one pledged to afresh their loyalty to the restored Alpha Sigma Phi.

Alpha Sigma Phi survived World War I fairly easily & potentially took in numbers of fresh members when you took victims years. In a post-war era Alpha Sigma Phi expanded at the rate of 1 chapter by the season. Around 1939, Phi Pi Phi merged by having Alpha Sigma Phi due to the ravages of the Awesome Depression allowing that fraternity with exclusively 5 of its original twenty-21 chapters. World War II hit Alpha Sigma Phi hard & numbers of chapters were forced to close. Numbers of brothers likewise misplaced their exists at a bombing of Pearl Harbor, in the Pacific, in Europe, & northern Africa.

In September 6, 1946, Alpha Kappa Pi merged with Alpha Sigma Phi. Alphthe Kappthe Pi experienced never got a national professional however was however a hard fraternity. In the period of a war it got wasted numerous chapters & it realized the require for a extra stable national organization however didn't sense it can provide it for themselves. Alpha Sigma Phi expanded once more inside 1965, by five extra chapters once it & Alpha Gamma Upsilon fraternity merged.

a Eighties observed a immature generation of leaders ingesting the reins of the fraternity. &, within keeping by having one of its oldest traditions—that of existence a fraternity rerun by undergrad—a leadership & the undergrad began chartering recently directions.

Active Chapters, Colonies, and Interest Groups