We are currently compiling all our documents of legislation and other things of interest so that they are internet accessible.
Legislative Documents
Involvement with UNC's Libraries
Portrait Collection
History
Miscellaneous Documents
For a bit more on what Di-Phi is all about, please visit the F.A.Q.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Constitutions of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies:
- The Joint Senate Constitution
- The By-Laws
- The
General Statutes
- The Dialectic Society Constitution
- The Philanthropic Society Constitution
The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies' involvement with UNC's libraries:
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The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies' Portrait collection:
"Phi
Leases 10 Portraits to
Officials,"The Daily Tar Heel, Saturday, March 1, 1958
This article illustrates one of the Society's
attempts to house its art collection. Following the downsizing of their
chambers in 1926, the Societies both formally and informally, entered
into agreements such as the one related by this article in an attempt
to provide safe homes on campus for portions of their portrait
collections.
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"University's Old
Portraits Are to
Be Restored," Chapel Hill Weekly, January 22, 1943.
This article announces that Mr. Arthur Bye will turn his attention to
restoring the University's portrait collection beginning with the
Societies' artwork. One interesting item is revealed by the article. It
was UNC senior Elton Edwards (later a respected North Carolina
legislator) who helped convince University administrators to restore
the paintings.
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Blackburn, George T., II, Roger
Kirkman, and Joseph K.L. Reckford. The Di and Phi Portrait Index:
Catalogue
of the Portraits of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies at the
University
of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
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Chapel Hill: The Dialectic and
Philanthropic Society Foundation, Inc., January 1980.
This work lists the portraits and portrait busts (sculpture) owned by
the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies Foundation. The original
print edition of the Portrait Index, as it is generally known, has
location information listed which was current in 1980, but is not any
longer. A brief biography of each portrait subject is given, the artist
(if known), and the dimensions of the piece. There is also a helpful
list of works by artist. The online version of this publication adds a
thumbnail to each portrait's description.
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Bye, Arthur. "Portraits Introduce
Restorer to University, Alumni Review, December 1943, p. 95-98.
A version of this article also
appeared in the News
and Observer and Charlotte Observer on October 3, 1943. Dr. Arthur
Edwin Bye of Pennsylvania, the restorer of the Society portraits (as
well as some University-owned portraits) in 1943, gives his impression
of the collection, paying special attention to those works of special
note and those that he considers aren't up to a particular artist's
best work. Bye makes the claim, often seconded, that Eastman Johnson's
portrait of James C. Dobbin has the highest artistic merit of any in
the Societies' collection. He does discuss several portraits that do
not belong to the Societies but to the University (those of John C.
Calhoun and John Marshall), and he guesses (wrongly, as it turns out)
that the building in the background of the William Miller portrait is
the Court House at Edenton.
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Coates,
Mrs. Albert [Gladys Hall Coates]. The
Society Portraits: Talk Made Before the Phi Society, November 14, 1946.
In this speech, Mrs. Coates
gives an overview of the Society portraits. She quotes extensively from
the correspondence of alumni who were honored by being asked to sit for
a portrait for their Societies. She includes an addendum, which
includes more of the letters of this type, including the letter written
by Gen. Bryan Grimes to artist William Garl Browne two days before the
former was murdered.
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Reckford, Joseph K.L. The
Dialectic and
Philanthropic Societies Portraits, 1795-1868. Honors Essay, Curriculum
in
American Studies, University of North Carolina, 1981.
Known by Senators of the
Societies as the "Blue Book" after its soft-cover binding, Reckford's
in-depth Honor's Essay gives the individual account of each of the
Societies portraits up until the Di and Phi closed due to
Reconstruction. Each account contains biographical information
concerning both the artist and subject, as well as the processes by
which the Societies secured the piece of art for their Halls.
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The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies' 200+ year history at the University:
Battle,
Kemp Plummer. "The Literary Societies" and "The Two Societies," History
of the University of North Carolina, Volume I. (Spartanburg, SC:
Reprint Company, 1974): 72-85 an 565-569.
Although nearly one hundred
years have passed since
the publication of his history of the University, Pres. Battle is still
the historian of the university. A former president of the Dialectic
Society, his two-volume history of the oldest state university in the
nation is replete with accounts of Societies' activities. The two
largest sections dealing with the Societies is presented here. The
first deals primarily with the founding of the Societies, while the
other gives a general account of their work in the mid 1840s to the
coming of the Civil War.
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Battle,
William James, ed. Catalogue of the
Members of the Dialectic Society Instituted in the University of North
Carolina,
June 3, 1795, Together with Historical Sketches. 1890.
This catalogue of Dialectic
Society members was published following a trial catalogue of 1888
(known as the Centennial Catalogue). The1888 version was used to
solicit more accurate information on the alumni for this 1890 edition.
The historical sketches that precede the listing of members were
prepared for the Centennial Reunion of the Dialectic Society, which was
held in 1889. (The year 1889 marks the centennial of the incorporation
of the University of North Carolina, not of the laying of its
cornerstone in 1793, or the opening of the University and beginning of
the Societies in 1795.) Editor Battle connects the sketches with
portions of the history not covered by the essays, which themselves
cover the time periods 1848-52, 1850-54, 1875 (the reorganization of
the Society following the University's closing during Reconstruction),
and 1880-85. These sketches and Walter Pliny Fuller's article in the
North Carolina University Magazine provide a brief glimpse at how the
rise of fraternity men within the societies caused tensions, then
factions, and helped weaken what one old alum called the "esprit de
corps" of the bodies. The catalogue of members was not transcribed.
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Cherry,
Thomas Kevin B. Ol’ Rip Writes: North
Carolina’s Nineteenth-Century Collegiate Literary Magazines. A paper
given at
the "250 Years of Printing in North Carolina: a One-Day Conference,"
held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, November 12,
1999.
Kevin Cherry's paper tells in
corporate fashion the fate of 19th century Society literary magazines
in North Carolina. Although, not an exclusive account of the Di and Phi
and their "University Magazine," it does present an overview of the
birth, stop-and start life, and death of these venerable publications.
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Coates,
Albert. Address Delivered Before the Two
Literary Societies of the University of North Carolina, February 19th,
1976.
Chapel Hill; Philanthropic Society, 1976.
This is the address delivered
by Prof. Albert Coates upon the unveiling of his bust in the
Philanthropic Society Hall. It is preceded by the remarks of George T.
Blackburn, II who spoke briefly on the service of Albert Coates and the
role the University played in inspiring Coates' life work. Coates, in
his own style, recounts the importance of the Societies to the history
of the University and North Carolina--but also in the life of specific
alumni of the Societies. He challenges the Senators to use the
societies to better their individual members. Here is found the list of
thirteen members who revived the Societies in 1971, when those
organizations were about to die.
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Coates,
Gladys Hall. Talk to the Chi Omega
Fraternity at the Eleusinian Banquet, March 25, 1974.
Mrs. Coates gave this speech
upon winning the Chi Omega Distinguished Service Award. She gives a
brief overview of the Societies history in general. Her quotes from
Society records regarding the duties of the Di's Censor Morum and Phi's
Supervisor are good illustrations of the moral policing practiced by
the two literary organizations, while her account of the "ball manager
case," as it has become known, shows the UNC tradition of student
self-governance alive and well at an early date.
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Cox,
William Edward. "The Philanthropic Literary Society," University
Magazine. Old Series Volume XXIX no. 2, December 1898 (New Series
volume XVI): 100-103.
A very general history of the
Phi Society, the most
interesting aspect of this article is its allusion to the drop in
interest in the Societies in 1896, immediately following membership
being made voluntary. According to the author the interest had returned
the next year and the Phi was as strong as ever.
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Fisher, Stan. Debate Societies Once
Ruled Student Life in Chapel Hill. Durham Morning Herald, October 4,
1959.
Once again the standard tale of
the Societies is
told in this feature article. This time, the article gets it right by
stating that the Societies are the oldest debating Societies in the
South. However, the author states, wrongly, that Richard Eagles was the
first President of the Phi Society. (David Gillispie was.) The article
relates the tale of Thomas Hart Benton's expulsion from the Phi, and
lists a few of the frivolous debate topics from the nineteenth century.
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Giles,
John E. The Phi Society: 155 Years of
Contribution to the Carolina Way of Life (1795-1949). Written, October
29, 1949.
A photocopy of a typescript.
John Giles presents an account
of the Phi Society, covering the standard story of its early days. His
work is especially revealing when it turns to Society matters of
the1930s and 1940s, especially the attempts of some Society officers to
raise funds through a lottery in the 1940s. This work is the source for
the story that President Chase's "unfavorable attitude" toward the
Societies was one of the reasons that their halls were reduced in size
in 1926. Giles also notes the first women to join the Phi and the
specific date
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Harrelson,
Edward L. "Tex." Historian's Report: The Dialectic and Philanthropic
Societies Burial Ground, Delivered Before the Societies 29 October 1990
and 5 November 1990.
Historian Harrelson records the
names of each
Society member buried in the Societies' plots and reports the
Societies' resolutions upon their deaths. Transcriptions of the
relevant minutes and resolutions are provided in this model historian's
report.
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Spitzer,
Max A. Historian's Report: The Decline and Fall of the Dialectic Senate
and the Philanthropic Assembly (1956-1959), Delivered Before the
Societies ?.
Historian Spitzer recounts the
last days of the Di
and Phi's separate meetings. He tracks the decline in prestige of
invited speakers and the member's disregard for the quality of their
debate and financial responsibilities. As an aside to his primary
topic, he provides a glimpse into the Societies' debates over whether
African Americans should be allowed to enter the University of North
Carolina.
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Spitzer, Max A. Historian's report: The Di Senate and Phi
Assembly During World War II, Delivered Before the Societies ?
Historian Spitzer presents a
compelling look at the
Societies as they debate some of the major issues related to World War
II. He also demonstrates how the War affected the Societies.
Unfortunately, few minutes still exist from the latter days of the war
years. In this report, there is also a brief allusion to the Societies'
grappling with the issue of whether African Americans should be allowed
to enter the University.
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Steele,
Hobart. Dialectic Senate and Philanthropic Society Merge After 164
Years of Separate Meetings. Daily Tar Heel, May 19, 1959.
In the last issue of the Daily
Tar Heel for the
1958-59 school year, there is a center front page photograph of the
officers of the newest old organization on campus. The article that
surrounds this picture of six suited young men tells the story of the
merger of the Di and Phi and the creation of the Joint Senate of the
Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies.
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Pate,
Jim. Di-Phi Celebrates Anniversary. Chapel Hill Newspaper, September
26, 1975.
The Societies celebrated the
100th anniversary of
their re-opening following Reconstruction, and this article gives a
brief overview of the Societies history, although it mistakenly states
that the Societies are the oldest student organization in the South
(they are the second behind phi Beta Kappa), mistakes when the
Dialectic Society changed its name from the Debating Society, and
states that Thomas Wolfe was President of the Di. (He wasn't). The
article is notable for the recorded brief reminiscence of Judge William
Bobbit (Di), and the list of Society-sponsored well-known speakers, one
of the major activities of the Societies in the 1970s.
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Pearson,
T.R. "The Dialectic Literary
Society," North Carolina University Magazine. Old Series, vol. 29, no.
2
(Dec. 1898). New Series, vol. 6. P. 85-89
A general history of the
Dialectic Society, which is of chief interest in its brief information
concerning the activities of the Societies during the 1890s.
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Steelman,
Ben and Roger Kirkman. "The
Carolina Di-Phi Societies Still Survive," The Tar Heel, July 26, 1974.
The standard history of the
Societies is told by this article in brief form, but of special
interest are the portions, which describe the state of the Societies'
portrait collection before the creation of the Dialectic and
Philanthropic Societies Foundation, Inc. This Foundation, with its
board of Societies alumni, is now charged with protecting the physical
holdings of the Societies, including the artwork, furniture and
archives.
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Studenc, Bill. "Club Changes
Image to
Increase Visibility." Daily Tar Heel, Sept. 25, 1981.
Despite the title of the
article, it simply gives the basic history of the Societies.
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A
Plan: The Dialectic Society at Chapel Hill, 1951?
A pamphlet describing the plan
to refurbish the Di Chamber. The result being the current desks and
chairs used by the Senators.
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"Debate Groups Merge at UNC," The
News and Observer, May 28, 1959.
This major event in the august
student groups' lives rated three paragraphs in the Raleigh newspaper.
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"Di and Phi Debating Societies
Still
Wield Influence at UNC," Asheville Citizen-Times, October 24, 1948.
This is the source, apparently,
of the quote by U.S. Senator William B. Umstead, about his not trading
"my experience in debating for the other things I've learned here in
the University." The rest of the article is the standard coverage of
the Societies role in University history.
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"Di
Society Invites Al," Raleigh
Times, December 29, 1926.
The Raleigh Times takes note of
the fact that the Dialectic Society has invited New York Governor Al
Smith to "come South," to give a speech. The article makes much of Zeb
Vance's connection to the Society. Al Smith was the Democratic
candidate for President of the United States in 1928 who had been
defeated in the Democratic primary of 1924, largely by Southern
Democrats and largely due to his being Catholic and opposed to
Prohibition.
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Dialectic Society Circular, 1860.
Having completed their new
facilities in New East and New West in 1859, the Societies went to some
expense in outfitting them. Both Societies went deep in debt to
purchase appropriate furnishings and neither would be able to repay
these debts completely until following the reopening of University in
1875. The Dialectic Society sent this circular in its attempt to raise
funds for their furnishing for New West in 1860.
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"Dialectic
Society Confers
Memberships." Chapel Hill Newspaper, May 13, 1976.
Despite the title, it was
actually the Joint Senate of the Dialectic and philanthropic Society
conferring honorary memberships on various North Carolina notables,
most having some connection to the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
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"'Gadfly'
to be Published by the Di and Phi
Societies." The Chapel Hill Weekly, February 28, 1971.
In the midst of 1970s campus
protests, calls for teaching reforms, and increasing specialization of
academia, members of the Societies began a short-lived periodical
calling for substantive dialogue between students and administrators,
generalization in education, the incorporation of ethical concerns into
the curriculum, etc. The Gadfly grew out of the Society's enlightenment
and humanist traditions and philosophy that created the office of
Censor Morum, as well as the organizations' highly structured form of
debate and discussion. The article also illustrates the contempt felt
for student government by some members of the Societies during the late
1960s and early 1970s.
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Rules of Order. 1884.
A pamphlet describing "Rules of
Order," of the Dialectic Society in 1884.
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"UNC Societies Honor
Planetarium
Donor," The News and Observer, May 19, 1950.
This article covers the
awarding of the "Di-Phi Award," the highest honor bestowed by the two
Societies for service to the University, State and Nation. Not an
annual award and rarely given, the Di-Phi Award takes the form of an
elaborate scroll and a medal engraved with the Old Well. Former
recipients include Frank Porter Graham and John Motley Morehead. The
article also mentions the Societies' "Outstanding Faculty Award," which
honored a faculty member's research during the past year. Other awards
given by the Societies over the years include the "Henry Horace
Williams Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching" and the
"Mangum Medal," the University oldest award, which is given for student
public speaking.
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"University Societies May Meet
Together," Greensboro Daily News, December 29, 1926.
This article describes an early
attempt at bringing the societies together.. Apparently there was
"strenuous opposition" to this effort. In addition to merging the two
organizations, the proposal called for a monthly speaker who was
"prominent in public life," to address the joint societies, creating an
"atmosphere of a formal school on public affairs." The Societies would
come together, establishing a Joint Senate in 1959.
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Altieri,
Mike, "Di-Phi helps in
Improving Speech," Daily Tar Heel, March 18, 1985.
This article covers the
Societies' sponsorship of the Mangum Medal.
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Buchan, Bill. "Mysterious
Grave at
UNC," The News and Observer, August 14, 1949.
A short piece on the
"discovery" of the Di cemetery plots by a new band of Society members,
this article lists some of the inscriptions of the plots and briefly
describes the students' efforts at cleaning the plots. One of those
students was John Sanders who would later become the director of
UNC-CH's Institute of Government and long-time faculty adviser to the
Societies.
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Cory, Paul. "Di and Phi Societies
Find
New Life After Illustrious History" The Phoenix, October 19, 1989.
Together, these three articles
( Cory, Pressley, and Miller) reflect the rejuvenation of the societies
in the late 1980s. This is a period which saw the re-establishment of a
Society publication and formal ball (The December), the creation of the
Kemp Plummer Battle Lecture on UNC History, as well as the
establishment of the Henry Horace Williams Award for Excellence in
Undergraduate Instruction, among other practices and activities. During
this one-year effort, the Societies went from having approximately five
active members (and almost all of them seniors!) to meetings with
attendance often approaching fifty individuals. The information in
these three articles is wildly misleading for various reasons. In one
the Polk portrait is proclaimed as being the only painting of the
president in existence, when the proper modifier is the "only one
painted while he was president." Another article claims that University
Librarian Louis Round Wilson started the consolidation of the
Societies' libraries, when it was meant--and clearly stated by the
interviewee--that he was the author of the account being quoted. And no
matter what is recorded in these articles, New East and New West halls
were built well before 1895. If nothing else, these articles show that
the hyperbolic boast sometimes made when members are rolling off the
accomplishments of their Societal forebears, "We even planted the Davie
Poplar!" can even be taken for the literal truth. Of course, in some
cases, the reporters were simply quoting the stories of senators that
had been mangled by many years of telling and retelling.
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Dupree, Evelyn. "UNC Dialectic Senate
Faces Birthday," Durham Morning Herald, June 6, 1954.
Even though this article
mis-characterizes the esteem given the office of Censor Morum by the
Di, it is a good overview of the Di governing itself, and a very brief
account of the role the Societies played in the establishment of
student government. It notes that the speaker for the 160th anniversary
meeting was Dr. Frank P. Graham.
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Felder,
Kenny. "Di Phi: Not a Frat, and Fun to Boot," Carolina Critic, November
1987.
This is the article that is
generally regarded as
the beginning of the rejuvenation of the Societies in the late 1980s.
Published in the campus conservative news magazine, this short piece by
the Critic of the Societies at the time, presented a quick overview of
the Societies and their history, and stated bluntly, "Di Phi is Dying."
He then asked for anyone interested in the organization to come to a
meeting, stating, "The directions you want [the Societies] to take are
the directions it will take."
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Fuller,
W[alter] P[liny]. "The
Societies--Overgrown or Outgrown," North Carolina University Magazine.
Old
Series, vol. 45, no.1 (Nov. 1914), New Series vol. 32, P. 15-23.
Mr. Fuller's account of the
decline of the Societies has become the standard refrain often
recounted by later writers on the Di and Phi--right down to the
influence of the Pickwick, Chapel Hill's motion picture theatre.
Ironically, although his reasons for loss of Societal prestige have
become generally accepted, they were written right before the last
great blossoming of the Societies on campus, the 1910s. Fuller called
for the Societies to cease attempting to be umbrella organizations and
to follow the trend of other campus groups in specializing in their
core activities, speaking and debate.
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Gerns, Peter. "Old Phi Society at
University Modeled After State's House," Greensboro Daily News. April
27,
1947.
The Phi Parliamentarian from
Ohio, Gerns was successful in placing variations of this article both
in the Greensboro Daily News and the Durham Morning Herald nearly a
month later. (May 18, 1947). The Morning Herald carried a fuller
account, noting the extracurricular activities of Phi officers, but the
Greensboro Daily News piece carried these officer's photographs. The
article notes recent changes to the Phi Constitution, the Phi's vote
that the United States had a legal and moral obligation to drop the
atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and its recent discussion about
the establishment of ABC stores in North Carolina.
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Miller, Myrna. "Societies Originate,
Maintain Traditions for University," Daily Tar Heel, October 17, 1988.
See the abstract for the Cory
article in this section.
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Philanthropic
Society. Circular Letter, February 20th, 1896.
This letter, which was
apparently sent to all Phi
alumni, illustrates the Society coming to terms with the drop in
student interest in the Societies that occurred during that year
immediately following the removal of mandatory membership. In the
letter, the Society asks their alumni to donate money so that they can
refurbish their hall.
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Pressley, Leigh. "Debating
Society
Continues UNC Tradition" Daily Tar Heel, Nov. 11, 1988.
See the abstract for the Cory
article in this section.
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