Search

This volume contains the minutes of the Bangor Literary Association (of Bangor, Maine) from 1882 to 1886. Originally founded as a debating society, the minutes include the question or topic of discussion along with the names of which members voted in the negative or affirmative. Example subjects of debate include the textbooks for Bangor public schools, the acceptability of deception, the United States proposed canal through Nicaragua, and others.

This volume contains the minutes of the Bangor Literary Association (of Bangor, Maine) from 1882 to 1886. James W. Donigan, secretary of the association, likely kept this record. Entries include the question or topic of discussion along with the names of which members voted in the negative or affirmative. Example subjects of debate included the textbooks for Bangor public schools, the acceptability of deception, the United States proposed canal through Nicaragua, and others.

The minutes were kept in a book with several earlier contributions, which may or may not relate to the literary association. They include writing on the pyramids of Egypt (pages 30-31), tabular data on U.S. Immigration, 1820-1845 (page 32), and voting results for U.S. Presidents and Vice-Presidents between 1788 and 1876 (pages 34-35).

This volume, titled "Puerile Essays addressed to the Philomathian Society," contains 11 essays (93 pages) composed by Joseph Hopkinson for the Philomathian Society of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and for other debating societies between March 17, 1787, and October 1789. He discussed a variety of topics related to contemporary American social customs, such as dancing, happiness, the desirability of luxury, family relationships, and astronomy.

This volume, titled "Puerile Essays addressed to the Philomathian Society," contains 11 essays (93 pages) composed by Joseph Hopkinson for the Philomathian Society of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and for other debating societies between March 17, 1787, and October 1789. He discussed a variety of topics related to contemporary American social customs, such as dancing, happiness, the desirability of luxury, family relationships and astronomy.

Joseph Hopkinson joined the Philomathian Society on March 14, 1787, and left in June 1788, shortly after the Philomathians joined with the Commercial Society to form the Literary and Commercial Society. The essays, each between 5 and 12 pages long, record Hopkinson's views on a diverse array of topics, many of which reflect contemporary social customs and concerns. Hopkinson defended dancing as a method to develop gracefulness and good health, denounced the development of national prejudices, and discussed development of customs as individual habits and as societal norms. He reflected on the idea of universal happiness, suggesting that it is tied to wealth, and supported the pursuit of luxury as a desirable moral aim. Two essays pertain to relationships between parents and their children, and one briefly relates the history of astronomy. Though Hopkinson left the literary society in 1788, he continued to compose essays until October 1789. In one piece, addressed to the Belles Lettres Society, Hopkinson gave his negative opinion of juvenile debating societies, arguing that they foster disagreement rather than promote original thought. In another, he countered an argument about the desirability of periodical publications, originally presented by a man named Wilkins.

The volume has Randolph G. Adams's bookplate. An obituary for Major Charles Biddle Hopkinson, Joseph Hopkinson's grandson, is pasted in the inside front cover.

Two debating societies based in Montgomery, New York, recorded their constitutions and meeting minutes in this volume in the early to mid-19th century. At weekly meetings, members debated questions related to politics, morality, and other subjects, though religious topics were banned.

Two debating societies based in Montgomery, New York, recorded their constitutions and meeting minutes in this volume (approximately 180 pp.) in the early to mid-19th century. At weekly meetings, members discussed political issues and moral questions.

The title page has an unattributed epigram taken from verses written by Robert Burns for the Freemasons. Following this, the Farmers & Mechanicks Debating Society of Montgomery recorded its first minutes (February 4, 1823), which pre-date its constitution (February 11, 1823). The 4-page constitution and 2-page list of members' signatures are followed by about 70 pages of minutes from the society's weekly meetings. Every week, the group discussed a member's question, posed and chosen the week before, with members arguing in the negative and affirmative. Questions covered a range of moral and political subjects such as quality of life, wealth, women's rights, punishment for crimes, and finances, though religious topics were banned. The minutes record the names of members presenting either side of the question and occasionally concern administrative affairs such as officer elections. The final dated entry appears on January 26, 1825, with one last entry from "Saturday evening Feb 28" of an unknown year.

The second section (approximately 90 pages) contains the minutes and constitution of the Farmers & Mechanicks Debating Society's successor, the Good-Will Debating Society, in the Town of Montgomery. Its constitution, which has later annotations and alterations, is largely similar to the earlier document. Weekly meeting minutes cover December 11, 1840-January 30, 1846, though some dates are missing or appear out of chronological sequence. The society's debate topics were similar to its predecessor's, though some related to contemporary political issues such as the annexation of Texas. A group of loosely tied newspaper clippings laid into the volume (dated 1846) pertain to the Mexican-American War and topics related to mechanics and manufacturing.