Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) American Philosophical Society, first scientific society in America, founded (1743) in Philadelphia. It was an outgrowth of the Junto formed (1727) by Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was the first secreta...

(Encyclopedia) American Colonization Society, organized Dec., 1816–Jan., 1817, at Washington, D.C., to transport free blacks from the United States and settle them in Africa. The freeing of many slaves, principall...

(Encyclopedia) American Geographical Society (AGS), oldest geographical society in the United States, founded 1852 in New York City. Its purpose is to advance the science of geography through discussion and publicat...

(Encyclopedia) New-York Historical Society, New York City. Founded in 1804, the society is a repository of art, artifacts, and literature relating to American, especially New York, history. Among its celebrated perm...

(Encyclopedia) John Birch Society, ultraconservative, anti-Communist organization in the United States. It was founded in Dec., 1958, by manufacturer Robert Welch, headquartered in Belmont, Mass., and named after Jo...

(Encyclopedia) American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (A.S.P.C.A.), chartered in 1866 in New York by Henry Bergh to shelter homeless animals, to assist farmers in caring for their livestock, and t...

(Encyclopedia) affluent society, term coined by John Kenneth Galbraith in The Affluent Society (1958) to describe the United States after World War II. An affluent society, as the term was used ironically by Galbrai...

(Encyclopedia) Great Society, in U.S. history, term for the domestic policies of President Lyndon Johnson. In his first State of the Union message, he called for a war on poverty and the creation of a “Great Socie...

(Encyclopedia) Audubon Society, National, one of the oldest and best-known U.S. environmental organizations; founded 1886 by George Cird Grinnell and named for John James Audubon. The nonprofit organization, which h...

(Encyclopedia) secret society, organization of initiated persons whose members, purposes, and rituals are kept secret. Human groups throughout history have maintained secret societies. The ceremonies of initiation i...