Daniel Webster Debate Society

The Daniel Webster Debate Society at Phillips Exeter Academy is the oldest secondary school student debate union and literary club in the United States.[2] Established in 1818 as The Golden Branch Literary Society, a secret society, the club later changed its name to honor Senator Daniel Webster, who attended the Academy.[3] The club's primary focus today is on parliamentary-style debate, with some focus on policy debate and speechmaking.

Daniel Webster Debate Society
AbbreviationDWDS
Named afterDaniel Webster
FormationJuly 16, 1818
FounderCharles Soule
TypeSchool club
HeadquartersElting Room, Phillips Hall, Phillips Exeter Academy[1]
Location
AffiliationsPhillips Exeter Academy
Debate Association of New England Independent Schools
Formerly called
Golden Branch Literary Society
Branch-Soule Debating Society
Eponym: Daniel Webster, US politician and Phillips Exeter alumnus.

Name

The previous name of the society was taken from The Golden Bough of the Aeneid of Virgil's Aeneid. When the society merged with the Gideon L. Soule Literary Society, its name was changed to the Branch-Soule Debating Society.[4][5] In October, 2000, several speaking clubs, including the Debate Team, Branch-Soule Society, Mock Trial Team, and Junior Statesmen of America, merged to form the Golden Branch Society, due to low attendance.[6] The society later changed its name to the Daniel Webster Debate Society in honor of Daniel Webster.[7][8]

History

The society was founded on July 16, 1818. It was preceded by the Rhetorical Society of the Phillips Exeter Academy, founded in 1807, which counted among its members many future founders of the Golden Branch. It was dissolved in 1820. Professor Hosea Hildreth, the second professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, performed the initiating ceremonies for the Golden Branch, which then elected Charles Soule, the founder, as its first president.[7] On August 19, 1841, the constitution of the society was amended by the trustees of Exeter in order to prevent the students from meeting in secret. In one instance where several students attempted to form a rival society, the club was disbanded and the students were promptly expelled by Principal Gideon Lane Soule.[9] On June 12, 1878, an address on education was presented to the Golden Branch by Ralph Waldo Emerson.[3] Another rival society, named the Gideon L. Soule Literary Society, was founded on November 19, 1881.[10][11] The two societies merged in 1959,[4][5] forming the Branch-Soule Society, and later merged in 2000 with more clubs, forming again the Golden Branch Society.[6] The society, now named for Daniel Webster, currently concentrates in parliamentary and other impromptu debate formats in the Debate Association of New England Independent Schools and National Speech and Debate Association .[12]

Leadership
School YearDebate Captains
2020–2021Hassane Fiteni, Erin McCann, Philip Oravitan, Jack Puchalski, Max Tan, Alana Yang[13]
2019–2020Sam Farnsworth, Anjali Gupta, Meili Gupta, Benjamin Holderness, Nosa Lawani, Tatum Schutt[14]
2018-2019 Mark Blekherman, Calvin Chai-Onn, Janalie Cobb, Benjamin Holderness, Victoria Lacombe, Araaish Paul[15]
2017-2018 Mark Blekherman, Emily Green, Grace Huang, Daniel Li, Harrison Lian, Sagar Rao[15]
2016-2017 Bokyoung Kim, Arjun Rajan, Emily Robb, Matthew Robbins, Eric Tang[15]
2015-2016 Carissa Chen, David Larar, Peter Luff, Sam Millner, Matthew Robbins[15]
2014-2015 Christina Rossitto, Hersh Bhargava, Paul Lei, Nicole Don, Connor Bloom, Margaret Zhu[15]
2013-2014 Hansen Shi, Orlando Z. Kahan, Shannon C. Hou, Thomas Clark, Anika Ayyar, Nicole Don[15]

Honorary members of the society include Lewis Cass, Daniel Webster, Charles Sumner, John G. Palfrey, Theodore Parker, Jared Sparks, James T. Fields, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Phillips Brooks.[7]

The society was mentioned during the July 14, 2015 episode of Jeopardy! in the final Jeopardy question: The debate team at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire is named for this man who entered the Academy in 1796.[16]

See also

References
  1. Simpson, Brooks D. (October 13, 2015). "A Note on Daniel Webster".
  2. "NEW EXETER GYMNASIUM.; Col. Thompson's $200,000 Gift Dedicated at the Academy". The New York Times. February 23, 1918.
  3. "Academy Chronology". exeter.edu. Phillips Exeter Academy. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  4. Leness, Amanda (October 8, 1983). "Branch-Soule Society Plans Weekly Debates". The Exonian.
  5. "Branch-Soule Has 'Successful' Year; Outdoor Debate, Trial Draw Crowds". The Exonian. May 6, 1959.
  6. Brumskine III, Walter P. (October 6, 2000). "'Golden Branch Society' to Oversee Speaking Clubs". The Exonian.
  7. Cunningham, Frank Herbert (1883). Familiar Sketches of the Phillips Exeter Academy and Surroundings. J. R. Osgood. p. 252.
  8. "Making a Point". The Exonian. January 29, 2009.
  9. Crosbie, Laurence Murray (1923). The Phillips Exeter Academy: A History. The Academy. phillips exeter academy a history.
  10. Metcalf, Henry Harrison; McClintock, John Norris (1919). The Granite Monthly: A New Hampshire Magazine Devoted to History, Biography, Literature, and State Progress. H.H. Metcalf.
  11. Bell, Charles Henry (1883). Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire: A Historical Sketch. W. B. Morrill, printer.
  12. Rajan, Arjun. "Phillips Exeter Academy" (PDF). DANEIS.
  13. "The Exonian". theexonian.com. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  14. "The Exonian". theexonian.com. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  15. "The Exonian". Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  16. "Final Jeopardy: Historic Americans – Fikkle Fame". fikklefame.com. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
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