Whig Hall c. 1873
The American Whig Society was founded in 1769; Princetonian James Madison was among the original members. The Whig Party is an advocate for liberal thought on campus. The party endorses the principles of equality, justice, and opportunity. The party name, “American Whig,” was the pen name William Livingston, a University trustee and future Governor of New Jersey, used in a series of essays denouncing the plan to install an Anglican bishop in America. In its early years, the party was effectively a college within Princeton, with its own library and curriculum. Whig’s rivalry with Clio began early, and the two groups engaged in a “paper war,” a literary contest between the two societies, in 1771 and 1782. During this contest, Whig members produced one of the first American novels. Regular debates were an early part of party tradition, and Whig has debated the important political issues of the day across the centuries. In 1803, Whig discussed the durability of the Constitution, and in the 1939, members of the society argued in favor of the motion to “condemn suppression of communist and other minority rights.”
Today, Whig works with Clio to organize debates in the Whig-Clio Senate. These discussions focus on both issues of national importance and campus concerns. All members of the University community are welcome to attend debates and join the party.
The Cliosophic Party has represented the rightist-conservative spectrum of political thought at Princeton for more than three centuries. Founded in 1765, Clio counts among its own founders several of the Founding Fathers, including one of Princeton’s most infamous alumni, Aaron Burr.
Clio Membership – 1868
Named for the classical Greek muse of history, Clio, combined with the suffix “sophic” meaning wisdom or knowledge, our party has long stood for the judicious and reasoned application of the lessons of the ages to political questions of the day, the proverbial “wisdom of Clio”. Edmund Burke, the father of modern conservatism, coined the term “received wisdom” to express the importance of sustained intellectual engagement with the past in formulating contemporary policies, a principle that is central to Clio’s own approach to history and politics. While some of the specific issues comprising the mainstream political alignment of the right both at Princeton and in larger national political landscape have shifted over time, the cardinal virtues; wisdom, justice, fortitude and temperance, have remained immutable and sacrosanct for conservatives. Even as we have adapted applications of these values from classical antiquity to the Information Age, the principles that have informed our views have endured. These applications can be best summarized in the three great tenets of conservatism; commitment to the economic principles of a sound market economy, a vigorous and indomitable national defense in recognition of America’s role in the world, and an abiding respect for traditional moral values and human dignity. Although never formally aligned, the Cliosophic Party strongly identifies with the conservative mission of the Republican Party, and its positions in the Whig-Clio Senate often overlap with those of fellow conservatives beyond the gates of Princeton.
Clio Hall c. 1876
In practical terms, the Cliosophic Party exists as a constituent body of the Whig-Cliosophic Society; in its primary role, Clio sponsors resolutions, invites speakers, organizes public debates in the Whig-Clio Senate. Topics of contention have ranged from contentious University policies to controversies in national politics.
