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Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order (ΚΑ), commonly known as Kappa Alpha, KA, or simply The Order, is an American social fraternity founded in 1865 at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Along with Alpha Tau Omega and Sigma Nu, the order constitutes the Lexington Triad, a trio of now national fraternities formed in the same era. Kappa Alpha initially spread in the Southern United States but later added chapters elsewhere in the United States.
Because he was president of the college when the fraternity was formed, Robert E. Lee served as an advisor and "spiritual leader" of sorts for the fledgling fraternity. In 1994, KA formalized its connection to Lee by adding him into its mission statement. This connection and the organization's early adoption of a Lost Cause narrative led to activities that are interpreted as controversial or racist in the modern era.
As of December 2015, the Kappa Alpha Order listed 133 active chapters, five provisional chapters, and 52 inactive chapters. Since its establishment in 1865, the order has initiated more than 150,000 members. The fraternity is a founding member of the Fraternity Forward Coalition. Its national headquarters is in the historic Mulberry Hill in Lexington.
Kappa Alpha Order (KA) was founded as Phi Kappa Chi on December 21, 1865, at Washington College, now Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia. James Ward Wood, William Archibald Walsh, and brothers William Nelson Scott and Stanhope McClelland Scott are the founders of the fraternity. Scott was selected as its first Number 1 or president.
The founders wanted a lodge or fraternity that would maintain and foster Southern gentlemanly conduct. Soon after the fraternity's founding, the Washington College chapter of Phi Kappa Psi protested the name "Phi Kappa Chi", due to its similarity, leading Wood to change the name to KA by April 1866.
The fraternity's original ritual, written by Wood, was expanded by a new member Samuel Zenas Ammen within a year. As a master mason, Ammen brought knowledge of fraternal ceremonies to Kappa Alpha, as well as a fondness for the romance of knights and chivalry. The resulting new ritual and constitution turned KA into the Kappa Alpha Order, modeled as a Christian knighthood seeking the highest level of character and personal achievement, including "virtues of chivalry, respect for others, honor, duty, integrity and reverence for God and woman". Ammen also revised the ritual in 1871, 1893, 1904, and 1921. For his efforts, Ammen was given the title of "Practical Founder" by the fraternity.
A second chapter, Beta, was established at the adjacent Virginia Military Institute in 1868. That same year, Gamma was chartered at the University of Georgia. Additional chapters were established at Wofford College, Emory University, and Randolph–Macon College in 1869. Until 1870, the fraternity was governed by the Alpha chapter at Washington College. At that time, Kappa Alpha created a system of governance that included conventions of representatives from each chapter that elect a national executive council.
By 1899, the fraternity initiated 2,954 members, mostly at institutions in the Southern United States. The Cyclopædia of Fraternities (1899) noted that the Kappa Alpha had numerous chapters "some of which are not at institutions of the first rank...explain[ing] why its membership is, as a whole, of the highest social or scholastic grade". However, this opinion may simply reflect a Northern publication's perspective on Southern colleges at the time.
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Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order (ΚΑ), commonly known as Kappa Alpha, KA, or simply The Order, is an American social fraternity founded in 1865 at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Along with Alpha Tau Omega and Sigma Nu, the order constitutes the Lexington Triad, a trio of now national fraternities formed in the same era. Kappa Alpha initially spread in the Southern United States but later added chapters elsewhere in the United States.
Because he was president of the college when the fraternity was formed, Robert E. Lee served as an advisor and "spiritual leader" of sorts for the fledgling fraternity. In 1994, KA formalized its connection to Lee by adding him into its mission statement. This connection and the organization's early adoption of a Lost Cause narrative led to activities that are interpreted as controversial or racist in the modern era.
As of December 2015, the Kappa Alpha Order listed 133 active chapters, five provisional chapters, and 52 inactive chapters. Since its establishment in 1865, the order has initiated more than 150,000 members. The fraternity is a founding member of the Fraternity Forward Coalition. Its national headquarters is in the historic Mulberry Hill in Lexington.
Kappa Alpha Order (KA) was founded as Phi Kappa Chi on December 21, 1865, at Washington College, now Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia. James Ward Wood, William Archibald Walsh, and brothers William Nelson Scott and Stanhope McClelland Scott are the founders of the fraternity. Scott was selected as its first Number 1 or president.
The founders wanted a lodge or fraternity that would maintain and foster Southern gentlemanly conduct. Soon after the fraternity's founding, the Washington College chapter of Phi Kappa Psi protested the name "Phi Kappa Chi", due to its similarity, leading Wood to change the name to KA by April 1866.
The fraternity's original ritual, written by Wood, was expanded by a new member Samuel Zenas Ammen within a year. As a master mason, Ammen brought knowledge of fraternal ceremonies to Kappa Alpha, as well as a fondness for the romance of knights and chivalry. The resulting new ritual and constitution turned KA into the Kappa Alpha Order, modeled as a Christian knighthood seeking the highest level of character and personal achievement, including "virtues of chivalry, respect for others, honor, duty, integrity and reverence for God and woman". Ammen also revised the ritual in 1871, 1893, 1904, and 1921. For his efforts, Ammen was given the title of "Practical Founder" by the fraternity.
A second chapter, Beta, was established at the adjacent Virginia Military Institute in 1868. That same year, Gamma was chartered at the University of Georgia. Additional chapters were established at Wofford College, Emory University, and Randolph–Macon College in 1869. Until 1870, the fraternity was governed by the Alpha chapter at Washington College. At that time, Kappa Alpha created a system of governance that included conventions of representatives from each chapter that elect a national executive council.
By 1899, the fraternity initiated 2,954 members, mostly at institutions in the Southern United States. The Cyclopædia of Fraternities (1899) noted that the Kappa Alpha had numerous chapters "some of which are not at institutions of the first rank...explain[ing] why its membership is, as a whole, of the highest social or scholastic grade". However, this opinion may simply reflect a Northern publication's perspective on Southern colleges at the time.