Mercer Literary Society records

The Mercer Literary Society, one of the Maryland Agricultural College's (MAC) earliest student organizations, was founded in 1861 by Dr. William N. Mercer of Louisiana; Mercer, an honorary member of the Board of Trustees, donated valuable books and financial resources to the society. Open to any individual in good standing with the college, students joined the society to pursue intellectual pursuits that were not addressed in the rigid course work of the nineteenth century. At the Mercer Literary Society meetings, members developed oratory skills and listened to speakers debate the major issues of the day. The library of the Mercer Society was well known and actually outnumbered in volume that of the college. The society took part in lively annual debates with the Calvert Fraternity, another early student group, and, subsequently, the Morrill Literary Society and the Poe Literary Society.

After initially enjoying a membership of nearly two-thirds of the student body, enrollment fell so low that, in 1888, the society disbanded. After a four-year hiatus, the society reorganized as the New Mercer Literary Society. In the same year, the group began publication of the Journal of the New Mercer Literary Society, to provide entertainment and intellectual stimulation. The society was reconfigured again between 1894 and 1896, first into the House of Commons, modeled after the British House of Commons, and then into the MAC Congress. In 1896, the society once again named itself the New Mercer Literary Society and resumed regular meetings. Members of the society often won an annual debate sponsored by the Alumni Association. The New Mercer Literary Society remained active into the 1930s.