American Motor League
Encyclopedia
The American Motor League ("AML") was the first automobile organization in the United States, formed 1895. The AML started in Chicago from ideas of Charles Brady King
Charles Brady King
]]Charles Brady King was an American engineer & entrepreneur remembered as an automotive pioneer, artist, etcher, musician, poet, architect, mystic, industrialist and inventor....

. He wished to form an organization that governed the movement of the fast development of the manufacture of "horseless carriages" that seemed to be going in various haphazard directions in the United States. The AML was organized by King and he was given the first membership each year, No. 100.

Goal

The main goal of the new AML was to encourage experimenters and inventors to manufacture horseless carriages. They had two obstacles to overcome to accomplish this.
  1. The mechanical problems involved.
  2. The news media
    News media
    The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...

    . The press ran journals that gave false misleading technical information that were serious obstacles to developers and inventors. The public had a tendency to believe what was printed, even though many times were wrong, and this made the developers and inventors look bad in the public's eye. This then discouraged further development that was necessary in the introduction of new ideas and techniques to advance the technology of the automobile. This also created worthless drawings for the Patent Office which then had difficulty in determining which was a workable patentable invention.


King wanted to hold national meetings where technical papers could be submitted. He wanted discussions and exchange of ideas to help develop the technology of the automobile.

Formation

A meeting was held at the Chicago School of Electricity on Dearborn Street on Friday evening of November 1, 1895. The purpose of the meeting was to form a framework in the advancement of the new "horseless carriage" for the designers and experimenters. King suggested this meeting in a letter to the editor of The Horseless Age
Automotive Industries Magazine
Automotive Industries is one of the world's oldest continually published trade publication and the oldest specialising in the automaking business. It was founded in November 1895 as The Horseless Age, the first magazine created to cover the world’s transition from horse-drawn conveyances to those...

magazine that was published on October 8, 1895.

Dr. J. Allen Hornsby was elected temporary president and F. U. Adams of the Times-Herald was the temporary secretary of the new American Motor League. Hornsby called the meeting to order at the assigned time. He made an introductory speech outlining the goals and reasons for the new organization. He invited those present to state their views in regard to the general policies they should have for the new organization. Some liked the idea of a broad and liberal platform where all concerned with the new "horseless carriages", soon to be called motocycle
Motocycle
]Motocycle was the word adopted by the United States in the later part of the nineteenth century to indicate the horseless carriage, because it was short and easier to understand than the other possibilities, such as "automobile carriage", "motor carriage", "motor vehicle", or "auto carriage". It...

s, could be heard on their views. This included designers, manufacturers, and users alike. However others thought the membership of the new organization should be limited only to manufacturers and designers of the motorized vehicle.

Those present consisted of the Duryea brothers, Elwood Haynes
Elwood Haynes
Elwood P. Haynes was an American inventor, metallurgist, automotive pioneer, entrepreneur and industrialist. He invented the metal alloys stellite and martensitic stainless steel and designed one of the earliest automobiles made in the United States...

, Henry G. Morris, Pedro G. Salom
Electrobat
The Electrobat was the first successful electric automobile. It was designed and built in 1894 by mechanical engineer Henry G. Morris and chemist Pedro G. Salom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both had backgrounds in battery streetcars and, as the battery streetcar business was fading, they teamed...

, Sterling Elliott
Sterling Elliott
Sterling Elliott produced a series of successful inventions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In his lifetime he would hold over 125 patents receiving his first at the young age of 22. He was foremost an Inventor but also a successful businessman...

, Charles Brady King, H. D. Emerson, C. A. Clarke, George Henry Hewitt, Edward E. Goff, W. G. Walton, H. W. Leete, C. F. Karns, J. A. Chase, W. F. Barnes, A. Taylor, C. M. Giddings, Elwood Haynes
Elwood Haynes
Elwood P. Haynes was an American inventor, metallurgist, automotive pioneer, entrepreneur and industrialist. He invented the metal alloys stellite and martensitic stainless steel and designed one of the earliest automobiles made in the United States...

, George Richmond
George Richmond
For the 21st century educator see George H. RichmondGeorge Richmond was an English painter.George Richmond was the father of the painter William Blake Richmond as well as the grandfather of the naval historian, Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond.A keen follower of cricket, Richmond was noted in one...

, J. Wallace Grant, and E. P. Ingersoll. There was a wide range of views as to what direction the new organization should go. It was deemed best to appoint a committee on the outline the new AML should take. The special committee was to report at the next meeting, which was to be held in Chicago about three or four weeks later. Hornsby was to work with Emerson and Charles E. Duryea on this matter.

Constitution

The members of the AML met for the second time on November 29 and approved a far reaching constitution. It involved the advancement of the public interest of the use of the automobile by reports of mechanical features and legislation defending the rights of usage of the automobile. The Constitution was also to stimulate the promotion of better roads throughout the United States.

The new members elected Charles Duryea as the President and King as the treasurer. The vice-presidents were H.D. Emerson, Henry Morris, and Hiram Maxim.

One of the first actions taken by the AML was to have removed the restriction of "horseless carriages" on the city streets of Chicago. The AML was not very successful in this action and it was later taken over by other organizations that had the motorist interests in mind and were more effective in their actions.

Demise

The AML had members in over 600 towns, however only existed for a few years. One of the reasons was the diversity of interests of the members. The AML could not cater to all these interests. Those that wanted an association that represented just automobile manufacturers associated themselves with trade associations. Those that wanted representation for just the engineers of the mechanical aspects associated themselves with the Society of Automotive Engineers. Motorists were represented by the American Automobile Association
American Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...

("AAA"), newly formed in 1902. In 1904 the AML merged with the AAA to become the American Motor Association.

Sources

  • Horseless Age: the automobile trade magazine, Volume 1, The Horseless age company, December 1895
  • King, Charles B., A Golden Anniversary 1895-1945 / Personal Side Lights of America's First Automobile Race, Privately Printed, 1945
  • May, George S., Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography, Bruccoli Clark Layman, 1990, ISBN 0-8160-2084-1
  • May, George S., A most unique machine: the Michigan origins of the American automobile industry, Eerdmans, 1975
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