Union League - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A Union League is one of a number of organizations established starting in 1862, during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

to promote loyalty to the Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

and the policies of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

. They were also known as Loyal Leagues. They comprised upper middle class

Upper middle class

The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...

men who supported efforts such as the United States Sanitary Commission

United States Sanitary Commission

The United States Sanitary Commission was a private relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the U.S. Army during the American Civil War. It operated across the North, raised its own funds, and enlisted thousands of volunteers...

, which helped treat wounded soldiers after battle. The Clubs supported the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

, with funding, organizational support, and political activism.

Many of these organizations survive. Membership in the league is selective, and is comparable in social status to membership in a country club. Union League buildings often serve as private social clubs

Gentlemen's club

A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of...

.

During Reconstruction, Union Leagues were formed across the South after 1867 as working auxiliaries of the Republican Party. They mobilized freedmen to register to vote and to vote Republican. They discussed political issues, promoted civic projects, and mobilized workers opposed to certain employers. Most branches were segregated but there were a few that were racially integrated. The leaders of the all-black units were mostly urban blacks from the North, who had never been slaves. Foner (p 283) says "virtually every Black voter in the South had enrolled."

After the Civil War, the Union League Club of New York

Union League Club of New York

The Union League Club of New York is a private social club in New York City. Its fourth and current clubhouse, which opened on February 2, 1931, is a building designed by Benjamin Wistar Morris, III, located at 38 East 37th Street between Madison and Park Avenue in the Murray Hill section of...

founded the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...

, built the Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...

's pedestal and built Grant's Tomb

Grant's Tomb

General Grant National Memorial , better known as Grant's Tomb, is a mausoleum containing the bodies of Ulysses S. Grant , American Civil War General and 18th President of the United States, and his wife, Julia Dent Grant...

. The Union League of Philadelphia—the first Union League—still exists, as do the Union League Clubs of New York and Chicago. The building of the former Union League Club of Brooklyn now serves as a senior citizens' home, while the home of the former Union League Club of New Haven is used as a restaurant.

The Union League Civic and Arts Foundation was established in 1949 as a public, not-for-profit charitable and educational organization. The Foundation's mission is one of community enrichment; it is funded largely by contributions from members of the Union League Club of Chicago

Union League Club of Chicago

The Union League Club of Chicago is a prominent social club located in downtown Chicago.-History:The Club can trace its roots to 1862, when radical southern sympathizers in the north were plotting an insurrection in Lincoln’s home state...

. Famous members include Cyrus McCormick

Cyrus McCormick

Cyrus Hall McCormick, Sr. was an American inventor and founder of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which became part of International Harvester Company in 1902.He and many members of the McCormick family became prominent Chicagoans....

, Robert Todd Lincoln

Robert Todd Lincoln

Robert Todd Lincoln was an American lawyer and Secretary of War, and the first son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln...

, Daniel Burnham

Daniel Burnham

Daniel Hudson Burnham, FAIA was an American architect and urban planner. He was the Director of Works for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He took a leading role in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including Chicago and downtown Washington DC...

, William D. Boyce

William D. Boyce

William Dickson "W. D." Boyce was an American newspaper man, entrepreneur, magazine publisher, and explorer. He was the founder of the Boy Scouts of America and the short-lived Lone Scouts of America . Born in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, he acquired a love for the outdoors early in his life...

. and Charles D. Barney

Charles D. Barney

Charles Dennis Barney was an American stockbroker and founder of Charles D. Barney & Co., one of the predecessors of the brokerage and securities firm Smith Barney....

The Union League of Philadelphia

Today, the most prominent of the remaining union leagues is the oldest and first: The Union League of Philadelphia. Founded in 1862 as a patriotic society to support the Union and the policies of President Abraham Lincoln, it laid the philosophical foundation of other Union Leagues across a nation torn by Civil War. The Union League of Philadelphia has hosted U.S. presidents, heads of state, industrialists, entertainers and visiting dignitaries from around the globe. It has also given loyal support to the American military in each conflict since the Civil War, and continues to be driven by its founding motto, "Love of Country Leads." Although no longer exclusively Republican or male in membership, The Union League of Philadelphia has maintained its identity as distinctly traditional and politically conservative.

The classic French Renaissance-styled Union League of Philadelphia building, with its brick and brownstone façade and dramatic twin circular staircases leading to the main entrance on Broad Street, was designed by John Fraser

John Fraser (architect)

John Fraser was a Scottish-born American architect who practiced in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC....

and completed in May 1865 [the opening was originally scheduled for March 1865, with President Lincoln in attendance, but was delayed due to Civil War-related construction supply shortages]. Additions to the building in the Beaux Arts style, by Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer

Horace Trumbauer

Horace Trumbauer was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of the campus of Duke University...

and his chief designer Julian Abele

Julian Abele

Julian Abele was a prominent African-American architect, and the chief designer in the offices of architect Horace Trumbauer...

and completed in 1910 and 1911, expanded the building to occupy an entire city block. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Adorning the walls and hallways is The Union League of Philadelphia’s distinguished collection of art and artifacts. The collection is a rich, historical chronicle of Philadelphia’s unique imprint upon the American landscape from the 19th century to today and is recognized by historians and art experts as valuable components of our shared American history. A major Heritage Center is currently being added on-site to provide a permanent venue where The Union League of Philadelphia's extensive Civil War-related archives and collections can be stored and viewed by members and visiting scholars.

BLT Architects designed long-term interior renovations for the Union League of Philadelphia building to ensure structural integrity, enhance operating cost effectiveness, and respond to the constantly evolving needs of the club’s members. In 2005 the main kitchen was upgraded to improve handicap access. The Heritage room, one of the building’s most historic rooms; The Meredith, a fine dining room; the Cigar Lounge and first floor's Grand Corridor were all renovated and updated. In 2007 the Inn at the Union League of Philadelphia building was renovated by BLT Architects with the addition of 17 new guestrooms. In 2009 BLT Architects updated dining facilities for the restaurant at the Union League of Philadelphia building to accommodate its 3,500 members.

In the 21st century, the Union League of Philadelphia is home to members who keep alive the League’s traditions. As they did in 1862, today’s members represent the Philadelphia region’s Republican leaders in business, education, religion, the arts and culture. The Union League of Philadelphia’s civic participation and philanthropic outreach takes the form of three charitable foundations: The Youth Work Foundation, The Scholarship Foundation and The Abraham Lincoln Foundation, which educate the public about our nation’s history, recognize student role models in our region’s schools, and provide awards and scholarships to deserving students.

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The Union League of Philadelphia

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