Introduction
People have always been drawn together by common interests. The cave men lived together in tribes in order to provide for defense against the sabre tooth tiger and the mastodon. As civilization developed, people gathered together in villages for protection, and eventually created nation-states based on a common language. It was and is a natural thing to do. Fraternal societies are simply a higher form of “gathering together” of people with common interests and ideals.
rapidly in the 1700s because of the industrial revolution, and soon became a major force in English social and political life. They were so important Parliament began to regulate their activities in 1793. The largest of these was the International Order of Odd Fellows (Manchester Unity) and the Ancient Order of Foresters. The first American Odd Fellows lodge was founded in 1819, followed by the Foresters in 1832. The Improved Order of the Redmen, an American fraternal society related to the pre-revolutionary Sons of Liberty, was founded in 1834.
The first fraternal societies similar to the ones we know today were the so-called “Friendly Societies” in England in the 1500s. They were craft guilds, designed to regulate the conditions of employment and to offer financial and medical help in time of need. The friendly societies grew
A remarkable increase in the number of fraternal societies providing life insurance took place following the Civil War (1861-1885). Privately-owned insurance companies, called “old line” companies, were not regulated by 1
