The American Fraternal Alliance (AFA) is an umbrella group of fraternal orders in the United States. It was founded as the National Fraternal Congress of America in 1913, in Chicago/[1] It adopted its current name in 2011.[2]

American Fraternal Alliance
Founded1913; 111 years ago (1913)
Chicago, Illinois, US
TypeFraternal umbrella group
AffiliationIndependent
StatusActive
ScopeNorth America
PublicationFraternal Monitor
Chapters57 organizations
Former nameNational Fraternal Congress of America
HeadquartersPO Box 68700
Indianapolis, Indiana 46268-0700
United States
Websitewww.fraternalalliance.org

History

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The origins of the AFA go back to November 17, 1886, when a congress of sixteen fraternal orders representing 535,000 members met in Washington, DC. The original meeting was called by the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the pioneer fraternal insurance society, to establish uniform insurance legislation in all states. The 1913 meeting in Chicago resulted in the formation of a permanent organization, the National Fraternal Congress (NFC).[3][1]

On March 21, 1901, several fraternal orders created the rival Associated Fraternities of America in Chicago.[4] It was created "as a protest against the workings" of the NFC. The two groups re-merged in 1913 as the National Fraternal Congress of America.[5][6]

Another group the competed with the NFC for a time was the American Fraternal Congress, which was organized in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1898. This group differed from the NFC in that it only allowed orders that had adopted the legal reserve system to be members.[7]

The NFC adopted a Uniform Bill for state insurance regulations in 1893. In 1910, with the assistance of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners – it promulgated the Mobile bill, which was modified in 1912 as the New York Conference bill. It also created a mortality table in 1899.[8]

It became the American Fraternal Alliance in 2011.[2] Its headquarters are in Indianapolis, Indiana.[9]

Publications

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The NFC published a magazine, Fraternal Monitor and an annual Statistics, Fraternal Societies.[10]

Membership

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United States

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The current members of the AFA include:[11]

Canada

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Alan Axelrod International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders New York; Facts on File, inc 1997 p.179
  2. ^ a b "Milestones in History". Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  3. ^ Alvin J. Schmidt Fraternal Orders (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press), 1930, p. 82.
  4. ^ Schmidt p.46
  5. ^ "Milestones in History". Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  6. ^ Aexlrod pp.24, 179
  7. ^ Schmidt p.46
  8. ^ Schmidt pp.226-7
  9. ^ "Contact Us". American Fraternal Alliance. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
  10. ^ Schmidt p.227
  11. ^ "Member Societies". Archived from the original on 2013-09-19. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
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