“Americans of all ages, all conditions, and all minds are constantly joining together in groups,” observed Alexis de Toqueville in Democracy in America. In the early to mid-nineteenth century voluntary associations grew in number and popularity as like-minded citizens banded together to form fraternal organizations, charitable societies, and social clubs. Members benefited from the community ties and business contacts that associations offered, and found that the coordinated efforts of organizations were much more effective in influencing society than the lonely endeavors of a solitary private citizen.

Massachusetts charity laws were particularly broad-minded, providing tax exemption to any “educational, charitable, benevolent or religious purpose,” including “any antiquarian, historical, literary, scientific, medical, artistic, monumental or musical” societies (“An Act” 1874). Athletic and yacht clubs, reading rooms and libraries, and Freemasons and Odd Fellows were also granted tax exemption, and voluntary associations in Massachusetts flourished. Many of these associations threw fancy dinners, sometimes featuring guest speakers, dancing, or special “ladies’ nights.”

The Commercial Club of Boston

The Commercial Club of Boston was organized in 1868 as an annex to the Board of Trade. It later became an independent social organization, a social club for Boston’s leading businessmen. Sister clubs were formed in Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. In the early 1930s it merged with the Merchant’s Club of Boston. At their lavish dinners, speakers discussed topics such as the proposed Museum of Fine Arts, the labor question, Arctic explorations, and the Panama Canal. Menus for the Commercial Club are often quite elaborate, with embossing, color illustrations, silk ribbons, and metallic papers. The dinners themselves were equally extravagant, as the invoices for spirits and cigars seen here attest. Souvenirs like the cigarette case, featuring the Commercial Club’s logo, were an added perk for attendees.

The Charitable Irish Society

The Charitable Irish Society was founded in 1737 in Boston “to cultivate a spirit of unity and harmony among all resident Irish and their descendants in the Massachusetts Colony and to advocate socially and morally the interests of the Irish people and their cultural heritage; and to alleviate suffering, and to aid such of its members or other worthy recipients as by the vicissitudes of fortune might be deserving of its charity.” Originally established by Protestants, by the 1800s the Society also counted many Catholics as members. The Society hosts a St. Patrick’s Day dinner on March 17 every year, featuring distinguished guest speakers. Their menus often feature Irish cultural themes.

The South Boston Citizens’ Association

The South Boston Citizens’ Association was founded in 1880 to further the development and general welfare of South Boston. The Association hosts an Evacuation Day banquet every year to commemorate the evacuation of British troops from the city on March 17, 1776. Appropriately, the 1936 menu is staunchly New England in flavor, with a Vermont turkey and cranberry sauce as the main dish.

The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company

The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts was granted a charter in 1638 by Governor John Winthrop. It is the oldest chartered military organization in the western hemisphere. Established as a volunteer militia company, the Company has evolved to become a patriotic service and fraternal organization, with a museum and library in Faneuil Hall. Seen here are two menus for the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts annual anniversary dinner, from 1857 and 1877. Mock turtle soup, a popular nineteenth century concoction featuring organ meats in place of the original reptile, is featured, as is Washington pie, a precursor to the Boston cream cake.