Augustana Political Club records

The Augustana Political Club, founded in 1911, began with the support of 20 students who hoped to increase awareness of politics on campus. Its constitution was adopted 18 January 1912. According to the 1 February 1912 issue of the Augustana Observer, the club's goal was to promote "the intelligent study of public affairs as a means of increasing interest in the duties of citizenship and of raising the standard of public life in the United States." Unlike later organizations such as College Democrats or College Republicans, the Augustana Political Club was nonpartisan. The Political Club functioned primarily as a discussion group, meeting weekly on Thursday nights for its members to discuss politics. Since the group was organized in an election year, much of these discussions likely focused on the presidential election of 1912 and the campaigns of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Eugene Debs, and William Howard Taft. Based on its description in the College Catalog, the club was active only until 1913.

In the 2007-2008 school year, the Augustana Politics Club was created, serving the same purpose of a nonpartisan political activist group. The current incarnation of the club registered over 400 voters on the Augustana campus.