Throughout the centuries, perhaps as long as commerce has existed, traders have banded together. In the beginning it might have been for the purpose of seeking common protection against enemies and bands of robbers. Later, codes were established to govern the conduct of trade. Later still, efforts were begun to extert influence on legislative manners.
Those early associations of traders had little in common with Chambers of Commerce, as we know them now. The first known use of the term "Chamber of Commerce" occurred in Marseilles, France, where such an organization was established by the city council around the close of the 17th century.
It was the ambition of Kaiser William I of Germany that gave impetus to the Chamber of Commerce movement in that country. Recognizing the usefulness of such organizations in promoting trade and training young men for commercial career, William encouraged their establishment in principal cities. Other European countries followed Germany's example.
However, the European Chamber of Commerce has little in common with the modern American organization. Although they are associations of business people, they frequently operate as quasi-public agencies, vested with certain respects to trade. These powers often include establishment of codes governing commercial practice, arbitration of rules of navigation, and supervision over other commercial bodies. And under some highly centralized governments, the Chambers have been used as agencies for directing and controlling economic activity in behalf of the central planning authority. This was true in Nazi Germany where regional and local Chambers virtually exercised powers of life or death over individual concerns.
On the American Continent, the oldest Chamber of Commerce is that of the State of New York, organized in 1768, and chartered by King George III in 1770. The second oldest is Charleston, South Carolina, formed in 1773. Chambers were organized in New Haven and Philadelphia soon afterwards, and by 1870, the number of Chambers in this country had grown to forty.
Early American Chambers, like their European prototypes, were associations of tradesmen organized for the protection and promotion of commerce. The establishment of the New York State Chamber, for example, was a result of the obnoxious Stamp Tax Act, passed by Parliament in 1765. Forced to organize in self-defense to fight the act, New York tradesmen quickly perceived the advantage of this association.
Those early Chambers undertook to promote the sale of goods. They organized markets, made and enforced rules of trade, protected goods in transit, and even operated their own trading floors. But their activities were limited to those directly connected with commerce.
But the emergence of the Chamber of Commerce as a true community organization came much later as businessmen began to realize that their own prosperity depended upon the development of a prosperous and healthy community. From the late 1800's on, the Chamber movement in the United States was rapid.
Today, there are perhaps 4,000 such organizations in the country. The Chamber of Commerce of today has little in common with the old "Board of Trade" or "Booster Club" of fifty years ago. The change was one of refinement; the philosophy changed.
In early 1900's, most local Chambers were primarily interested in attracting new industry to their community. Civic and commercial development took second place. While industrial development was still often a major emphasis, gradually Chambers came to recognize that industrial growth was dependant on civic and commercial development as well. In fact, during the first quarter of this century so much emphasis was being placed on civic problems htat many Chambers began to assume the character of civic organizations. It soon became evident that Chambers, in order to be true to their purpose, must remain primarily business organizations, and express the point of view of business. The importance of balance in the Chamber program began to be recognized.
Another major change took place with the advent of the New Deal in 1933. Government affairs on federal, state, and local levels became major items in the Chamber of Commerce program. The Chamber became the interpreter of government to business, and, of business to government. In this field of activity, the Chamber of Commerce is assuming growing responsibilities and achieving increasing usefulness.
And just as many chambers through the centuries have changed and adapted to meet the needs of the time, so will the Chamber of today be constantly alert to the changes taking place in our society and adapting to meet those needs.