When fraternities first came to the US in the late 1700s, they were secret societies bound by rituals, symbols and tradition. According to Maria Konnikova from The Atlantic, one of the earliest fraternities was the Flat Hat Club (FHC). It was a secret literary group with the motto “fraternitas, humanitas, et cognito” – brotherhood, humaneness and knowledge. That motto and the values it carries have proven to be central to fraternities as we know them today, says Konnikova.