History of The chamber of commerce

Origin of the chamber concept. The concept of various businesses joining together in a mutual effort to increase commerce has its beginnings in Europe hundreds of years ago. The first organization of businesses was in Marseilles, France, where the term chamber of commerce? was first documented. This fledgling group was established by the city council in 1599. The idea caught on and spread to Germany and eventually throughout Europe. The concept comes to America. The modern Chamber of Commerce is more of an American development. The New York State Chamber is the oldest Chamber of Commerce in America, formed in 1768 and chartered by King George III in 1770. That makes it older than the Declaration of Independence; chambers of commerce are not a new development. Local chambers. The first local chamber was founded in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1773. This was followed by one in New Haven, Connecticut, and then another in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1800. The trend rapidly spread across the country. By 1870 there were forty local chambers of commerce in the United States. Today there are over 10,000 chambers of commerce in the world. The purpose of the Chamber of Commerce has evolved from simply the protection and promotion of commerce, and have adjusted to the changing needs of society. National chamber President William Howard Taft sent a letter to Congress in 1911 addressing the need for a ?central organization in order to keep purely American interests in a closer touch with different phases of commercial affairs. A few months later in 1912 the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was born. Today the U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims a direct membership of 300,000 businesses and 3 million entities in state and local chambers. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is not the same as local and state chambers, which focus on local and state issues. The U.S. Chamber is concerned with national issues and dealings with the federal government to the international chamber. The chamber concept functions on a global scale as well. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is the largest business organization in the world. Founded in 1919, it now has hundreds of thousands of companies under its umbrella in over 130 countries. With headquarters in Paris, it keeps organizations like the United Nations and the World Trade Organization in touch with international business issues. The primary purpose of the ICC is to promote trade and investment, and to encourage open markets for goods and services and the free flow of capital. Your chamber. Historically, and to this day, the Chamber of Commerce remains the most trusted source of information on local businesses and services and the most dependable ally in commerce. There is not a better partner for success than your local Chamber of Commerce.