Founded on January 14, 1894, the Alianza Hispano-Americana (AHA) was one of the first fraternal societies for Mexican-Americans. Beginning in Tucson, Arizona, the AHA was organized as a fraternal insurance society in response to the encroachment of Anglo-Americans into the Southwest. It adopted a hierarchal lodge structure, and at its peak in 1939 had 300 lodges across nine different states, with more than 17,000 members. Membership was limited to Mexican Americans with no prior convictions, though women were allowed to join in 1913 in response to the women’s suffrage movement. The organization’s motto was “protection, morality, instruction”, signifying the AHA’s goals of establishing mutual care amongst members, positive social values, and educating members on how to live in a foreign land. Budgeting issues and embezzlement charges levied against the AHA President lead to the organization’s demise in 1965.