Our Construction Association History

"No business is more exacting or requires greater effort and determination than construction. A lifetime may be spent in acquiring experience, judgement and accumulation of capital, equipment and efficient organization, only to have our enterprise meet with disasters of many kinds. . . The contractor is now merely an individual with no influence other than his own personality and his commercial weight. Organized, he can serve his own legitimate interests, open the gates for greater prosperity, benefit the country in normal times, and serve it royally in emergencies like the present."

Daniel A. Garber, first AGC of America president, 1918

AGC of America was established in 1918 after a request by President Woodrow Wilson. Wilson recognized the construction industry's national importance and desired a partner with which the government could discuss and plan for the advancement of the nation. AGC has been fulfilling that mission for more than 100 years. Carolinas AGC, established in 1922, was the first branch of the Associated General Contractors of America.