 The roots of the American Welding Society stretch back to World War I, when the sudden demands of swiftly producing military equipment brought about the need for standardization of the manufacturing industry.An evolving metal joining process, welding, suddenly became very necessary to enhance the war effort.To ensure that industry took advantage of this technology, President Woodrow Wilson called upon a Harvard professor, Comfort A. Adams, to chair the Welding Committee of the Emergency Fleet Corp.

Welding performed well in the war effort and its success motivated Adams in 1919 to bring together industry leaders for the purpose of merging the Welding Committee of the Emergency Fleet Corp. and the National Welding Council into a new organization, the purpose of which was to provide dependable and objective information on the developing technology of welding.