The Alliance for the Construction of Telescopes (ACT) was created by astronomers at the University of Minnesota who attempted to create a fund of several million dollars to construct a major astronomical observatory. In order to make this a reality, it was realized that the potential fund would have to be doubled. Other institutions were invited to participate in the consortium. In association with the astronomers at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) and the University of Missouri-Columbia (UMC), other institutions joined in the deliberations and activities, which eventually included actual site surveys in the American Southwest and initial telescope design work. However, not enough interest was generated within the UM system, although UMSL was able to generate several thousand dollars to pay for membership fees which were used, in part, to support the site surveying and the telescope planning. Competition from other consortia with similar goals, the failure of any member institution to guarantee significant financial or political support, and particularly the problems that developed at Minnesota which led to their relinquishing leadership, all contributed to the demise of ACT.