Freemasonry, with an estimated 6,000,000 members world-wide (4,000,000 in the United States), and with nearly a dozen extant satellite organizations (well over 2,000,000 members in the United States), is one of the largest, most wide-spread, and most socially acceptable of all secret societies (McKenzie, 1967). This paper will discuss the history of this organization, and will examine the effect Freemasonry and its members have had, and contiue to have, on the social institutions of religion, government, and class systems throughout the United States and Europe.

The organization of Freemasonry can be dated to the reign of Athelstan in the early 10th century in England. He granted a royal charter to the Masons, by which they were empowered to meet annually in a general assembly, and to have the right to regulate their own Order. The first Grand Lodge of England met at York in 926, and it was then that the constitution and charges that have been the basis for new lodges through the centuries were drawn up and adopted. Membership was limited to operative masons (stone masons by trade) until 1716---with the exception of the times it was considered more expedient to allow non-masons entry than remain hard-nosed about the purity of the Order. In this way, the Masonic Order was a sort of medieval labor union inder the protection of the State. As such, the Masons were expected to conform to the following charges: adherence to the Church, honor, and morality; discharge of just obligations; the performance of honest work for fair wages; loyalty to the King and abstinence from plots and conspiracies; secrecy of council within and without the lodge; aid and assistance amongst the craftsmen; and other similar provisions. Their living quarters (lodges) were used as places of instruction and communication of the mystery of the craft. This strict secrecy was needed to preserve the monopoly held by the Masons, and to prevent encroachment by both less accomplished brick and stone masons, and by stone masons who did not conform to the charges ("non-union" stone masons). The secret signs, tokens, words, and handshakes were very helpful in enabling "real" Masons to recognize each other, and in keeping imposters from making their way into the lodges. For the lodges were the "construction companies" of their time, and were responsible for the building of every ediface made of stone throughout Europe. The men traveled from job to job, and so it was very important for Masons to be able to recognize each other wherever they happened to be at the time.

Howeever, the heyday of the operative cathedral builders rapidly waned after the Lutheran Reformation of 1517, due to the decline in the construction of church edifaces. This led to the acceptance of "speculative" ("gentlemen," non-craftsmen) Masons during the 16th and 17th centuries in order to keep the lodges open. By the beginning of the 18th century, the lodges contained such a large speculative element that, in many cases, it was predominant. It was this that led to the turning point of Masonry---the "Revival of 1717."

The "Revival of 1717" was a reorganization of Masonry, to the extent that the new constitutions and charges stated that the lodges were to abandon all efforts to regulate the building trade and devote themselves to speculative moral science instead. This "new" Masonry was readily welcomed and membership spread quickly throughout Europe, Asia, and even across the Atlantic to America. While sounding the death-knell for the Masonic fraternity of the working-class, this "Revival" gave birth to the middle- and upper-class organization which still exists today.

As the fraternity's ranks swelled with noblemen and men from the ranks of the nouveau riche, its principles became the highest---liberty, equality, fraternity---and, through this combination of principles and participants, became a tool of political and social change. For, although the lodges remained neutral, there were many outstanding individuals who made a definite link between Freemasonry, the new political ideas of the 18th and 19th centuries, and the struggles for independence in many nations.

In the absolutist governments of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, and within the Holy Roman Church, Freemasonry was considered subversive and dangerous, and as such, was to be persecuted and suppressed. In 1738, Pope Clement XII issued a bull that forbade Catholics to join or support Freemasonry on pain of excommunication. The next year, the punishment for being found guilty of practicing Freemasonry was confiscation of all property followed by death, with no hope for mercy. Much to their later regret, the French parliament refused to register the papal bull and, although their lodges were occasionally raided, the French were relatively free to engage in Freemasonry. Not so in other countries, though---in Italy, Spain, and Portugal, Freemasonry was considered to be heretical, high treason, and punishable by death. Through the mid-19th century, Masons were victims not only of secular and Inquisitional courts, but also of public hysteria. Since the early 18th century, there have been many anti-Masonic publications describing the Masons as drunken revelers, revolutionaries, Satanists, and everything vile and debauched in the world. These publications have taken the form of sermons---"Masonry, the Way to Hell;" investigative reports---"The Veil Removed, or the Secret of the Revolutions Fostered by Freemasonry," "Proofs of a Conspiracy Against all the Religions and Governments of Europe Carried on in the Secret Meetings of Freemasons, Illuminati, and Reading Societies," and the three-volume set, "Proofs for the Condemnation of Freemasonry as the Starting Point of all Destructive Activity;" and supposed "true experience" books, in which the American lodges have frequent discourses and debates with Lucifer and his imps (Heckethorn, 1966).

With such overwhelming public distrust and derision of Freemasonry, and with wholesale secular and ecclesiastic condemnation and persecution of Freemasonry, it is amazing that the fraternity has even survived. But, not only did it survive, it continued to grow, and began to use its ideology and leadership potential as a way to influence social and political change.

In America, the Sons of Liberty were the first to actively apply the Masonic principles of equality, liberty, and fraternity, as they planned---within the walls of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts---and then carried out (with great gusto) the famou Boston Tea Party (Newton, 1916). Of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, it has been said that, with four men out of the room, the assembly could have been opened in form as a Masonic Lodge---at the Master Mason level. Massachusetts was not the only place the Masons were active---throughout the Colonies the Masons were working on behalf of a nation "conceived in liberty and dediated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Many of the leaders of the American Revolution were Masons, including Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Paul Revere, John Paul Jones, and George Washington---and at least twelve of Washington's generals (Newton, 1916). (For a more complete listing of famous Freemasons, see Appendix B, below.) At the end of the war, Washington was sworn into office as the first President of the Republic by the Grand Master Mason of New York, taking his oath on a Masonic Bible.

This victory for liberty and equality in the newly formed United States of America ushered in a new era of foment and revolution, and in the midst of it all was the presence of many individual Freemasons, if not entire groups or lodges of Masons.

In 1751, Diderot's Encyclopedia was published in France. It laid the foundations for the French Revolution, in that it stated that the duty of government was the well-being of the people, cast doubt on certain Christian teachings and traditions, and challenged all beliefs that could not be justified by human reason. Even though the Encyclopedia was banned by the clergy and the royal council (its themes undermined their authority), and Diderot (a Freemason) was imprisoned, it still had an enormous effect on the intellectual climate of Europe.

In 1789, the fuse lit by men like Diderot and Voltaire (both Masons) set off the explosion of the French revolution. Although the Revolution was probably not caused by the fraternity, here, as in the American Revolution, there were Freemasons in important roles. They were probably associated with the moderate groups that shaped the course of the Revolution through 1791, and were crushed or swept aside as it mounted to its climax. In 1792, the Jacobins came to power. They not only outlawed Freemasonry and dissolved the lodges, but they guillotined the Duc d'Orleans---a great hero of the Revolution, and Grand Master Mason---because of his stance for a constitutinal monarchy and his Freemasonry associations. This did not seem to have the desired effect, though. By 1796, the Masons wwere involved in the "Conspiracy of Equals," a last-ditch effort to put France back on the road of pure revolution. By 1798, the Masons were able to function legally again; and between then and World War II the Freemasons appear to have had a hand in nearly every revolution, near-revolution, and resistance movement which occurred in France (MacKenzie, 1967).

During this era of revolution, Freemasonry seemed to be indissolubly connected witht the struggle for freedom. Its presence, or at least the presence of Freemasons, was detected in the rebellion of the United Irishmen against British rule (1798); in the Philhellenic moveent devoted to the liberation of Greece (early 1800's); and in the Decembrist uprising which attempted to force constitutional reform in Russia (1825). Although it cannot be said that these rebellions were the direct product of Masonic meddling (on a lodge-by-lodge level) in all the affected countries, it is legitimate to say that the lodges in Italy, as a whole, were deeply involved in politics.

In 1860, the goal of national unity for Italy was finally achieved. The instrument which brought about this unity was a secret society called the Carbonari ("charcoal burners"). Although not all the Carbonari were Freemasons and not all the Freemasons were Carbonari, the great majority were both---including leading figures in the fight for unity, like Garibaldi and Mazzini. After fifty years of fighting both secular and ecclesiastical powers for a unified nation, they finally saw one secular flag of Italy flying over the entire country (Daraul, 1962; MacKenzie, 1967).

With their rallying cry of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," the Freemasons seem to have had a hand in nearly every revolution, rebellion, and uprising in the Western world during the 18th and 19th centuries. Indeed, it seemed that the more they rebelled against authoritarianism, the higher their membership swelled, until it peaked at 12,500,000 members world-wide in 1897 (Heckethorn, 1966). What happened since 1897 to cause such a drastic decline in membership (estimated 6,000,000 members world-wide today)?

As the ranks of Freemasons grew, so did support for an antimasonic movement. Led by popes (18 papal bulls and encyclicals specifically condemning Freemasonry), autocrats, and fanatics, the antimasons attacked Freemasons by exploiting the secrecy of Masonic ritual, the oaths sworn during ceremonies, and the privacy of lodge meetings. The antimasons reiterated the argument of Clement XII---what is secret must be sinister---and accused the Masons of being assassins, anarchists, and devil worshipers. By 1896, there were antimasonic leagues in nearly every country in Europe, and a great Anti-Masonic Congress met in Trent in September 1896. The gathering was enthusiastic and successful--36 bishops and the delegates of 50 more were among the 1,000 congressional members. There was an antimasonic procession, with an estimated 18,000 participants; and though the pope (Leo XIII) was not able to attend, he sent the congress a telegram which conveyed his blessing upon the assemblage. A crusade against Masonry was decreed, and the congress unanimously declared that Masonry is the "Synagogue of Satan" and that Masons recognize Lucifer as God (Lea, 1971).

In the United States, the antimasonry crusade started much later (1790, as compared to Clement XII's 1738 bull), and ended much earlier (1850, as compared to 1897) than its European counterpart. This movement peaked in the mid-1820's, with the disappearance (and presumed murder) of a Mason who was preparing to publish an "expose'" of Freemasonry. The kidnappers were acquitted at trial, and protests were raised---especially when it was noted that the kidnappers, judge, and most of the jury were Masons. This seemed to prove conspiracy among brother Masons, and led to the popular assumption that the Masons had subverted justice. Ths incident prompted further investigation into the fraternity, and it was found that Masons held disproportionately high numbers of judicial and political positions. As these discoveries, and news of the "Maonic crime" spread, public hysteria took precedence to rational thinking, and the fraternity was seen as an evil, subversive organization with the goal of destroying republican government and replacing it with a closed society---in which the Masons would not only control all wealth, but would use that wealth to serve the purposes of the Devil. Antimasonry was preached from the pulpits and exhorted by politicians, lodges were attacked by mobs, and Masons were forced to either resign their offices or recant their Masonic oaths. In 1824, Antimasonry became a political party, and even supported a presidential candidate (William Wirt). However, even with the high tide of antimasonry feelings among the populace, Wirt didn't win---John Quincy Adams, who had had the foresight to renounce his Masonic membership, became the sixth president of the United States. In 1828, both presidential candidates were Masons, and proud of it---the antimasons decided to reject both condidates, and once again ran one of their own. They, and Henry Clay, lost miserably; and Andrew Jackson became the next (2-term) president. By the end of Jackson's presidency, the antimasons were totally defunct in America---the new enemy having become the Democrats (Ratner, 1969).

By the beginning of the 20th century, public hysteria regarding Masonry, and organized antimasonry had pretty well died out. However, there was still sufficient mistrust to blame the Masons for the Russian Revolution of 1917, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the ruinous German inflation of 1924, and the Spanish Civil War. Although the surges of American and European antimasonry did cause the Masons to sustain somewhat of a membership loss (due to members quitting the fraternity), the biggest toll was taken by Mussolini and Hitler in World War II. Mussolini dissolved the Italian lodges, and either exiled or imprisoned Freemasons. Hitler was not as kind---in Germany, and in the lands he conquered, Masons were sent to end their lives in Gestapo prisons and in the cconcentration camps.

After World War II, whatever antimasonry sentiment that still existed seemingly died out, and the Masons themselves seemed to keep a pretty low profile---until 1981. For it was in 1981 that Italy's P2 scandal toppled the Italian government. When the police raided a small clothing factory in Tuscany, they found a small briefcase marked "fragile." When the case was opened, they found a list of 962 members of a secret Masonic lodge known as Propaganda Two (P2). The names on the list included much of the top brass of the Italian armed forces, heads of the secret service, two government ministers, and a large number of politicians, bankers, and civil servents. The ensuing storm brought down the government of the time and led to the setting up of a parliamentary commission. The commission's investigations of the P2 affair concluded that the list was substantially genuine, and that the P2 lodge was definitely implicated (if not a major protagonist) in several major coups in the 1970's and certain terrorist acts in the early 1980's (Brodzinski, 1984; Mitchison, 1986).

At the same time as the P2-Masonic controversy in Italy, author Stephen Knight was stirring up trouble with his book, The Brotherhood. With his book on Freemasonry, Knight began a journalistic free-for-all regarding Masons in government positions. Both the New Statesman and the Economist did some journalistic invesigations and found some very interesting facts---42 members of the judiciary in Great Britian at that time were Masons, including judges in both the High Court and the Appeals Court; the Westminster lodge had 50-60 members, made up of members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, and members of the Press Gallery; and, in the last 30 years, well over half of the annually-appointed Lord Mayors of London have been Masons. Other interesting Masonic trivia included the discovery that the National Westminster Bank, Lloyd's Bank, the Bank of England, and Lloyd's of London (insurance company) all have their own Masonic lodges (Sweeney, 1986). Although the judiciary do not believe that being a Mason could in any way affect the impartiality mandated by their positions, the Metropolitan Police became concerned enough that they adopted a guidance note recommending that police officers should not join, or should renounce the Freemasons, because it could bring into question their impartiality. The guidance said: "There is the oddness of the initiation ceremony itself, with its strange rites that smack of immaturity, being reminiscent of the secret societies of boyhood. There is some oddness, too, about the requirement for Freemasons to respect social distinctions and the status quo to such an extent as to sustain the notion that while some must rule, others must obey and cheerfully accept their inferior positions" (Sweeney, 1986).

The guidence then concluded by stating that all these factors worked against colleagues and citizens accepting an officer who is a Freemason as someone "on whose fairness it is possible to rely always and unquestionably" (Sweeney, 1986). Although this guidance was issued in 1985, it seems that it did not have the desired effect. Indeed, later that same year, some of London's top policemen formed their own lodge, which meets across the street from Scotland Yard. There have been bills put before Parliament which, if they were passed, would require policemen to put aside their Masonic memberships. But, considering the high number of Masonic MP's, no one expects such a bill to ever pass (Economist, 1988).

In the United States, Freemasonry has managed to stay out of the public eye and ire since the antimasonry movement of the 19th century ended. It is now firmly established and regarded as above reproach both socially and politically, with a membership made up largely of businessmen. Indeed, Freemasonry seems to be becoming more and more like an unoffical "guild" of businessmen---if only because it does require mutual aid and "square dealing" among its members.

Conceived in an age deeply concerned with the nature of, and relationship between, man and the universe, Freemasonry received its impetus from a sincere spirit of enquiry. Considered a genuine source of intellectual and moral enlightenment, it drew many great men into its ranks, including John Locke, Tolstoy, Diderot, Voltaire, and Goethe. Although it no longer has the same impetus Freemasonry does still seem to have somthing to offer its members, whether it be the excitement of belonging to a "secret society" complete with arcane oaths and rituals, or the enjoyment of belonging to a social or philanthropic organization. In any case, Freemasonry, in today's world, seems to be nothing more than a glorified men's club---a way to meet friends (new and old), make business contacts, and make charitable contributions---with the exception of the overtly politically oriented lodges, like P2 in Italy. It is interesting to note, however, that during President George Bush's inauguration, he swore on the same Bible that George Washington was inaugurated with---Washington swore his oath on a Masonic Bible.

Masonic Oaths (Heckethorn, 1966)

APPRENTICE:
"These several points (keeping the secrets of my order) I solemnly swear to observe without evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation, under no less a penalty on the violation of any of them, than to have my throat cut across, my tongue torn out by the root, and my body buried in the sand of the sea."

FELLOW-CRAFT:
(All of the above, plus...) "I solemnly swear to keep the secrets of the crafts, and to do so under no less a penalty than to have my left breast cut open, my heart torn therefrom and given to the ravenous birds of the air and the devouring beasts of the field."

MASTER MASON:
(All of the above, plus...) "I solemnly swear to keep the mason's secrets, and to do so under no less a penalty than to have my body severed in two, my bowels torn thereout and burnt to ashes, and those ashes scattered to the four cardinal points."

Famous Masons

Charles I of England
Charles II of England
Jmes II of England
Edward VII of England
George VI of England
Frederick II of Prussia
Francis of Austria/Francis II Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II Holy Roman Emperor
George Washington
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
James Knox Polk
Millard Fillmore
James Buchanan
Andrew Johnson
James Garfield
William McKinley
William Howard Taft
Warren G. Harding
Theodore Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Chief Justice John Marshall
Henry Clay
Benjamin Franklin
Samuel Adams
John Hancock
Alexander Hamilton
Aaron Burr
John Paul Jones
Paul Revere
Baron Steuben
Baron DeKalb
Marquis de Lafayette
Duc d'Orleans (Phillipe-Egalite')
Wellington
Blucher
Garibaldi
John Locke
Diderot
Voltaire
Sir Walter Scott
Rudyard Kipling
Tolstoy
Cagliostro
Goethe
Robert Burns
Lord Byron
Alexander Pope
Longfellow
Edwin Booth
Haydn
Mozart
Sir Christopher Wren
Hogarth

Masonic Satellite Organizations

Eastern Star
White Shrine of Jerusalem
Order of Amaranth
Order of DeMolay
Job's Daughters
Order of Rainbow for Girls (Rainbow Girls)
Social Order of Beauceant
Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Shrine for North America
Daughters of the Nile
Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm (Veiled Prophet, The Grotto)
Royal Arch Masons
Knights Templar
Heroines of Jericho

Brodzinski, Konrad. "Masonic Message?" New Statesman 108 (August 24, 1984):18.

Carey, M. F. Freemasonry in All Ages. olumbus, Ohio, 1896.

Daraul, Arkon. A History of Secret Societies. New York, 1937.

Ferguson, Charles W. Fifty Million Brothers. New York, 1962.

Heckethorn, Charles William. THE Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries. (Volume 2) New York, 1966.

Lea, Henry Charles. Minor Historical Writings. London, 1971.

MacKenzie, Norman. Secret Societies. New York, 1967.

Mitchison, R. A. "has P2 Claimed Another Victim?" New Statesman 111 (March 28, 1986):21.

Muraskin, William A. Middle-class Blacks in a Whie Society: Prince Hall Freemasonry in America. Berkeley, California, 1975.

Newton, Joseph, Fort. The Builders: A Story and Study of Masonry. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1916.

Ratner, Lorman. Antimasonry: The Crusade and the Party. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1969.

Sweeney, John. "Top Judges are in the Masonic Yearbook." New Statesman 111 (May 2, 1986): 5.

Sweeney, John. "Apron Lifts on the Westminster Masons." New Statesan 111 (May 23, 1986): 5.

Sweeney, John. "The Monied Brotherhood." New Statesman 112 (July 4, 1986): 5.

Sweeney, John. "The P2 Time-bomb Goes Off." Economist 29 (July 21, 1984): 45-46.

Sweeney, John. "Freemasons Bring Freer Memories." Economist 292 (July 21, 1984): 44.

Sweeney, John. "Freemasons: No Job for the Police." Economist 308 (July 2, 1988): 49-51.