The Freemasons Society

Based on Enlightenment ideas, the Freemasons Society is one of the oldest fraternal organizations in the world. As a fraternity they are seen as exclusive and secretive, building up certain concerns about their dealings and business. First coming together in Europe throughout the Middle Ages, the Society of Freemasons was formed in order to push their followers into an organization in a more developed and knowledgeable way. As they gained popularity and support, many settlers in America started to adapt to the Freemasons' mindset and traditions. With this rise in members and action, conspiracists also began to arise, surrounding the society's reputation with fear. Although they were not technically considered a “secret club,” it seemed to have had an aspect of exclusion that caused a lot of theories to spread among the outsiders. Codes and handshakes only known by members led the public to believe something was happening under the surface, but were their concerns valid or based on a lack of inclusion?  

These conspiracists didn’t just write or discuss their theories with one another, they took it a step further and created one of the first “Third Party” groups in America. The goal was to disband the Freemasons Society and uncover secret plots. The Anti-Masons were believed to have been behind the murder of William Morgan at Fort Niagara, a man who was well known for his hatred of the “Secret Society.” People were not happy with the direction the party's power was going. After Morgan was killed, many people who were suspicious of the Freemasons began to speak and stand up. They weren’t sure what they might discover, but they knew someone needed to bring the society into the light. In 1840 the party was not only dissolved but failed to bring the Freemasons down. 

Many founding fathers and politicians we study in school were thought to have been a part of the Freemasons society: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. These men were devoted to bringing enlightened and intelligent ideals into society. 

The Freemasons in simple terms are ahead of their time and critical thinkers focused on their responsibility to create a more advanced society. I think a lot of the fear stemmed from the theory that a minority group could gain enough power to become a tyrant over the majority of the population. As they were mainly feared in times when Americans were still recovering from being abused by a tyrannical ruler, one could assume this was a sensitive topic. Secrets and exclusivity are not well perceived by society in general, but coming from a group of elitist men, of course, there was a major concern. 

The Freemasons could have been an innocent cause, building and learning over the decades in order to preserve ideals that have carried since the Enlightenment, but dating so far back, especially with high power officials from history being involved, we can only imagine what kind of insider information the group held. What kind of complex codes could be hiding in plain sight? Who is to say the Constitution isn’t filled with secret encouragement or culture only the members would be able to uncover? It would be reaching to say they are plotting to take over the nation and control the government but, what if they simply focused on leaving hidden messages for future generations to treasure? This tight-knit group of strong leaders just might be searching for something left behind by ancestors who were concerned about the nation's future. George Washington spoke a lot about foreign policy and even the danger of political parties. Did he just have a good intuition predicting the troubles of our society today or is it possible he was given hints in Masonic form allowing him the confidence to speak up? 

These theories might not be substantial enough to thoroughly grab a hold of, but how cool would it be if this fraternal organization considered themselves the unsung superheroes of every generation, looking out for the minds and freedom of the nation? If they really are out there, digging out messages and plotting against or for society, I hope they uncover themselves and retell their mysterious battles.