How Did Freemasonry Travel To America

Jeff Liao
U.S. History
Ms. Frankie Tsui
June 17 2015
Masonic America Secret societies have long been considered as mysterious and esoteric. One of those are the Freemasons, also know as the masons. The Freemasons have been accused of anti-Christianity and conspiracies for hundreds of years. In its early stage, the Masons started from Europe. In ancient Europe, the Church had control over the continent. The role that the Masons played was relatively radical and liberal because they had an own set of rules, practiced obscure rituals, led a belief in liberty, and most importantly were not religiously headstrong (Peterson). Thus, the Church considered the Masons as heretics. Now, the Masons, due to their secrecy, are still misunderstood. However,

In the 1700’s, Europeans in search for a bright new future started to move into America. British people could then request permission to go to America. Traders, missionaries, and government officials also took this chance to move into the British colonies to trade, convert Native Americans, set up Churches, and regulate society. One example was William Penn – a Quaker, religious dissenter, and Mason (Carter). He was appointed to create a government in his colony, and it was likely that he set up his colony with his philosophies (Carter). Later as Europe became unstable, few of the founding fathers of America such as Benjamin Franklin planned for an independent country by unifying the colonies because they wanted to rule their country instead of being subjected to Great Britain. This was the second chance that Masonry could intertwine with the government body, where Masons had voices in the creation of the government. A publication by the Committee on Masonic Education and Service once wrote “It is possible that government, in its first rude form, may have come into being in connection with some building activity by a community of men” (Carter). In other words, when a new government inhibits a new territory, constructions must be made. The Masons, who were best at building architecture, could have been the men referred to as “a community of men”. This makes sense because the

Not only was Benjamin Franklin one of the most influential figures in America, but he was also a Master Mason, analogous to the elected president today (Blue). In 1723, Reverend James Anderson wrote a book that defined the powers and relations between the lodge and the individual Masons. This came to be known as the Anderson Constitution. The Anderson Constitution contains many ideas that the American Constitution will eventually adopt. In 1734, Benjamin Franklin reprinted and adapted the Anderson Constitution for American use (Carter). Franklin’s reprint was also the first Book of Constitution in America (Blue). These show that Franklin had already, in mind, planned out for how America should