As our web site expands, we'll provide more information about the Anti-Masonic political party in the United States, its purpose and it's impact.
In 1830, a Convention of that party was held and here's some information regarding it.
Acacia Press, which who sells a variety of books and tapes on conspiracy theories etc. along with anti-Masonic books, wrote in a posting to the alt.freemasonry Usenet newsgroup on March 30, 1998:
"Below is a partial list of the people who signed off on the THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE UNITED STATES ANTI-MASONIC CONVENTION Held in Philadelphia, September 11, 1830. Now I know the Masons will endeavor to smear the intentions of ALL these people, but the fact is the 'Proceedings' accurately document the Masonic oaths of the time and help to explain why people left the Masonic lodges in the THOUSANDS. Masonic favoritism and collective, sometimes violent, retaliation against their enemies continues to this day."
The "Proceedings" are far too lengthy to reproduce here. Not surprisingly, however, you'll find them for sale by Acacia Press! There is no need to 'smear the intentions' of anyone. The fact is that during the late 1820s and through the 1830s, America was in a turmoil. It feared attack from outside forces and had just finished yet another war (the War of 1812). Westward expansion was taking thousands upon thousands westward leaving behind shells of formerly grand cities in the Eastern US. Further, It had been just 40 years from the time America had actually achieved its Independence and the memories of that struggle lived in the collective consciousness of those whose minds were not assaulted with the daily onslaught of data we find ourselves facing today.
Evangelical fervor ran high as ministers and politicians attempted to find one or more scapegoats for the rampant inflation and unemployment wracking the country. In the midst of this, 'secret societies' (not limited to Freemasonry) and 'hidden agendas' (the fear that activities of politicians might be detrimental to citizens of the society) were a popular pole on which to hang one's hat when seeking to stir the emotions of the populace. So many things were happening both in the United States and elsewhere about the world that it was easy to assume some all-powerful secret cabal was at work, manipulating the ebb and flow of world activities.
Into this turmoil, Freemasonry was dragged. The Anti-Masonic Party's formation and their Conventions can now be seen as a 'blip on the radar screen' and the fervor they created for such a brief time was quickly diminished once people of sensibility began to question the motives and actions of those who would condemn the organization which so many of the Revolution's leaders had embraced.
Acacia Press has given us the list of those involved in the Convention of this short-lived political party. Let's look at those who were involved:
Although we've used small type here, what you'll find is that only three of the 111 names below are to be found in the Microsoft Bookshelf collection of references of historically-important personages. On the other hand, nearly every single one of the Famous Freemasons on another page on this site can be found regardless of the proximity to our present time. Shouldn't this simple fact indicate something?
| MASSACHUSETTS. Henry
Gassett, Moses Thacher, Abner Phelps, Joseph Morton, Amasa Walker, Micah H. Ruggles,
Stephen Oliver, Samuel B. Barlow, Pliny Merrick, Gardner Burbank, Nathan Adams. Joseph
Goffe, Alpheus Bigelow, Jr., Lovett Peters, Nahum Harding, Nathan Lazell, Jr., Joshua
Longley, CONNECTICUT. Nathaniel Terry, Jonathan Nichols, Zalmon Storrs, Elisha Stearns, Calvin Barber, Henry Perkins, John M, Holley, Noble R. Strong, NEW YORK. Rates Cooke, Joseph Case, Henry Dana Ward, Caleb Green, Samuel St. John, John L. Curtenius, Frederick Whittlesey, Vincent Whitney, Francis Granger, John Ellis, Henry W. Taylor, Alexander Sheildon, Samuel M. Hopkins, Herbert A. Read, George W. Stanton, John C. Morris, Robert S, Rose, William Williams, Thomas Lawyer, Samuel P. Lyman, John Bogardus, W. H. Maynard, William H. Seward, George H. Boughton, Elias Manchester, Charles Starr, Samuel N. Sweet, David Bernard, John Williams, Lebbeus Armstrong, Myron Holley, Thomas C. Green, Edward Bancroft, PENNSYLVANIA. Amos Ellmaker, William Miles, John Clarke, Joseph Ritner, James Patterson, Jr., Horatio G. Jones, David Potts, Jr., Peter Knepply, William Rutherford, William Line, Daniel Rhoads, James Todd, Michael Fackenthall, Jr., Charles Ogle, Ner Middleswarth, Harmar Denny, Ebenezer Greenough, Samuel Davis, George Walker, Levis Passmore, John Kauffelt, Nathaniel B. BoiIeau, Thaddeus Stevens, Alexander Plummer, William Brown, Samuel Leidy, William W. Irwin, Samuel Parke, VERMONT. William Slade, Allah Sabin, Augustine Clarke, Samuel C. Loveland, Josiah Rising, Martin Flint, RHODE ISLAND. Walter Paine, Jr., John Hall, OHIO. Robert Hanna, Isaac Gillert, Frederick Wadsworth, Ebenezer Currier, Thomas M. Key, Daniel Gillett, Thomas Boyd, NEW JERSEY. James Vanderpool, David Schencb, Kllison Conger, Abner Morse, G. P. M'Culloch, Abraham Brittin, John A. Ring, MICHIGAN. Samuel W. Dexter, MARYLAND. Ezra Slifer |
It's not necessary for us to disparage those involved, but to merely compare this list with any list of Freemasons. The facts speak for themselves.
And one other historical note: the Anti-Masonic political party in the United States was founded in 1827-28 and survived only until about 1834 (six years).
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