The Anti Masonic Party

James D

Anti-Masonic party 1

A group of men joined together for fellowship, who may share the same beliefs, work, or way of life is how Webster's New World defines the word Fraternity. In many cases, fraternities are concentrated a great deal at institutions of higher learning, thus forming cohesive bonds with men for extended periods of time. Various aspects of the individual fraternity define the role and responsibility of that group, to where a person can identify with the ideals, and determine if gaining membership would enhance their position. Many of these groups, during the 19th century were very much on the surface, but other such as the Skull & Bones and the Freemasons were viewed as secret societies of exclusivity, leading to suspicion and intrigue by many in attempts to discover the meaning, cause, and creed of these various organizations. The oldest fraternity of the two (or in the world for that matter) the Freemasons had a special interest with many due to political leaders and influential citizens who gained membership into the order. The founding fathers of the United States organized and established documents of Independence and later a Constitution to form a more perfect union had another commonality, and that was of the Masonic Order. Natural resentment and theories of conspiracy were very apparent (as in present day affairs with the "New World Order/Masonic Illuminati" phenomenon) due to the political and bourgeoisie aristocracy that were associated with the Freemasons during this time. With a level of interest so intense with mystique, many attempted to infiltrate the order by way of fraudulent practice with legitimate Freemasons in an effort to divulge "secrets" about the order.

Some forms of anti-Freemasonry stems from the Catholic Church who initially supported the ideals of the organization, but later denounced the same ideal and persecuted many who were members. To further promote anti-Masonic behavior, many types of literature and propaganda were generated to give the public more reason to distrust the current membership. Under authority of Pope Pius IX in the 1870's, a gentleman by the name of Leo Taxil emerged as the anti-Masonic spokesperson on behalf of the church. The chief requirement for admission into a Masonic Lodge is to profess belief in Deity otherwise the initiation could not be conferred. Taxil, an avid atheist, was

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Blackballed due to his "lack of belief" and thus ending his drive for membership. Having downplayed the Masonic order and various aspects of the Catholic Church, Taxil rescinded his unkind attitude toward the Church and took on a partnership with Pope Pius IX. It was during this time that the claim of Masonic and Luceferian ideologies (introduced by Taxil) coincided and the Masonic Origins were determined by Taxil to be of Lucifer. Because of his attempt at admission, then refusal, Taxil set out to write propaganda based on a devil worshipping society that he "observed", and the intercepting of speeches written by influential Masons. Modifying of these texts signed by Masonic leaders and converted to talks of devil worship was extreme, but was a catalyst for the anti-Masonic movement. As the public digested the works brought forth from Taxil, many challenges started to arise regarding the validity of his findings. With regards to the document intercepted from the leadership of the organization, Taxil attributed the claims and works to a confidant named Diana Vaughan, who was said to be an author. Later evidence showed that Diana Vaughan was not a real being, but a pen name for Taxil himself and used as an outlet to justify his works even further. Though this movement was of Europe it paralleled with the behavior the Anti-Masonic Party in America.

The Anti-Masonic political party of the United States emerged roughly in 1826 and was the first third party in American National Politics. Its formation was on the basis that the Freemason influence was too much in America, feeling that a total rule of citizens was inevitable and democratic principles would be done away with because of this alleged power. Others skeptics believed the Masons were worshippers of the occult, witchcraft and ceremonial magic and felt suppression of the order was necessary. The key figure in the midst of this is a gentleman by the name of William Morgan, who pretended to have membership in a Masonic Lodge, interacted with many other masons in discussion, and even formed a Royal Arch chapter of Masons under Grand Lodge authority. Many questioned his validity and some time later found him to be a fraud. Outraged that expulsion and blackballing were in order for Morgan, his vow to disclose all Masonic practices and beliefs were to be documented in a book written by David C Miller. Morgan was arrested shortly after his partnership with Miller, and in September of 1826, Morgan mysteriously disappeared. To an extent this was the straw that broke

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the camels' back. The upper crusts of society were members of this order, and public outcry began for the relief of disadvantaged citizens who felt the Masons were an elitist group. It was felt that Masonic judges and jurors would let criminals go free who were a part of the Masonic order, and the "oath's" and "obligations" undertook by Masons, bound the members together against all factions near or far. With the disappearance of Morgan, the anti-Masonic movement was officially mainstream. The belief that conflict with good citizenship and morality was the basis for the emergence of the Anti-Masonic Party. Citizens considered the Masons to be an exclusive organization whose purpose was to take advantage of the common man, violating the principles of democracy. Americans who felt good and true did not wish to tolerate this, thus leading to organizing thru churches and later turning the issue very political. A coalition began in the year 1827, New York City, to have ultimate support for any non-Mason who was running for public office.

President Andrew Jackson, a high ranking Mason, would give praise to the organization for its benevolent nature, but also gave fuel to the anti-Masonic body because of such public distrust for Masons, that mobilized the cause of non-Masons further. A corpse was found floating in the Niagara River was deemed a "good enough Morgan" (because of decay) summarized the opponents of Andrew Jackson. In 1828, this new party proved to be unexpectedly strong, later superceding the National Republican