Full Description
An overview of the mysterious history of the Freemasons and their presence in American society
With over four million members worldwide, and two million in the U.S., Freemasonry is the largest fraternal organization in the world. Published in conjunction with the National Heritage Museum, this extravagantly illustrated volume offers an overview of Freemasonry's origins in seventeenth-century Scotland and England before exploring its evolving role in American history, from the Revolution through the labor and civil rights movements, and into the twenty-first century. American Freemasons explores some of the causes for the rise and fall of membership in the fraternity and why it has attracted men in such large numbers for centuries.
American Freemasons is the perfect introduction to understanding a society that, while shrouded in mystery, has played an integral role in the lives and communities of millions of Americans.
Copublished with the National Heritage Museum.
Contents
Foreword Preface Chart of American Freemasonry Introduction Chapter 1 Enlightenment Freemasonry in Britain and Europe, 1600-1800Chapter 2 Peaceable CitizensFreemasonry in Colonial and Revolutionary America, 1730-1800Chapter 3 Act Honorably Freemasonry and Federalist America, 1800-1835Part Two Building Freemasonry and American Community,1835-1920Chapter 4 The Foundation of Every Virtue Masonic Self-Improvement, 1835-1870Chapter 5 Safely Lodged Secret Rituals and Freemasonry, 1870-1900Chapter 6 Relieve the Distressed Mutual Bene?t in the Industrial Age, 1870-1900Chapter 7 From Labor to Refreshment Fraternal Fun, 1880-1910Chapter 8 Powers and Properties of Magnitudes Tensions in the Lodge, 1900-1920Part Three Adorning American Communities, 1920-2000Chapter 9 Plain DealingThe Rotarian Age and Freemasonry's New Personality, 1920-1941Chapter 10 One Family The Masonic Good Life, 1942-1965Chapter 11 They are All Exhausted Freemasons' Service for New Communities, 1966-2000Notes Suggested Reading Index Photography Credits
