A review of "Washington´s Masonic Correspondence in the Library of Congress"
The first U.S. president, George Washington, was a
Freemason. In and of itself, this is unremarkable. Masonry was popular during
the period in question, and many illustrious persons were members of the Craft.
In Sweden, King Gustavus III, his African servant Badin, and his assassin
Anckarström were all Masons! Politically, many Masons supported the
Enlightenment, but that's where their fraternity ends, Masons being about as
split as Christians or Muslims on the issues of the day.
However, due to the secretive nature of Freemasonry, Masons were often accused of foul play by conspiracy theorists already during Washington's lifetime, and the allegations haven't abated since. In the United States, there has even been an Anti-Masonic Party (directed against President Andrew Jackson). Since many conspiracy theorists simultaneously support Washington and the Founding Fathers, the president's Masonic involvement has become something of a liability, Anti-Masons often trying to prove that he really wasn't a Mason after all. More radical conspiracists accept that the first president was a Free Mason, and therefore refuse to support him.
This is a reprint of a book published in 1915, which contains the preserved correspondence pertaining to Freemasonry between George Washington and various Masonic bodies. Some of the material can be found in Washington's papers in the Library of Congress, other comes from Masonic archives. I think it proves conclusively that Washington was a Mason. Indeed, I don't think any historian seriously doubts this. Washington was a member of the Alexandria Lodge in Pennsylvania, which later transferred its allegiance to Virginia. Washington also attended meetings of other Masonic lodges. At two occasions, Washington professed his membership of the Order in public: during a procession organized by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1778, and during the laying of the foundation stone to the Capitol in Washington City in 1793. At the latter occasion, Washington wore a Masonic apron he had received as a gift from Lafayette.
Those who deny Washington's Masonry usually point to his correspondence with one G W Snyder, a preacher who had sent the General a copy of John Robinson's conspiracist book about the Illuminati. Snyder was under the erroneous impression (quite wide-spread at the time) that Washington was the actual Grand Master of all U.S. Masons, and therefore called on him to purge the Illuminati and “Jacobins” from the ranks of Masonry. In response, Washington correctly denied being the Grand Master, but then proceeded to deny all other involvement in Masonic lodges: “The fact is, I preside over none nor have I been in one, more than once or twice, within the last thirty years.” This was obviously a white lie, perhaps made necessary by the vociferous anti-Masonic agitation of Snyder and his associates.
Interestingly, Washington then proceeded to defend the Craft from any accusations of conspiracy. In his first letter to Snyder, he said: “I believe nothwithstanding, that none of the Lodges in this Country are contaminated with the principles ascribed to the society of the Illuminati”. In his second letter, the Founding Father added: "It was not my intention to doubt that, the doctrines of the Illuminati, and principles of Jacobism [sic] had not spread in the United States. On the contrary, no one is more fully satisfied of this fact that I am. The idea I meant to convey, was, that I did not believe that the Lodges of Free Masons in this Country had, as Societies, endeavoured to propagate the diabolical tenets of the first, or the pernicious principles of the latter, (if they are susceptible of separation) That individuals of them may have done it, or that the founder, or instrument employed to found the Democratic Societies in the United States, may have had these objects, and actually had a separation of the people from their Government in view, is too evident to be questioned.”
In a letter to the Grand Lodge of Maryland, Washington originally wanted to include a polemic against Snyder, but for some reason deleted its second sentence before the letter was sent. The polemic reads: “So far as I am acquainted with the principles & Doctrines of Free Masonry, I conceive it to be founded in benevolence and to be exercised only for the good of mankind. If it has been a Cloak to promote improper or nefarious objects, it is a melancholly proof that in unworthy hands, the best institutions may be made use of to promote the worst designs.”
The rest of Washington's Masonic correspondence included in this volume is of much less interest, and essentially consists of florid greetings from various Masonic bodies, and Washington's somewhat shorter replies. Two items do stand out, however. During the Revolutionary War, two American agents in France sent the Commander in Chief a Masonic apron made by nuns at a convent in Nantes! In 1790, Washington attended a Masonic meeting in a Jewish synagogue in Rhode Island, the state Grand Lodge being presided over by Moses Seixas, a successful Sephardic merchant and banker. No big deal either, unless you are a hopeless anti-Semite who believes in a grand American-Masonic-Jewish conspiracy!
Since this is a rather unusual work, perhaps I'm permitted to point out that it exists in several reprint editions, and that it's also available free on the web.
However, due to the secretive nature of Freemasonry, Masons were often accused of foul play by conspiracy theorists already during Washington's lifetime, and the allegations haven't abated since. In the United States, there has even been an Anti-Masonic Party (directed against President Andrew Jackson). Since many conspiracy theorists simultaneously support Washington and the Founding Fathers, the president's Masonic involvement has become something of a liability, Anti-Masons often trying to prove that he really wasn't a Mason after all. More radical conspiracists accept that the first president was a Free Mason, and therefore refuse to support him.
This is a reprint of a book published in 1915, which contains the preserved correspondence pertaining to Freemasonry between George Washington and various Masonic bodies. Some of the material can be found in Washington's papers in the Library of Congress, other comes from Masonic archives. I think it proves conclusively that Washington was a Mason. Indeed, I don't think any historian seriously doubts this. Washington was a member of the Alexandria Lodge in Pennsylvania, which later transferred its allegiance to Virginia. Washington also attended meetings of other Masonic lodges. At two occasions, Washington professed his membership of the Order in public: during a procession organized by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1778, and during the laying of the foundation stone to the Capitol in Washington City in 1793. At the latter occasion, Washington wore a Masonic apron he had received as a gift from Lafayette.
Those who deny Washington's Masonry usually point to his correspondence with one G W Snyder, a preacher who had sent the General a copy of John Robinson's conspiracist book about the Illuminati. Snyder was under the erroneous impression (quite wide-spread at the time) that Washington was the actual Grand Master of all U.S. Masons, and therefore called on him to purge the Illuminati and “Jacobins” from the ranks of Masonry. In response, Washington correctly denied being the Grand Master, but then proceeded to deny all other involvement in Masonic lodges: “The fact is, I preside over none nor have I been in one, more than once or twice, within the last thirty years.” This was obviously a white lie, perhaps made necessary by the vociferous anti-Masonic agitation of Snyder and his associates.
Interestingly, Washington then proceeded to defend the Craft from any accusations of conspiracy. In his first letter to Snyder, he said: “I believe nothwithstanding, that none of the Lodges in this Country are contaminated with the principles ascribed to the society of the Illuminati”. In his second letter, the Founding Father added: "It was not my intention to doubt that, the doctrines of the Illuminati, and principles of Jacobism [sic] had not spread in the United States. On the contrary, no one is more fully satisfied of this fact that I am. The idea I meant to convey, was, that I did not believe that the Lodges of Free Masons in this Country had, as Societies, endeavoured to propagate the diabolical tenets of the first, or the pernicious principles of the latter, (if they are susceptible of separation) That individuals of them may have done it, or that the founder, or instrument employed to found the Democratic Societies in the United States, may have had these objects, and actually had a separation of the people from their Government in view, is too evident to be questioned.”
In a letter to the Grand Lodge of Maryland, Washington originally wanted to include a polemic against Snyder, but for some reason deleted its second sentence before the letter was sent. The polemic reads: “So far as I am acquainted with the principles & Doctrines of Free Masonry, I conceive it to be founded in benevolence and to be exercised only for the good of mankind. If it has been a Cloak to promote improper or nefarious objects, it is a melancholly proof that in unworthy hands, the best institutions may be made use of to promote the worst designs.”
The rest of Washington's Masonic correspondence included in this volume is of much less interest, and essentially consists of florid greetings from various Masonic bodies, and Washington's somewhat shorter replies. Two items do stand out, however. During the Revolutionary War, two American agents in France sent the Commander in Chief a Masonic apron made by nuns at a convent in Nantes! In 1790, Washington attended a Masonic meeting in a Jewish synagogue in Rhode Island, the state Grand Lodge being presided over by Moses Seixas, a successful Sephardic merchant and banker. No big deal either, unless you are a hopeless anti-Semite who believes in a grand American-Masonic-Jewish conspiracy!
Since this is a rather unusual work, perhaps I'm permitted to point out that it exists in several reprint editions, and that it's also available free on the web.
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