Freemason Research Paper
To answer the question about what freemasonry is one must first find the origins of the order and look at some members that have been involved in its mysterious material. Many facts about the Freemasons are those that are thought up by people that dislike the order. Though some considerer it a religion or cult, others look at the order as the ones who helped build and shape our country into what it has become today.
Looking at how Freemasonry has had its hand in the development of the United States is a great way to see how much power and knowledge this group of individuals has. Freemasonry has many deep secrets that cannot be revealed by any mason to anyone who is not a mason. Once a freemason takes the oath to his “brothers”, if he reveals any secrets of the order he will be punished by death. Although this penalty seems harsh a few secrets of masonry have been leaked out on the Internet, in books, and movies, to give us some incite on how this mysterious order operates. …show more content…
Freemasonry has been descried as, “the biggest, richest, most secret and most powerful private force in the world”(1).
It is a secular fraternal order, traditionally open to men, that promulgates the principles of morality and seeks to advance the practice of brotherly love (2). Masonry can be dated as far back as the 13th century when groups of “Union workers” would help one another other build cathedrals. Freemasonry came about at the decline of the cathedral building era. Workers did not look at themselves as a group of workers helping to build cathedrals, but rather a group of men building “cathedrals of men” (1). Freemasonry was officially born in 1717, when four lodges of men gathered at the Apple Tree Tavern in London, England (1). Within 30 years the order had spread to every country in Europe and later to the North American colonies over seas. With Lodges spread worldwide freemasonry was becoming a very powerful society who would soon be in control of governments around the
world.
Freemasonry is a diverse order that has many people in it from all over the world and also many generations. Many Freemasons in the past have included celebrities such as Michel Richards, commonly referred to as Kramer on the popular television show Seinfeld. Others also include country singer Brad Paisley, John Wayne, Clark Gable, Harry Hudini, Ty Cob, Buzz Aldren, and Arnold Palmer, just to name a few. Early Freemasonry did not allow black people into their order, so African Americans formed an order of their own called Prince Hall, in Boston, Massachusetts. Some of the Prince Hall order’s prestigious members include Reverend Jessie Jackson, the Reverend Al Sharpton, Charles Rangel and basketball player Scottie Pippen (3)
The United States is based on freemasonry, it is said that 50 freemasons signed the Declaration of independence. Fourteen U.S. presidents have been freemasons, including George Washington, Franklin Roosevelt, and Andrew Jackson. The last president to be a freemason was Harry Truman, in 1953 (4). The Freemasons help build and sculpt our country into the super power it is today. This is evident in the layout of the city, Washington D.C., which is said to be built on the teachings of freemasonry, because the streets make the Masonic sign of a square and compass, with the capital building centered in the middle. Some conspiracy theorists think that this was just a mistake by Pierre L’Enfant, the man appointed by George Washington to engineer the road system, because it is not documented that he was a freemason. Others say that this was the Freemasons leaving their mark on the nations capital.
Some of the Masonic symbols that freemasons still use to this day are the compass, square, and the “G”. The compass is representative of an instrument used to help a mason know he is at the center of a creation, and to circumscribe their desires (3). The square, a symbol of wisdom, brings together the idea of equal ness. Using wisdom one will find out how big the circle needs to be (3). The “G” is a symbol that represents the great Geometer, which are what Freemasons are. Some other symbols the Freemasons of America have are placed in hidden symbols in our currency. On the back of the dollar bill the “all Seeing Eye” is said to be a symbol of Freemasonry because when you connect the lines on it, it makes a compass and square, the symbol of Freemasonry (3). Also on the back of the dollar bill, the unfinished pyramid has thirteen levels representing each state in the union at the time of the design of the dollar bill (3). The Latin phrase on the dollar bill also is said to be of some secret meaning thought up by the masons. “Novus Ordo Seclorum”, means New World Order, which is what the United States was creating during and after the revolutionary war.
Freemasons also have secret handshakes so other members can identify who a fellow mason is, and what their rank is among Freemasons. The “foot to foot” handshake tells another mason to go and help your brother. The “knee to knee” means pray for your brother. The “breast to breast” means keep your secrets. “Hand to back” means assist your fallen brother, and “mouth to ear” means whisper good council. Also Freemasons have three indispensable jewels of a lodge, which are equality, liberty and fraternity. All of these handshakes and secret codes may seem odd to a non-mason but to masons these codes are a way of life (1).
Masonic lodges are where all freemason meetings and rituals are held. There is one Masonic lodge in every state in the United States, and at least one Masonic lodge in every country in the world (3). In these Masonic lodges there are three main degrees of a mason. The first being an apprentice, which is what every mason starts off as when they join the lodge. Second in the degree is the fellow craft man, which gets more privileges and is the keeper of most of the secrets freemasonry has to offer. The third degree in freemasonry lodges is the master mason, who conducts the meeting and holds every secret of the order, other masons in the lodge must address him as “worshipful master” (1). As each member is welcomed into a lodge they are given a white, lambskin apron, which represents purity and sacrifice (5). As each member moves up a degree they are given badges to put on their apron to represent the level that they have achieved (5).
There are certain requirements each candidate must meet before he is considered to become a Freemason. The first is that the candidate must come of his own free will. The candidate must then believe in a supreme being, which is left up to the candidates’ interpretation. The minimum age to become a mason is around 18-25 years old, depending on the jurisdiction of the lodge (1). The candidate must be of good morals and have a good reputation; also they must be of sound body and mind. This is because some Lodges have been known to deny membership due to a physical disability (1). And lastly the candidate must be free-born, which some jurisdictions have taken out because it related back to a time when men were born into slavery.
Freemasons have two rites, the Scottish rite and the York rite, or “American rite”. In the Scottish right they have thirty-three degrees of masons and do not allow atheists, blacks, women, children, or poor people. In this rite they are allowed to talk about religion and politics, and generally act as a whole group. The York rite has only ten degrees in it and is not allowed to talk about politics or religion in the lodges. They also do not allow atheists, blacks, women, children, or poor people either, only Christian masons (1).
Eight different Popes have excommunicated Freemasons from the Catholic Church, this forced freemasons to relax their admission standards to allow in more members, not only those who were catholic (1). This has forced outsiders to hypothesize with the idea that Freemasonry is a religion. Freemasonry is not a religion, it is by tradition a society of religious men, which offers no sacraments, has no theology, and does not claim to ensure any salvation after death (1).
While there is still some speculation on what the Freemasons are exactly about, given the current research done on them and the “leaked” information in books, the Internet and movies one can determine that they are a fraternal order that is trying to uphold their historical rules and regulations all the while trying to evolve with society. Each jurisdiction and lodge varies from one another, there are those that will uphold to the original rules of their creators, while others are trying to make exceptions and keep up with the times. There are also those that are trying to keep changing so that there order may stay as secretive as it once was.
Looking at how Freemasonry has had its hand in the development of the United States is a great way to see how much power and knowledge this group of individuals has. Freemasonry has many deep secrets that cannot be revealed by any mason to anyone who is not a mason. Once a freemason takes the oath to his “brothers”, if he reveals any secrets of the order he will be punished by death. Although this penalty seems harsh a few secrets of masonry have been leaked out on the Internet, in books, and movies, to give us some incite on how this mysterious order operates. …show more content…
Freemasonry has been descried as, “the biggest, richest, most secret and most powerful private force in the world”(1).
It is a secular fraternal order, traditionally open to men, that promulgates the principles of morality and seeks to advance the practice of brotherly love (2). Masonry can be dated as far back as the 13th century when groups of “Union workers” would help one another other build cathedrals. Freemasonry came about at the decline of the cathedral building era. Workers did not look at themselves as a group of workers helping to build cathedrals, but rather a group of men building “cathedrals of men” (1). Freemasonry was officially born in 1717, when four lodges of men gathered at the Apple Tree Tavern in London, England (1). Within 30 years the order had spread to every country in Europe and later to the North American colonies over seas. With Lodges spread worldwide freemasonry was becoming a very powerful society who would soon be in control of governments around the
world.
Freemasonry is a diverse order that has many people in it from all over the world and also many generations. Many Freemasons in the past have included celebrities such as Michel Richards, commonly referred to as Kramer on the popular television show Seinfeld. Others also include country singer Brad Paisley, John Wayne, Clark Gable, Harry Hudini, Ty Cob, Buzz Aldren, and Arnold Palmer, just to name a few. Early Freemasonry did not allow black people into their order, so African Americans formed an order of their own called Prince Hall, in Boston, Massachusetts. Some of the Prince Hall order’s prestigious members include Reverend Jessie Jackson, the Reverend Al Sharpton, Charles Rangel and basketball player Scottie Pippen (3)
The United States is based on freemasonry, it is said that 50 freemasons signed the Declaration of independence. Fourteen U.S. presidents have been freemasons, including George Washington, Franklin Roosevelt, and Andrew Jackson. The last president to be a freemason was Harry Truman, in 1953 (4). The Freemasons help build and sculpt our country into the super power it is today. This is evident in the layout of the city, Washington D.C., which is said to be built on the teachings of freemasonry, because the streets make the Masonic sign of a square and compass, with the capital building centered in the middle. Some conspiracy theorists think that this was just a mistake by Pierre L’Enfant, the man appointed by George Washington to engineer the road system, because it is not documented that he was a freemason. Others say that this was the Freemasons leaving their mark on the nations capital.
Some of the Masonic symbols that freemasons still use to this day are the compass, square, and the “G”. The compass is representative of an instrument used to help a mason know he is at the center of a creation, and to circumscribe their desires (3). The square, a symbol of wisdom, brings together the idea of equal ness. Using wisdom one will find out how big the circle needs to be (3). The “G” is a symbol that represents the great Geometer, which are what Freemasons are. Some other symbols the Freemasons of America have are placed in hidden symbols in our currency. On the back of the dollar bill the “all Seeing Eye” is said to be a symbol of Freemasonry because when you connect the lines on it, it makes a compass and square, the symbol of Freemasonry (3). Also on the back of the dollar bill, the unfinished pyramid has thirteen levels representing each state in the union at the time of the design of the dollar bill (3). The Latin phrase on the dollar bill also is said to be of some secret meaning thought up by the masons. “Novus Ordo Seclorum”, means New World Order, which is what the United States was creating during and after the revolutionary war.
Freemasons also have secret handshakes so other members can identify who a fellow mason is, and what their rank is among Freemasons. The “foot to foot” handshake tells another mason to go and help your brother. The “knee to knee” means pray for your brother. The “breast to breast” means keep your secrets. “Hand to back” means assist your fallen brother, and “mouth to ear” means whisper good council. Also Freemasons have three indispensable jewels of a lodge, which are equality, liberty and fraternity. All of these handshakes and secret codes may seem odd to a non-mason but to masons these codes are a way of life (1).
Masonic lodges are where all freemason meetings and rituals are held. There is one Masonic lodge in every state in the United States, and at least one Masonic lodge in every country in the world (3). In these Masonic lodges there are three main degrees of a mason. The first being an apprentice, which is what every mason starts off as when they join the lodge. Second in the degree is the fellow craft man, which gets more privileges and is the keeper of most of the secrets freemasonry has to offer. The third degree in freemasonry lodges is the master mason, who conducts the meeting and holds every secret of the order, other masons in the lodge must address him as “worshipful master” (1). As each member is welcomed into a lodge they are given a white, lambskin apron, which represents purity and sacrifice (5). As each member moves up a degree they are given badges to put on their apron to represent the level that they have achieved (5).
There are certain requirements each candidate must meet before he is considered to become a Freemason. The first is that the candidate must come of his own free will. The candidate must then believe in a supreme being, which is left up to the candidates’ interpretation. The minimum age to become a mason is around 18-25 years old, depending on the jurisdiction of the lodge (1). The candidate must be of good morals and have a good reputation; also they must be of sound body and mind. This is because some Lodges have been known to deny membership due to a physical disability (1). And lastly the candidate must be free-born, which some jurisdictions have taken out because it related back to a time when men were born into slavery.
Freemasons have two rites, the Scottish rite and the York rite, or “American rite”. In the Scottish right they have thirty-three degrees of masons and do not allow atheists, blacks, women, children, or poor people. In this rite they are allowed to talk about religion and politics, and generally act as a whole group. The York rite has only ten degrees in it and is not allowed to talk about politics or religion in the lodges. They also do not allow atheists, blacks, women, children, or poor people either, only Christian masons (1).
Eight different Popes have excommunicated Freemasons from the Catholic Church, this forced freemasons to relax their admission standards to allow in more members, not only those who were catholic (1). This has forced outsiders to hypothesize with the idea that Freemasonry is a religion. Freemasonry is not a religion, it is by tradition a society of religious men, which offers no sacraments, has no theology, and does not claim to ensure any salvation after death (1).
While there is still some speculation on what the Freemasons are exactly about, given the current research done on them and the “leaked” information in books, the Internet and movies one can determine that they are a fraternal order that is trying to uphold their historical rules and regulations all the while trying to evolve with society. Each jurisdiction and lodge varies from one another, there are those that will uphold to the original rules of their creators, while others are trying to make exceptions and keep up with the times. There are also those that are trying to keep changing so that there order may stay as secretive as it once was.