Anti-Masonic Party

THE ANTI-MASONIC PARTY in the 1830s was an early Third Party approach founded on a single topic, the fear of Masonic conspiracy, which led to hysteria and was used for campaign purposes. The Anti-Masonic Party was thereby only a sporadic representation (in form of a political party) of an Anti-Masonic movement from the Enlightenment in the 18th century through today, whereby especially the European Fascist and Nazi movements had firm anti-Masonic issues within their political agendas. Whereas the Anti-Masonic Party in the United States in the 1830s was certainly part of this broad and longstanding anti-Masonic movement, the motivation of the party founders was quite distinct from anti-Masonic protagonists from a Catholic or Fascist/Nazi background.

Enlightenment and Freemasonry went together. Confronted with the reign of absolute monarchs, enlightenment with a political agenda to change the foundations of government needed to hide such agendas and to embrace secrecy as a form of organization. The American Revolution marked the beginning of the end of absolute monarchs; many of the leading American Revolutionaries were Freemasons, as well as those from the French Revolution of 1789. The first Anti-Masonic measures were seen in this context, the most prominent case was the prohibition of the Illuminati in Bavaria in 1785. The elaboration of anti-Masonic conspiracy theories followed in the 1790s as a reaction to the French Revolution, notably by the French catholic clergyman Augustin Barruel (Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism) and his British follower John Robinson (Proofs of a Conspiracy). By 1800, the foundations of the anti-Masonic ideology were firmly routed in Europe.

In the United States, Freemasonry had a much better standing. Many of the elite of the American Revolution were Freemasons; the most notable was President Washington. Over the decades, the enlightened spirits of Freemasonry of the 1770s and 1780s had transformed into more practical networks for economic and political power. Although any of the elaborated conspiracy theories about Freemasonry is pure nonsense, the influence of some Freemason lodges in 1820s and 1830s in the United States could raise justified doubt in terms of democratic ideals. This led some people to write and publish anti-Masonic propaganda literature, which in many cases had not only a pro-democratic intent, but also a clear focus on moneymaking. William Morgan was one of those anti-Masonic authors. A former Mason, rumors emerged that he would publish the secrets of the Masons, thereby neglecting his vows of secrecy.

The square and compass are symbols of Freemasonry. The “G” in the middle has been claimed to represent God or Geometry.

Then he suddenly vanished in 1826. Rumors emerged that the Masons had killed him. This started a hysteria that transformed into a political movement. For years, conventions were held in several states, and in 1831 at a national meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, a presidential candidate was designated. Vermont was the only state to elect William Wirt and his vice-presidential candidate Amos Ellmaker. The party movement lost momentum and faded away. Nevertheless, the anti-Masonic motive, whether pro-democratic or Catholic or fascist, re-emerges periodically, especially in European and Latin American election campaigns.

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