The Revolutions of the late eighteenth century in Europe and the United States are inevitably bound up with the history of Freemasonry. This is because many of the most prominent revolutionaries were members of Masonic Lodges, or drew upon ideas of governance and Reason which had been touted by Masons as essential to their movement. In addition, Masonry offered a semi-secret link between established money and new money, and a way for men to validate their social mobility with established rituals and a common fraternal bond that involved the promotion and protection of each other (women were not added to this structure until the 1850s, and then in a separate order). Masons were and are Deists who were opposed to Churches, particularly of the Catholic sort, and hierarchical, to the point of obsessive secrecy and obscurity in their higher rites. Nevertheless, many prominent American leaders, such as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Andrew Jackson were open about their member...
This is a collection of personal and largely unedited observations covering the years from 2006 to now; I assert my copyright but am fine with links and footnotes. Some posts are obviously much more researched than others, and any errors are wholly mine except where I have innocently disseminated or linked to other bloggers or commentators.