Freemasonry is a fraternal order that originated in Britain and later spread internationally through colonial expansion and migration. Its members, known as Freemasons, traditionally meet in local groups called lodges, which historically were male-only. Freemasonry emphasizes moral development, mutual aid, and ethical conduct, often expressed through symbolic rituals. Over time, the organization has interacted with a wide range of cultures and has at times faced political and social opposition.
Freemasonry has had a significant influence on the history of the United States. North America remains an important center of Freemasonry today. However, since peaking in 1959 with over 4.1 million Freemasons, membership numbers have declined significantly in recent decades. In 2023, there were just under 870,000 Freemasons in the U.S., spread across thousands of lodges in all 50 states.
History Grand Lodges founded during the Colonial Era
Freemasonry spread from the British Isles during the Colonial Era as the original Grand Lodges in England began issuing charters in North America. Starting in 1730, the "Modern" Grand Lodge of England granted warrants for Provincial Grand Lodges in the colonies. These warrants were initially issued to individuals appointed as deputies of the Grand Master, which led to overlapping jurisdictions and administrative confusion.
Following the establishment of the rival "Ancient" Grand Lodge of England, separate Provincial Grand Lodges were chartered under its authority, further complicating governance. The two competing systems, known as the "Ancients" and the "Moderns", became the dominant organizational branches of Freemasonry in the English-speaking world during the eighteenth century.
Timeline of Grand Lodges foundations in North America "Coxe" Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, & New York (Moderns) - Est. 1730. Warrant issued to Daniel Coxe. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania dates itself from the formation of this Provincial Grand Lodge.Borneman, Henry S. Early Freemasonry in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: The Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania, 1931. Facsimile of letter in Appendix D.Barrat, Norris S. & Julius F. Sachse. Freemasonry in Pennsylvania, 1727-1907, As Shown by the Records of Lodge No. 2, F. & A.M. of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: New Era Printing Company, 1908. p. 3-4. Provincial Grand Lodge of New England (Moderns) - Est. 1733. Warrant issued to Henry Price. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts dates itself from the formation of this Provincial Grand Lodge. Provincial Grand Lodge of South Carolina - Est. 1736. Provincial Grand Lodge of North Carolina - Est. 1771. Provincial Grand Lodge of New York (Moderns) - Est. 1738-1780s. Warrants issued to Francis Goelet (1738–1753), to George Harrison (1753–1771) and to Sir John Johnson (from 1771). As Johnson was a Loyalist during the American Revolution, he is believed to have taken his warrant with him when he fled to Canada, thus leaving the Moderns Lodges without a Provincial Grand Master.Bicentennial Commemorative Volume of Holland Lodge No. 8, published by the Lodge, New York, 1988. pp 9-12 Provincial Grand Lodge for North America (Scotland) - Est. 1757. Warrant issued to Colonel John Young.Coil, Henry Wilson; "Massachusetts", pg. 412; Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia; publ. 1961, 1996, Richmond Va. Provincial Grand Lodge for Pennsylvania (Ancients) - Est. 1761. Warrant issued to William Ball.Coil, Henry Wilson; "America, Freemasonry into", pg. 33; Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia"; publ. 1961, 1996, Richmond Va. Provincial Grand Lodge of New York ("Athol Charter" - Ancients) - Est. 1781-1784. Although warranted by the "Ancients", the final Provincial Grand Master, Chancellor Robert R. Livingston (PGM: 1784–87), was actually the Master of a Lodge under the Jurisdiction of the Moderns, thus uniting the two branches of English Freemasonry in New York State. Livingston continued in office as the first Grand Master of the independent GL of NY.
Structure of early Freemasonry Freemasonry in the colonies did not initially form a unified American organization. Individual lodges operated under charters issued by English or Scottish Grand Lodges or under the supervision of a Provincial Grand Master appointed by them. As a result, multiple competing jurisdictions could exist within a single colony. In addition to the first English Grand Lodge, founded in 1717, the rival Antient Grand Lodge of England, established in 1751, and the Grand Lodge of Scotland later also granted charters to North American lodges. No overarching American Grand Lodge emerged during the colonial period; the lodges and provincial Grand Lodges remained largely autonomous.
The split between the Moderns and the Ancients stemmed from a group of predominantly Irish Freemasons in London who, under the leadership of Laurence Dermott, founded a rival Grand Lodge in 1751. The names were polemical: the new organization called itself the Ancients because it accused the older Grand Lodge of having altered traditional rituals and neglected Masonic traditions. Social differences also lay behind the ritual dispute. The early lodges of the Moderns in the colonies were primarily supported by merchants, lawyers, government officials, and other members of the urban upper class, while the Ancients increasingly admitted artisans, small merchants, and soldiers and more consistently filled their leadership positions through elections.
In religious matters, the Moderns drew on the “religion in which all men agree” as formulated in James Anderson’s Masonic Constitutions of 1723. They required belief in a Supreme God (deism) but avoided affiliation with any particular denomination, thereby incorporating elements of the Enlightenment and natural religion. In contrast, the Ancients more frequently used explicitly Christianity as their orientation. In the colonies, the Ancients attracted more members, eventually outnumbering the Moderns, whose ranks included important American revolutionaries such as Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. The Masonic schism was finally resolved in 1813, when the Moderns adopted the fourth degree of the Ancients, who in turn accepted Freemasonry’s deistic orientation.
Freemasonry and the American revolution Prominent Freemasons during the Revolutionary era included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Joseph Warren, and Paul Revere. The US Constitution reflected Masonic ideals such as equality, freedom of speech, and religious tolerance. Franklin, who championed the deist and Enlightenment ideals of the Moderns, was closely associated with Freemasonry and initiated the French philosopher Voltaire into a Parisian lodge after he had participated in the American Revolution. Structural similarities have been noted between Anderson’s Masonic Constitutions, Franklin’s Albany Plan of Union, the Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution. Franklin’s Albany Plan adopted the Masonic Constitution in part, word for word. Of the 55 delegates who participated in the U.S. Constitutional Convention, 33 were Freemasons. Haym Salomon, one of the revolution's most important financiers, was also a Freemason.
The Masonic influence on the symbolic language of the young republic was most evident in public ceremonies. On September 18, 1793, Washington laid the cornerstone of the Capitol as part of a Masonic ritual. He wore Masonic regalia as representatives of the Grand Lodge of Maryland and several lodges from Maryland and Virginia consecrated the cornerstone with wheat, wine, and oil. Some masonic sources view the architecture of the capital—such as the Capitol, the Washington Monument, and the White House—as influenced by Masonic architecture.How did Freemasonry Influence the Design of Washington, D.C.? The Masonic Philosophical Society However, historians see no reliable evidence for the frequently claimed intentional inclusion of a square, compass, or other Masonic symbols in Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s (possibly a Mason) design of Washington.
Later Grand Lodges
After the American Revolution, the various Provincial Grand Lodges were dissolved, and the Lodges within each state formed independent Grand Lodges. These new Grand Lodges, in turn, chartered lodges in the expanding western territories and newly admitted states. As each new state was established, the lodges operating within its borders typically convened to form their own Grand Lodges.Albert Gallatin Mackey, The History of Freemasonry, Vol. 6 (Masonic History Co., NY, 1898) membership by state p 1485; online
African-American lodges
Prince Hall Freemasonry was founded in 1784 by the black activist Prince Hall as a branch of Freemasonry for African Americans in North America.Peter P. Hinks and Stephen Kantrowitz eds., All Men Free and Brethren: Essays on the History of African American Freemasonry (Cornell University Press, 2013). It consists of two main branches: the independent State Prince Hall Grand Lodges, most of which are recognized by predominantly white Masonic jurisdictions, and those that operate under the jurisdiction of the National Grand Lodge. Prince Hall Freemasonry is the oldest and largest predominantly African American fraternal in the United States, with more than 300,000 initiated members.David G. Hackett, That Religion in Which All Men Agree: Freemasonry in American Culture (U. of California Press, 2015) pp 151–174.
Rapid growth 1800–1820 Masonic membership expanded rapidly during the first quarter of the 19th century, especially in the Northeastern United States. By 1800, there were 11 Grand Lodges in the United States, overseeing 347 subordinate lodges and approximately 16,000 members. By 1820, New York alone had 300 lodges with about 15,000 members, and by 1825 the state added another 150 lodges and 5,000 members.Ronald P. Formisano, For the People: American populist movements from the revolution to the 1850s (2008) p. 96.
Internationally, Freemasonry also expanded during this period, gaining a presence in Latin America and continental Europe, where French lodges became predominated and were often associated with politics and religious movements in the region.Milton Arrieta-López, "Freemasonry in Colombia (18th-19th centuries): French or continental origin, leading Freemasons, the Catholic Church, political parties and revolutionary elements in South America." Perseitas (2020) online.
Anti-Masonic Party The Anti-Masonic Party was a single-issue political party that emerged in the late 1820s in opposition to Freemasonry. It later sought to develop into a broader political movement by expanding its platform to address additional public issues. The party was formed following the disappearance of William Morgan, a former Mason who had become a vocal critic of the organization. His disappearance generated widespread speculation of Masonic involvement and helped fuel anti-Masonic sentiment.
Anti-Masons argued that Freemasonry posed a threat to American republican values by exerting undue influence within government and claimed that the organization was hostile to evangelical Christianity. Concern over what was perceived as the political power of Freemasonry led to the formation of the Anti-Masonic Party. In New York State, the Anti-Masons replaced the National Republicans as the primary opposition to the Democratic Party.