Freemasonry and America's Founding Fathers

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1. The overwhelming majority of the Founding Fathers were not Freemasons
Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, James Madison, Charles Carroll, John Jay, Samuel Adams and other prominent Founding Fathers were not Masons.
Of those who signed the Declaration of Independence, a maximum of one in six (16%) could have been freemasons; and of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention that formed the U.S. Constitution, a maximum of one in four (25%) could have been freemasons.

2. Many who were Masons were at best inactive
Several of the few who were Masons (such as Dickenson, Hooper, McHenry and others) actually only had minimal contact or involvement with Freemasonry—a fact often ignored by today’s Masonic (and Anti-Masonic) propagandists. Today many nevertheless blindly assert that Masonry was a major influence. That makes as much sense as saying that someone who attended church or prayed or read their Bible only a few times in their lifetime was a strongly dedicated religious individual.

3. The Freemasonry of the Founders is not the Freemasonry of today
From the 1730’s, through the American Revolution, up until approximately 1813, American Freemasonry was an organization that not only adhered to but even required orthodox Christian doctrinal teachings as part of its practices. Many look at the paganism in European Freemasonry at the same time period and conclude that paganism was in American Freemasonry as well. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Europe and America had little in common at that time. Thomas Jefferson forcefully proclaimed: “the comparison of our governments with those of Europe are like a comparison of heaven and hell.”

An early Masonic guidebook, AHIMAN REZON, written in 1756, set forth a model prayer for use in American Lodges: “Most holy and glorious Lord God…in Thy name we assemble and meet together, most humbly beseeching Thee to bless us in all our undertakings, that we may know and serve Thee aright, that all our doings may tend to Thy glory and the salvation of our souls…This we most humbly beg, in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.” This prayer would not be presented today because the current Masonic guidebook, THE MOSONIC RITUALIST, says the exact opposite: “In a well ordered lodge, Jesus is never mentioned except in vague philosophical terms. Prayers are never prayed in His name…” Dr. Robert Morey (author of a work critical of American Freemasonry--The Truth About Masons) examined Masonic literature in chronological order starting with 1723, and concluded that it is “crystal clear that Freemasonry was understood to be a Christian institution until the Anti-Masonic movement of 1826.”

Between 1813 and 1825 Masonry began to downgrade Jesus and embrace a form of spiritism, universalism, and mysticism. Masonry began to accept individuals of other faiths; as a consequence, the emphasis on Christian and a Christian God was removed and replaced with a new emphasis on a general, more universal and all-inclusive God that would be inoffensive to people of other religions and faiths.

This is when the blood oaths began to be said. Blood oaths were not around at the time of the Founders. In 1724 the oaths were quite different than today: “You must serve God according the best of your knowledge and institution and be a true liege man [faithful subject]…and help and assist any brother as far as your ability will allow. By the contents of the Sacred Writ you will perform this oath.”

An Anti-Masonic movement arose between 1825-1835. During this decade there was a mass exodus of Christians from the Lodges. The Fathers of Modern Masonry, Albert Mackey (1807-1881) and Albert Pike (1809-1891), came in after this period and introduced more paganism and occultism. As a result of the Christians leaving, the weird Masonic practices we know of today flourished with almost no resistance. In fact, Pike openly acknowledged: “The Freemasonry of the United States in not what it was in the days of our Fathers.”

Significantly, modern critics of Freemasonry provide virtually no offensive quotes from early American Masonic works. Instead they (1) regularly cite offensive Masonic works from the period of Masonic resurgence (or from works of European Freemasonry); and then (2) wrongly criticize early Freemasons as if they were the Freemasons of the 1870’s. This non-scholarly practice has led to numerous erroneous conclusions regarding the influence of Freemasonry in the American Founding.

Early American Freemasonry was in no way hostile to the teachings of Orthodox Christianity; to the contrary it jealously embraced those teachings and regularly invited Christian ministers into its Lodges to preach sermons, conduct Christian services, and cooperate in furthering Christian ministry opportunities and services.

4. Is American Government Permeated with Masonic Symbolism?
History unequivocally demonstrates that the Illuminati never took hold in America and the American Founders actively opposed its organization and beliefs. Early maps of Washington D.C. from 1791 and 1901 prove that the Founders did not lay out the city in Masonic or Satanic symbolism.

Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson designed the Great Seal for America at first. Nothing was decided on so it finally ended up being designed by Charles Thomson. Charles Thomson was not a Freemason. He explains the symbolism: “The pyramid signifies strength and duration. The eye over it and the motto allude to the many signal interpositions of Providence in favor of the American cause. The date underneath is that of the Declaration of Independence, and the words under it signify the beginning of the new American era, which commences from that date.” Notice: the translation is not “A New World Order” as many Anti-Masons claim (in fact, the literal translation of “A New Word Order would be “Novus Ordo Mundi” not “Novus Ordo Seclorum”); instead, the proper translation of the phrase it “ a new order of the ages” speaking of the government of the United States.

Masonic Services Association confirm that “The eye on (the Great) seal represents an active intervention of God in the affairs of men, while the Masonic symbol stands for a passive awareness by God of the activities of men.” The first “official” use and definition of the all-seeing eye as a Masonic symbol seems to have come in 1797 with The Freemasons Monitor by Thomas Smith Webb—14 years after Congress adopted the design for the seal.”

5. The overwhelming majority of both Masonic and non-Masonic Founders were generally orthodox Christians who were very pro-God and pro-Christ in both words and actions
If the early Freemasonry had been incompatible with orthodox Christianity, then that lack of Christian orthodoxy would have been evident in the writings of those Founding Fathers who were masons. Such, however, was not the case.

George Washington was a strong Christian who never presided over any Masonic Lodges contrary to many paintings we see today. ALL of the paintings with George Washington in Masonic dress are a lie. It never happened. Based on historical facts, it may be reasonably concluded that (1) Washington was a Freemason, but an inactive one; (2) Washington has been introduced to Freemasonry during the French and Indian War as a matter of British Military tradition, providing one of the few opportunities for equality in a British monarchal society where royalty, class and caste meant everything; and (3) the meeting in the military attended by Washington frequently included religious services, with sermons delivered by Christian clergy.

Benjamin Franklin, though not a Christian, did, however, promote Christianity in his life. When Thomas Paine published Age of Reason, Franklin sharply rebuked him for it. And not only did Franklin suggest a Biblical symbol and a religious motto for America’s Great Seal, but he also personally drafted a statewide prayer proclamation for his own State of Pennsylvania, and worked to raise church attendance in the state. He was instrumental in the early development of education for black Americans, helping found a series of schools that trained black students in academics and in the principles of Christianity. And it was also Franklin who—at the Constitutional Convention—offered a compelling, Bible-based call for daily prayer and the establishment of Chaplains.

Other Founding Father Masons with strong Christian content in their writing and life include John Hancock, Richard Stockton, John Dickenson, Robert Treat Paine, James McHenry, Gunning Bedford, Jr., and Francis Scott Key.

For more examples, information and details of all that was written above (backed up by 309 sources of information) please read the entire book written by David Barton on,
“The Question of Freemasonry and the Founding Fathers.”