The Legendary Period
The Mediaeval Period
The Modern Period
The Legendary Period
According to the legends of Freemasonry, the origins of the Masonic fraternity date from the construction of the Temple of King Solomon.
The undertaking was so vast that a new form of organization was required to ensure that the Temple was completed in a timely and correct fashion, and this led to the development of organization of the stonemasons and architects into various grades and classes.
These grades are reflected in todays degrees of freemasonry, and are the three basic levels that member join and aspire to advance through to become Master Masons
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The Mediaeval Period
The generally accepted origin of Freemasonry, until recently, has been in the stonemason's guilds of the Middle Ages.
The term "free" in Freemason indicated that the Mason was not bound to the land as a serf, or otherwise restricted, but was a freeman allowed to travel about the country, as was necessary because his trade might require construction in many different locations.
This was remarkable in an age when almost no one traveled more than twenty miles from his home during his entire lifetime.
Masons in the Middle Ages constructed many edifices, but particular attention has always focussed on the great cathedrals built during that period.
In order to construct such marvels, it was necessary to have considerable education in the principles of geometry, arithmetic, and engineering, and the guild of stonemasons, including the architects, became one of the few repositories of learning outside the clergy, and the knowledge of these building sciences were an extremely closely guarded guild secret.
As the wave of cathedral building slowed and the Renaissance began, underemployeed Freemasons of that time sought to maintain their organizations by accepting into membership, for discussion of the philosophical and other knowledge of the Lodge, certain gentlemen and members of the upper classes who were not actual workers in stone.
It is this process of acceptance, along with the original freedom, that the term "Free and Accepted Masons" comes from. These lodges then evolved into the modern, purely philosophical (or "speculative," as the Masonic term has it) Lodges. However, two other theories of the mediaeval origin of Freemasonry have recently been advanced. One suggests that the Masons were descendants of the Knights Templar, a powerful and wealthy order of knights during the Crusades who were suppressed by the King of France and the Pope during the early 14th century.
Many Templars were put to death, but some survived and it is thought by some that these former Templars preserved their fraternity by disguising it in the form of Freemasonry.
An even more recent theory traces the origin of Masonry not to the stonemason guilds, but to persecuted Catholics in England during the 17th century. It is claimed that these individuals founded Lodges as a way to preserve their contacts while hiding from the Anglicans during the various Jacobite upheavals. The lengthy hostility of the Catholic Church to Freemasonry would appear to cast doubt upon this thesis, the idea does deserve some serious consideration by historians.
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The Modern Period
In Europe
The modern period of Freemasonry dates from the founding of the first Grand Lodge on St. John's Day, 1717, in London when four "old lodges" gathered together at the Goose and Gridiron Ale House and organized the first Grand Lodge.
The time was perfect for an institution of free-thinkers such as Masons to expand into the Western world. The organizations of Masonry spread rapidly from England to the Continent, particularly to France, Austria-Hungary, and the Germanic states. Shortly, lodges would be organized in North America as well.
Rival English Grand Lodges
The first Grand Lodge in England was soon to be challenged by lodges in other parts of the British Isles, notably Ireland. Whatever the case, the new organization sought to attract members by claiming greater authenticity through the use of the term "Ancient" as part of their name.
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Lodges in the New World
The Ancient and Modern Lodges in England were eventually merged into one organization, the United Grand Lodge of England, in 1813. By this time, however, both groups of Masons had been chartering lodges in the New World. This fact accounts for the great diversity of ritual content among the states in America, although the precise nature of the ritual cannot be determined by examining whether a particular Grand Lodge styles itself as "Ancient Free and Accepted Masons" or merely "Free and Accepted Masons." While there is considerable disagreementto what the various origins are, it appears that the "Ancient" masonic ritual is considerably briefer than the "Modern" version. Some feel the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania probably has what is closest to the pure Ancient ritual in use, while a number of states near and along the northern border of the US (e.g., Connecticut, Minnesota, Wisconsin) seem to have the most lengthy form of ritual.
A significant difference among states is whether the ritual is kept unwritten (communicated to new masons from mouth to ear only) or whether a cipher of the ritual is permitted to be used; the presence of a cipher indicates influence by the Modern organization.
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Lodges in the USA
The first Lodges in the USA were chartered directly by Lodges or Grand Lodges in Britain; after awhile, however, Lodges in the colonies would issue warrants to form new Lodges themselves and eventually organized their own (Provincial, during the colonial period, but independent later on) Grand Lodges.
The first truly independent Grand Lodge in America was organized by four Lodges meeting in Virginia.
As each had been chartered by a different Grand Lodge in other states, the resulting ritual was a mixture of that in use in the other states.
Today there is a Grand Lodge for each of the 50 states, as well as one for the District of Columbia. That is a fairly recent development, as until just a few years ago, the Grand Lodge of California had jurisdiction over the Lodges in Hawaii.
The Grand Lodges in the United States observe a custom of exclusive geographic jurisdiction (with some few exceptions in Alaska), and no Grand Lodge may charter Lodges in the territory of another Grand Lodge. This custom is exclusive only to America.
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Masonry in Latin America
Masonry also reached Latin America during the late 18th and early 19th century, despite opposition from conservative political and religious elements. This opposition was probably very well-founded, as a number of the liberators of South America like Simon Bolivar, were Freemasons.
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Later American Masonic History
Masonry played a considerable role in early American history. Many of the Founding Fathers were Masons (about 1/3 of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and a like proportion of those attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 were Masons), including Franklin and Washington.
The tale that a Lodge meeting was held and adjourned to organize the Boston Tea Party, however, is entirely apocryphal. It is probable that some of those who dressed as Indians and dumped tea overboard into the Boston Harbor were Masons, but the Lodge itself was not used to program the event.
There are tales of British troops carefully preserving American Masonic property during the Revolutionary War and turning it over to proper Masonic authorities under a flag of truce.
Masonry in America experienced a considerable setback during the 1820's, when a period of Anti-Masonic sentiment reached such a level as to have a candidate run for President on a platform of opposition to the Lodge. During that period, many Masonic bodies turned in their charters and ceased to exist. The uproar stemmed from a fraudulent claim that Masons had executed a turncoat brother in New York for exposing the secrets of the Lodge. Like the Know-nothings and anti-Catholic fever of a few years later, the fanaticism passed from the scene, but it was some time before Masonic bodies returned to their former prominence.
During the American Civil War, Masons fought on both sides, but there are many tales of battlefield kindness rendered to a Brother found wearing a uniform of the other color, as well as stories of prisoners of war allowed to attend Lodge on parole, or Masonic funerals conducted for a fallen enemy soldier.
Masonry played an important role in the social life of a significant number of Americans throughout the later 19th and early 20th centuries. Most prominent members of society were also members of the Lodge, and often, Lodge events were the lion's share of what constituted entertainment in many small towns. Other fraternal organizations arose to compete with the Masons, such as the Grange, the Elks, the Moose, and the Odd Fellows. Masonic charity supported many through hard times, long before the invention of the social safety net in the 1930s.
Membership in the Masonic fraternity reached a peak in the late 1950s and has been declining since that time. Similar declining numbers have also affected other fraternal organizations, as well as business clubs, churches, and the like.
There are a number of explanations advanced for this decline, such as the rise of mass forms of entertainment available in the home, the greater demands of the work and commuting environment, and so on. No one has a certain answer of how the decline may be reversed, but it seems that the prominent role that the Lodge played in the social structure of many towns and urban areas is not likely to be seen again until the overall social structure of the United States changes back to a more outward orientation.
Surveys do currently show that many American men are simply unaware of the existence of the Masonic fraternity but might be interested in joining an organization of its description; fifty or more years ago, there was virtually no one unaware of the nature of the Lodge.
Today each Lodge belongs to, and is governed by, a Grand Lodge which is also constrained to a certain geographical area. In the continental United States there is a Grand Lodge in each State and one in the District of Columbia, making a total of 51 Grand Lodges. Each Grand Lodge is the supreme authority in its own jurisdiction or State, and owes no allegiance to any higher authority. Each Grand Lodge complies to the Ancient Masonic usages and Landmarks which have come from past ages, it adopts it's own laws and ritual, sets it's own standards of operation, and governs the Lodges and Masons within its own jurisdiction.
It being a world-wide Fraternity, some wonder how it maintains a desired standard without a Supreme world authority. While the ritual and regulations may vary slightly from one jurisdiction to another, the doctrines and principles are the same through out the world, with every Mason receiving the same basic teachings.
Because of its very nature, there is no way to change Freemasonry to suit the tastes, opinions, or prejudices of each candidate or member; if such were possible there would soon be no basic Masonic principles or doctrines, and Freemasonry would become just another organization. Since it is a proven system of self-improvement, each candidate must accept its doctrines and principles, and comply with its laws and regulations.
How well he can conform and how much he improves himself, is for each to learn for himself.
Here in Alabama, Prior to May, 1823, there were four chapters in Alabama having been chartered by the General Grand Chapter.
A convention of the delegates of these chapters was held in Mobile in May and June, 1823, and it was decided to form a Grand Chapter for the State.
On June 2, 1827, the Grand Chapter was reorganized, and met in December following, and annually until 1830, when it ceased to meet.
In December, 1837, the delegates from the several chapters met and reorganized the Grand Chapter, and it has continued as a constituent of the General Grand Chapter .
