Miller, a local newspaper publisher struggling to keep his publication afloat, the successful Freemasons presented a daily reminder of wealth that seemed, for them, simply unattainable. Once Morgan had these veiled details down on paper, Miller began teasing their very public release.
In every neighboring county, Masonic chapters were soon gripped with panic, fear and outrage at what the two men might disclose. As the publish date approached, the Masons began a targeted campaign of harassment against the two would-be book publishers.
Law enforcement officers loyal to the Freemasons arrested and jailed Morgan and Miller for outstanding debts. On September 8, a posse of drunken Masons tried to destroy his print shop, and it was damaged by a small fire two days later. It seems he had borrowed a shirt and tie from the owner of the local tavern and never returned it. Late in the evening, he was bailed out by group of Masons led by Loton Lawson—the mastermind of the kidnapping, according to Light on Masonry , a 19th century compilation of documents about freemasonry.
He was escorted hurriedly into a carriage and taken away, never to be seen again. With each new county that heard the news, it seemed the brutality and drama of the kidnapping grew exponentially, while the desire to portray it accurately diminished at a similar rate.
Although they had been involved in a potential murder, the four defendants—Loton Lawson, Eli Bruce, Col. Edward Sawyer and Nicholas G. Citizens from all over New York state met and declared their intent to stop voting for candidates with Masonic ties.
That sentiment extended to the media as well, as Mason-owned newspapers were boycotted. The blindfolded new member has to pledge never to give away the secrets despite being given the "third degree" by his attackers. By the latter part of the 18th Century, Freemasonry had spread like wildfire across Scotland and England.
In the farming heartlands of Ayrshire, it caught the attention of a lowborn farmer, ambitious for greater things. Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, joined the Tarbolton Lodge in , when he was Prof Gerry Carruthers, from the University of Glasgow, said Burns could have gone to the lodge and been treated as an equal in a country where he and many other men did not have the vote.
A criticism often made of the freemasons is that they do favours for one another - and for Burns that is exactly what happened. When it looked as if hard times would force him to leave Scotland for Jamaica, it was the brotherhood that rallied round to save him.
Prof Carruthers says there were copies printed of the Kilmarnock edition of Burns' first poetry book in and two-thirds of the subscriptions were taken up by freemasons. It was freemasons further afield that propelled him to national and international fame. Another famous Scot who joined the freemasons slightly before Burns was engineer James Watt. He met influential people who could help with his development of the steam engine - an invention which changed the world.
The number of masons in high-profile public positions was a controversial subject, with many viewing the secret society as a means of bestowing favours. Ramsay McGhee was a senior police officer in the north of Scotland and remains a prominent freemason.
He says that when he was transferred to the Black Isle in half the police section were active freemasons. In the past, masons were accused of tearing up parking tickets for fellow brothers, letting them off speeding tickets or worse. Mr McGhee says that "in all honesty" only one person ever tried to do that with him. Prof Gerry Carruthers says the freemasons developed through the Scottish Enlightenment. The success and spread of Masonic thought throughout Europe led the Catholic Church to first prohibit membership in It was concerned Catholics would be asked to put their membership of the lodge above the Church.
Since then, many popes have made pronouncements about the incompatibility of Catholic doctrines and Freemasonry. The Freemasons claim to allow access to anyone who follows its tenets. In the freemasons was known as Scotland's conservative club for gentlemen and 54, joined its ranks that year. Freemasonry is not a religion per se, but agnostics or atheists cannot belong, said Brent Morris, a Masonic historian, editor of the Scottish Rite Journal , and a 33rd degree Freemason.
The Catholics would get in power and beat up on the Protestants; the Protestants would get in power and beat up on the Catholics; and everyone was beating up on the Jews. So could an atheist join? No, said James Sullivan, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York: "The reason we, I think in the past, wanted somebody that had a belief in a supreme being is because we take certain obligation to be a good man, to support the fraternity. And if you didn't have a belief in a supreme being, the obligation would mean nothing.
Of the 56 figures who signed the Declaration of Independence, only nine were confirmed Masons, according to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania ; and of the 39 delegates of the Continental Congress who signed the draft of the new nation's Constitution in , only 13 one-third were Freemasons. The back of the dollar bill features an incomplete pyramid with an eye on top of it. Many people -- including some Freemasons -- say it's a Masonic symbol, but that's not the case. UCLA's Margaret Jacob says these symbols have been used by many different groups, including Masons, throughout history.
Brent Morris said there are two types of people who want to promote the idea that the symbols are Masonic: "The pro-Masons and the anti-Masons -- and that pretty well covers the universe.
0コメント