The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 56, July 1952 - April, 1953 Page: 398

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

United States and from Mexico. The first "regular" lodge of
Freemasons in the present United States was constituted at
Boston, Massachusetts, in 1733, and by the outbreak of the
American Revolution there were over one hundred lodges'
having an estimated membership of three thousand. This is
not the place to detail the contributions of Masons to the forma-
tion of the United States, but the Marquis de Lafayette stated
during his last visit to the United States that George Washington
refused to give any man in his army a separate command unless
that man were a Mason.5 It is a fact that not less than forty-
nine of the Revolutionary Army generals were Masons., Wash-
ington said, "There is no doubt in my mind that Masonry and
its lessons were helpful throughout the Revolution, both upon
the battlefield and in the Legislative Assembly."7 Thirty-two
of the fifty-five delegates to the Constitutional Convention of
1787 are known to have been Masons,8 and the constitution
which they wrote can be characterized as the greatest exposition
of Masonic philosophy ever written. One wonders whether it
is only coincidence that Masonic symbols and the motto of the
order are found on the money issued by the new government.
It is also significant that, in spite of human cupidity and personal
ambitions in past history, the ideal of morality in government
took a long stride forward in America.
The Anglo-American pioneers that moved westward after the
revolution were individualists, of necessity resourceful, self-
reliant, and aggressive. They were convinced that all men were
equal; they hated political privilege, financial monopoly, and
social distinctions; and they resented restriction. Their idea of
a desirable government was one that was responsive to the
popular will as expressed through representatives elected by
universal manhood suffrage. They believed in the separation of
SHenry L. Stillson (ed.), History of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of
Free and Accepted Masons (Boston, 1892), 2og.
4List compiled from histories of the early lodges approved or published by
the Grand Lodges of the states concerned (MS. in possession of author).
sSidney Morse, Freemasonry in the American Revolution (Washington, 1924), ix.
6Determined by comparison of roll of known Masons with list of revolutionary
generals compiled from recognized secondary sources.
7Texas Grand Lodge Magazine (February, 1951), 89.
sThe New Age (November, 1951), 682.

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