The
Anti-Masonic Party (also known as the
Anti-Masonic Movement) was the first "
third partyThe term third party is used in the United States for any and all political parties in the United States other than one of the two major parties . The term can also refer to independent politicians not affiliated with any party at all and to write-in candidates.The United States has had a...
" in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It strongly opposed
FreemasonryFreemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
and was founded as a single-issue party aspiring to become a major party.
It introduced important innovations to American politics, such as nominating conventions and the adoption of
party platformA party platform, or platform sometimes also referred to as a manifesto, is a list of the actions which a political party, individual candidate, or other organization supports in order to appeal to the general public for the purpose of having said peoples' candidates voted into political office or...
s.
Origins
The Anti-Masonic Party was formed in
upstate New YorkUpstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
in 1828.
Some people feared the Freemasons, believing they were a powerful
secret societyA secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
that was trying to rule the country in defiance of republican principles. These opponents came together to form a political party after the Morgan affair convinced them the Masons were murdering their opponents. This key episode was the mysterious disappearance, in 1826, of
William MorganWilliam Morgan was a resident of Batavia, New York, whose disappearance and presumed murder in 1826 ignited a powerful movement against the Freemasons, a secret fraternal society that had become influential in the United States...
(1774-1826?), a Freemason of
BataviaBatavia is a city in Genesee County, Western New York, USA, located near the middle of Genesee County, entirely within the Town of Batavia. Its population as of the 2000 census was 16,256...
, New York, who had become dissatisfied with his lodge and intended to publish a book detailing the secrets of the freemasons. When his intentions became known to the lodge, an attempt was made to burn down the publishing house. Finally in September 1826 Morgan was arrested on charges of petty larceny. Someone paid his debt and upon his release he was seized by parties and taken to
Fort NiagaraFort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...
, after which he disappeared.
The event created great excitement and led many to believe that not just the local lodge but all Freemasonry was in conflict with good citizenship. Because judges, businessmen, bankers, and politicians were often Masons, ordinary citizens began to think of it as an elitist group. Moreover, many claimed that the lodges' secret oaths bound the brethren to favor each other against outsiders, in the courts as well as elsewhere. Because the trial of the Morgan conspirators was mishandled, and the Masons resisted further inquiries, many New Yorkers concluded that Masons "controlled key offices and used their official authority to promote the goals of the fraternity. When a member sought to reveal its 'secrets', so ran the conclusion, they had done away with him, and because they controlled the officials, were capable of obstructing the investigation. If good government was to be restored all Masons must be purged from public office". They considered the Masons to be an exclusive organization taking unfair advantage of common folk and violating the essential principles of
democracyDemocracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
. True Americans, they said, had to organize and defeat this conspiracy.
Formation of a political party
Opposition to Masonry was taken up by the churches as a sort of religious crusade, and it also became a local political issue in
Western New YorkWestern New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
, where, early in 1827, the citizens in many mass meetings resolved to support no Mason for public office.
In New York at this time the faction supporting President
John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
, called "Adams men," or the "Anti-Jackson" faction, were a very feeble organization, and shrewd political leaders at once determined to utilize the strong anti-Masonic feeling in creating a new and vigorous party to oppose the rising
Jacksonian DemocracyJacksonian democracy is the political movement toward greater democracy for the common man typified by American politician Andrew Jackson and his supporters. Jackson's policies followed the era of Jeffersonian democracy which dominated the previous political era. The Democratic-Republican Party of...
. In this effort they were aided by the fact that
Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
was a high-ranking Mason and frequently spoke in praise of the Order. The alleged remark of political organizer
Thurlow WeedThurlow Weed was a New York newspaper publisher, politician, and party boss. He was the principal political advisor to the prominent New York politician William H...
, that a corpse found floating in the Niagara River was "a good enough Morgan" until after the election, summarized the value of the crime for the opponents of Jackson. In the elections of 1828 the new party proved unexpectedly strong, and after this year it became the main opposition party in New York. In 1829 it broadened its issues base when it became a champion of internal improvements and of the protective
tariffA tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
. The party published 35 weekly newspapers in New York. Soon one became preeminent, the
Albany Journal, edited by Thurlow Weed. The newspapers reveled in partisanship. One brief
Albany Journal paragraph on
Martin Van BurenMartin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
included the words "dangerous," "demagogue," "corrupt," "degrade," "pervert," "prostitute," "debauch" and "cursed."
Political conventions
The party invented the
conventionIn politics, a political convention is a meeting of a political party, typically to select party candidates.In the United States, a political convention usually refers to a presidential nominating convention, but it can also refer to state, county, or congressional district nominating conventions...
, a system whereby locally elected delegates would choose state candidates and pledge their loyalty. Soon the Democrats and Whigs recognized the convention's value in building a party, and held their own conventions. By 1832 the movement had lost its focus on Masonry, and had spread to neighboring states, becoming especially strong in
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and
VermontVermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. A national organization was planned as early as 1827, when the New York leaders attempted, unsuccessfully, to persuade
Henry ClayHenry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
who was a Mason, to renounce the Order and head the movement. In 1831,
William A. PalmerWilliam Adams Palmer was an American politician. Palmer graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in Law. He was admitted to the bar and began to practice Law in Chelsea, Vermont. Held numerous positions in Vermont and was a judge of the State supreme court of Vermont 1816-1818...
was elected governor of Vermont on an Anti-Masonic ticket, an office he held until 1836.
The party conducted the first
presidential nominating conventionA United States presidential nominating convention is a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming U.S. presidential election...
in U.S. history in the
1832 electionsThe United States presidential election of 1832 saw incumbent President Andrew Jackson, candidate of the Democratic Party, easily win re-election against Henry Clay of Kentucky. Jackson won 219 of the 286 electoral votes cast, defeating Clay, the candidate of the National Republican Party, and...
, nominating
William WirtWilliam Wirt was an American author and statesman who is credited with turning the position of United States Attorney General into one of influence.-History:...
(a former Mason) for President and
Amos EllmakerAmos Ellmaker was a U.S. political figure from Pennsylvania. He served as the Anti-Masonic vice-presidential candidate in the 1832 presidential elections....
for
Vice PresidentThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
in Baltimore. Wirt won 7.78 percent of the popular vote, and the seven electoral votes from Vermont. The highest elected office ever held by a member of the party was that of a governor: besides Palmer in Vermont,
Joseph RitnerJoseph Ritner was the eighth Governor of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, elected as a member of the Anti-Masonic Party. He was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in the Pennsylvania Gubernatorial election, 1835, and served from 1835 to 1839. Controversy surrounding his 1838 electoral defeat led...
was the governor of Pennsylvania from 1835 to 1838.
This was the high tide of its prosperity; in New York in 1833 the organization was moribund, and its members gradually united with the National Republicans and other opponents of Jacksonian democracy in forming the
Whig PartyThe Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
. The Whigs' great New York boss, Thurlow Weed, began his political career as an Anti-Mason.
Following the election of Joseph Ritner as Governor of Pennsylvania in 1835, a
state convention was held in Harrisburg on December 14–17, 1835 to choose Presidential Electors for the
1836 electionThe United States presidential election of 1836 ushered Martin Van Buren into the White House. It is predominantly remembered for three reasons:...
. The convention nominated
William Henry HarrisonWilliam Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
for President and
Francis GrangerFrancis Granger was a Representative from New York. He was the son of Gideon Granger, another Postmaster General, and the first cousin of Amos P. Granger.-Biography:...
for Vice President. The
Vermont state Anti-Masonic convention followed suit on February 24, 1836. National Anti-Masonic leaders were unable to obtain assurance from Harrison that he was not a Mason, so they called a national convention. The
second Anti-Masonic National nominating convention was held in Philadelphia on May 4, 1836. The convention was divisive, but a majority of the delegates were able to restate that purpose of the party as strictly anti-Masonry and to officially state that the party was not sponsoring a national ticket for the presidential election of 1836.
Although Harrison was not elected, his strength throughout the North was hailed by Anti-Masonic leaders because the party was the first to officially place his name in contention. The party held a conference in September 1837 to discuss its situation; one delegate was former President John Quincy Adams. The
third Anti-Masonic National nominating convention was held in Temperance Hall, Philadelphia, on November 13–14, 1838. By this time, the party had been almost entirely engulfed by the Whig Party. In any case, the AMP convention unanimously nominated William Henry Harrison for President and
Daniel WebsterDaniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
for Vice President. When the Whig National Convention nominated Harrison and Tyler, the Anti-Masonic Party did not make an alternate nomination and vanished.
A later political organization called the Anti-Masonic Party was active from 1872 until 1888. This second group had a more religious basis for its anti-Masonry and was closely associated with
Jonathan BlanchardJonathan Blanchard was a pastor, educator, social reformer, abolitionist and the first president of Wheaton College, which was founded in 1860.-At Wheaton College:...
of
Wheaton CollegeWheaton College is a private, evangelical Protestant liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago in the United States...
.
The growth of the anti-Masonic movement was due more to the political and social conditions of the time than to the Morgan episode, which was merely the catalyst. Under the banner of "Anti-Masons" able leaders united those who were discontented with existing political conditions. The fact that William Wirt, their choice for the presidency in 1832, not only was a former Mason but also even supposedly defended the Order in a speech before the convention that nominated him indicates that mere opposition to Masonry was by no means the central premise of the political order.
Candidates
- Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
- 1828 election to the New York State AssemblyThe New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
for three one-year terms
- William Wirt
William Wirt was an American author and statesman who is credited with turning the position of United States Attorney General into one of influence.-History:...
/Amos EllmakerAmos Ellmaker was a U.S. political figure from Pennsylvania. He served as the Anti-Masonic vice-presidential candidate in the 1832 presidential elections....
- 1832 election for President of the United States (lost)
- John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
- 1836 election for Governor of Massachusetts (lost)
- Jonathan Blanchard
Jonathan Blanchard was a pastor, educator, social reformer, abolitionist and the first president of Wheaton College, which was founded in 1860.-At Wheaton College:...
- 1884 election for President of the United States (lost)
See also
- List of political parties in the United States
- Know-Nothing movement
- Hugh McFarland
Hugh McFarland is the author of the controversial work .Although listed as an 'anti-Mason' on the authoritative Masonicinfo website, McFarland claims on his own website that he is not actually anti-masonic in the usual sense of the word but has rather undertaken a sociological and psychological...
- :Category:Anti-Masonic Party politicians