ANTIMASONRY. In the United States history, (1) the widespread hostility to the Freemasons, as an order whose oaths were claimed to be superior to public duty and pri vate morality, excited by the fate of William Morgan (q.v.) in 1826. He was a broken Vir ginian, who had settled in Batavia, N. Y., about 1824, as a mason by trade, and professing to be a Royal Arch Mason; and in the summer of 1826 was reported to be writing a book to expose the secrets of Freemasonry, to be printed at a local newspaper office. Though the Masons were naturally indignant and dis tressed, the other citizens regarded it as a catchpenny scheme and had Morgan remained in view probably Masonry would have suffered little damage,— certainly none if the Masons had merely denied his statements, for his word would have carried no weight. But, unluckily, just at this time suits against him for debt began suddenly to multiply and bail was either refused or disregarded. Finally on 11 August he was taken to Canandaigua, 50 miles away, on a charge of theft; was released, but at once rearrested for debt; and on the next night, being again released, he was at once seized and never reappeared. The public at once con nected this with the Masonic exposure and threats, and vigilance committees were shortly organized which traced him beyond question, in the hands of abducting parties, to Fort Niagara, an unoccupied United States post at the mouth of the Niagara River; the last ever certainly known of him, though other state ments made it seem probable that he had been murdered and thrown into Lake Ontario. The excitement, increased by the belief that promi nent Masons obstructed the investigations, was fanned into flame by the appearance, a few weeks later, of the first part of Morgan's book, the other parts ultimately being published also; entitled 'Illustrations of Freemasonry, by One of the Fraternity Who Has Devoted Thirty Years to the Subject' • reprinted under various titles, as 'Light on Masonry,' 'Freemasonry Exposed and Explained,' etc. Along with a mass of dreary "ritual" for "working the de grees," of • no moment even if true, and its betrayal a scandalous violation of good faith, it included some passages which if true would have obligated him to make them known at once on joining: such as an oath requiring Masons to place their duty to a brother Mason before their oaths in court; and others pro nouncing dire vengeance (graduated according to the degree thus betrayed) on Masons who should reveal the secrets of the order, and obligating every "brother" to make it his busi ness to execute the threat. The denials of the Masons were not thought categorical enough. The alleged agents in the abduction were put on trial between January 1827 and 1830, and several were convicted and sentenced, some pleading guilty to save examination as to con spiracy. They could not be held for murder, but popular judgment charged that crime to the fraternity if not to the individuals. Very soon Antimasonry had become the one issue of the day. Candidates for local office who refused to withdraw from the order were heavily at elections, and great num bers of lodges had to give up their charters and dissolve. From New York the feeling
spread through the Union, and more than 3000 lodges surrendered their charters before the storm blew over. The governor of New York and a large number of the leading officials and prominent public men were Masons, as now; but in the campaign of 1828 the National Republicans dared not nominate any who be longed to the order. None the less the Anti masons formed a regular party, holding a con vention at Utica and nominating Solomon Southwick for governor. William H. Seward, Millard Fillmore and Thurlow Weed first came forward as Antimasonic candidates. A body was conveniently found in Niagara River and said to be Morgan's, though of course unrecog nizable; and Weed is credited with having replied, when questioned as to its authenticity, that it was "a good enough Morgan till after election." The ticket polled 33.345 votes out of 276,583; but it polled some 70,000 in 1829 and 128,000 in 1830; the National Republican party in the State was gradually absorbed and be came chief anti-Democratic organization. This is the most singular feature of the whole movement; for the National Republicans, like the Whigs and Republicans later, were dis tinctly the party of the upper business and professional classes, which were the very ones who formed the strength of the Masons. Yet the same result obtained everywhere: doubtless it was due to the accidental fact that Jackson, the idol of the Democracy and then President, was a Mason. A national convention was held in 1830 to organize a national party; and in September 1831, in order to force Clay, who was a Mason, out of the field, it held a con vention (in Baltimore) before any of the other parties, and nominated William Wirt of Mary land and Amos Ellmaker of Pennsylvania for the Presidency. The National Republicans, however, supported Clay, and in the election of 1832 Wirt received only the electoral vote of Vermont. The party took no further national action, and with the National Republicans was soon absorbed in the new Whig party, though it retained force enough to compel the Whigs to discard Clay for Harrison in 1833 and 1839. In Pennsylvania, however, allied with the Whigs, it survived till about 1840 and elected a governor, Joseph Ritner. (2) Another Anti masonic body was formed in 1868 as the National Christian Association, at Pittsburgh, Pa., though hostility to Masonry was only one of its tenets; it renamed itself in 1875 the American Party (q.v., No. 2), and entered politics. It opposed Freemasonry as (false religion and false politics,'" and urged the pro hibition of oath-bound lodges as acknowledging another government than that of the United States.
Bibliography.—For Morgan, consult Morris,