American Freemasons
Three Centuries of Building Communities
Published on 1. October 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
262 pages
978-0-8147-8302-3 (ISBN)
Description
An overview of the mysterious history of the Freemasons and their presence in American society
With over four million members worldwide, and two million in the U.S., Freemasonry is the largest fraternal organization in the world. Published in conjunction with the National Heritage Museum, this extravagantly illustrated volume offers an overview of Freemasonry's origins in seventeenth-century Scotland and England before exploring its evolving role in American history, from the Revolution through the labor and civil rights movements, and into the twenty-first century. American Freemasons explores some of the causes for the rise and fall of membership in the fraternity and why it has attracted men in such large numbers for centuries.
American Freemasons is the perfect introduction to understanding a society that, while shrouded in mystery, has played an integral role in the lives and communities of millions of Americans.
Copublished with the National Heritage Museum.
With over four million members worldwide, and two million in the U.S., Freemasonry is the largest fraternal organization in the world. Published in conjunction with the National Heritage Museum, this extravagantly illustrated volume offers an overview of Freemasonry's origins in seventeenth-century Scotland and England before exploring its evolving role in American history, from the Revolution through the labor and civil rights movements, and into the twenty-first century. American Freemasons explores some of the causes for the rise and fall of membership in the fraternity and why it has attracted men in such large numbers for centuries.
American Freemasons is the perfect introduction to understanding a society that, while shrouded in mystery, has played an integral role in the lives and communities of millions of Americans.
Copublished with the National Heritage Museum.
Reviews / Votes
"Tabbert, curator of the National Heritage Museum and master of a Masonic lodge in Massachusetts, writes from the inside out, offering an interesting overview of the history of Freemasonry and its attributes." -Choice, Recommended "This beautifully-illustrated book is the best introduction to the Masonic past now available for brothers and for curious outsiders." -Steven C. Bullock,author of Revolutionary Brotherhood: Freemasonry and the Transformation of the American Social Order, 1730-1840 "Visually, this is an attractive book: large format, profusely illustrated, just on the right side of coffee-table-ish." -More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 206 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
1143 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8147-8302-3 (9780814783023)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Mark A. Tabbert is Director of Collections at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia and the former Curator of Masonic and Fraternal Collections at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, Massachusetts. His work has appeared in The Northern Light, Heredom, and American Studies.
Content
Foreword Preface Chart of American Freemasonry Introduction Chapter 1 Enlightenment Freemasonry in Britain and Europe, 1600-1800Chapter 2 Peaceable CitizensFreemasonry in Colonial and Revolutionary America, 1730-1800Chapter 3 Act Honorably Freemasonry and Federalist America, 1800-1835Part Two Building Freemasonry and American Community,1835-1920Chapter 4 The Foundation of Every Virtue Masonic Self-Improvement, 1835-1870Chapter 5 Safely Lodged Secret Rituals and Freemasonry, 1870-1900Chapter 6 Relieve the Distressed Mutual Bene?t in the Industrial Age, 1870-1900Chapter 7 From Labor to Refreshment Fraternal Fun, 1880-1910Chapter 8 Powers and Properties of Magnitudes Tensions in the Lodge, 1900-1920Part Three Adorning American Communities, 1920-2000Chapter 9 Plain DealingThe Rotarian Age and Freemasonry's New Personality, 1920-1941Chapter 10 One Family The Masonic Good Life, 1942-1965Chapter 11 They are All Exhausted Freemasons' Service for New Communities, 1966-2000Notes Suggested Reading Index Photography Credits