Anti-Masonic Party
The Anti-Masonic Party , in German Anti-Freemason Party , was a small party in the United States in the 19th century . She turned strongly against Freemasonry . It was not a party with just a single point on the agenda, it was striving to become a large party. It was founded in Upstate New York in 1828 , making it the first third party in American politics to try to establish itself in the traditional two-party system .
history
The Morgan case
The party experienced its rise after the mysterious disappearance of William Morgan in 1826, a Freemason from Batavia who had become dissatisfied with his order and planned to reveal its secrets. He was the victim of several incidents until he was finally captured in September and secretly taken to Fort Niagara , where he disappeared. Although his ultimate fate was never known, it was widely believed at the time that he had fallen victim to a crime. This incident generated a great deal of excitement and led to the belief that Freemasons could not possibly be good citizens.
Social circumstances
Opposition to Freemasonry was taken up by the churches as a kind of religious crusade and also became a local political point of contention in west New York, where in the spring of 1827 citizens decided in many mass meetings not to support any Freemason in attaining public office. In New York at the time, the National Republicans , also known as "Adams men," were a very weak organization. Clever political leaders therefore immediately set about using the strong anti-Freemasonry sentiment to found a large new party to oppose the rising “ Jacksonian democracy ”. This was all the easier for them since Jackson himself was a high-ranking Freemason and often spoke praises of his order. In the elections of 1828 the new party cut unexpectedly well, and after a year she had the National Republican in New York virtually replaced. In 1829 the attitudes of their leaders were revealed when, in addition to their opposition to Freemasonry, they demanded internal improvements and protective tariffs.
Rise and fall
From New York, the Anti-Masonic Party spread to other central states and New England , especially in Pennsylvania and Vermont. A national organization was planned as early as 1827 when the leaders from New York tried unsuccessfully to convince Henry Clay, a Freemason, to resign from the order and take the lead in the movement. In 1831 William A. Palmer was elected governor of Vermont, again thanks to the prevailing anti-Masonic sentiment, and he held that office until 1835.
The party organized the first meeting for the nomination of a presidential candidate in United States history. For the US presidential election of 1832 they nominated William Wirt , who was himself a Freemason at the time, and Amos Ellmaker as his vice-president, as presidential candidates . Wirt managed to win 7.78 percent of all votes cast and the seven Vermont electors.
The highest elected office ever won by a party member was that of Pennsylvania Governor , which Joseph Ritner held from 1835 to 1838. This was the culmination of their success; however, the organization began to wither in New York as early as 1833, and its members gradually began to rejoin the National Republicans and other opponents of Jackson in order to ultimately establish the Whig Party . The party survived a little longer in other states, but by 1836 most of the members had defected to the Whigs. Their final act in national politics was to support the candidacy of William H. Harrison and John Tyler for vice-president at a meeting in Philadelphia in November 1838.
The reason for the growth of the anti-Masonic movement lay more in the political and social conditions of that time than in the kidnapping of Morgan, which was more of the drop that broke the barrel. Under the name “Anti-Freemasons”, capable leaders gathered those dissatisfied with the existing political conditions. The fact that Wirt, whom they appointed for the presidency in 1832, was not just a Freemason, but had even defended the order in a speech to the assembly that nominated him, suggests that the simple opposition to Freemasonry will soon emerge was an insignificant factor in the cohesion of the diverse elements that made up the party.
See also
literature
- William Preston Vaughn: The Anti-Masonic Party in the United States. University Press of Kentucky, Lexington 2009, ISBN 978-0-8131-9269-7 .
Footnotes
- ^ Theodore H. White: The making of the president 1960 . Cape, London 1962, p. 188.