The Anti-Masonic Party founded

Historical Context Note

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.2: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth Century, 1783-1900.
Vol. editors: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University)

Domains

Political Parties

Dates

Date of occurrence 1826

Places

United States (Location)

Resources

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The Anti-Masonic Party was founded in the state of New York in 1828. Its formation was prompted by the disappearance of William Morgan, a dissatisfied Freemason, who had intended to publish his lodge's secrets. The party took advantage of the widely held belief that the Freemasons were undermining the principles of democracy and were ruling as a secret society of the elite. Campaigning as the party of the common people, its popularity quickly spread, making it the third party in the United States. Though it was originally a single issue party, seeking to expel Masons from all public office, it eventually became a party representing a more general discontent with the political system and became the basis of the Whig party. The Anti-Masonic Party was the first in the United States to…

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