https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Masonic_Party
The
Anti-Masonic Party was the earliest
third party in the United States.
[11] Formally a
single-issue party, it strongly opposed
Freemasonry in the United States. It was active from the late 1820s, especially in the
Northeastern United States, and later attempted to become a major party by expanding its platform to take positions on other issues. It declined quickly after 1832 as most members joined the new
Whig Party; it dissolved after 1838.
The opponents of Freemasonry formed a political movement after the
Morgan affair convinced them the Masons were murdering men who spoke out against them.
[12] This key episode was the mysterious 1826 disappearance of William Morgan, a Freemason in upstate New York who had turned against the Masons.
[13]
Morgan claimed to have been made a member of the Masons while living in Canada
[14] and he appears to have briefly attended a lodge in Rochester.
[15] In 1825, Morgan received the
Royal Arch degree at
Le Roy's Western Star Chapter #33, having declared under oath that he had previously received the six degrees which preceded it.
[16][17] Whether he actually received these degrees and if so from where has not been determined for certain.
[15][16]
Morgan then attempted unsuccessfully to help establish or visit lodges and chapters in
Batavia, but was denied participation in Batavia's Masonic activities by members who were uncertain about Morgan's character and claims to Masonic membership.
[18] Angered by the rejection, Morgan announced that he was going to publish an exposé titled
Illustrations of Masonry,
[19] critical of the Freemasons and describing their secret degree ceremonies in detail.
[20]
When his intentions became known to the Batavia lodge, an attempt was made to burn down the business of the printer who planned to publish Morgan's book.
[21] In September 1826, Morgan was arrested on flimsy allegations of failing to repay a loan and theft of a shirt and tie in an effort to prevent publication of his book by keeping him in jail.
[22] The individual who intended to publish Morgan's book paid his bail and he was released from custody.
[22] Shortly afterwards, Morgan disappeared.
[23]
Some skeptics argued that Morgan had left the Batavia area on his own, either because he had been paid not to publish his book, or to escape Masonic retaliation for attempting to publish the book, or to generate publicity that would boost the book's sales.
[24] The generally believed version of events was that Masons killed Morgan by drowning him in the
Niagara River.
[25][26] Whether he fled or was murdered, Morgan's disappearance led many to believe that Freemasonry was in conflict with good citizenship.
[27]
Because judges, businessmen, bankers and politicians were often Masons, ordinary citizens began to think of it as an elitist group.
[2] Moreover, many claimed that the lodges' secret oaths bound Masons to favor each other against outsiders in the courts and elsewhere.
[3]