Inventing America : The Role of Freemasonry in Early Washington
are just that . 25 More likely true are observations about how Masonry contributed to the new republic ’ s road towards affirming inalienable rights for all .
That does not discount the effect of the imagination or of those who trade in its wares . 26 President Lincoln on meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe , the author of Uncle Toms Cabin , allegedly said , “ So this is the little lady who started this big war .” 27 Stories can be powerful movers ; Dan Brown gave extraordinary impetus to ideas about the fraternity ’ s Washington influence as did the successful Disney motion pictures National Treasure and National Treasure : The Book of Secrets . 28 But this fictional characterizing of Washington Freemasons as magnificently costumed power brokers carrying on strange rituals in dark rooms is a distorted view of the warm friendship and
25 We rather like the reference to the masonic echoes in Washington , which appears in Hanock and Bauval , opt . cit ., 467 .
26 In fact , one can argue that the imagination has much more of an effect on ideas than it does on buildings .
27 The remark apparently first appears in print many years after the alleged meeting , in Annie Fields , Atlantic Monthly : A Magazine of Literature , Science , Art , and Politics , August 1896 , 148 . So its veracity is questionable .
29 Ironically , sworn enemies of secret societies are often willing to accept outlandish claims of their longstanding influence . Pat Robertson of the 700 Club and CBN fame is one of the recruits to the conspiracy theories which make the study of such societies so difficult : his book The New World Order is replete with references to Illuminati , the Masons , and cabals behind the French Revolution and assassination of Lincoln . Much of this is “ proved ” by using sources which border on the fictional , e . g . “ The real test of Masonic acceptance of the Ancient Mystery the theories of Mackey and Pike is to study the writings of serious Masonic historians from the authentic school , not those from the romantic period . The publications of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No . 2076 , the American Lodge of Research , the Texas Lodge of Research , the Ohio Chapter of Research , and others show that these absurd theories have been politely ignored , dying the quiet death they deserved . The pathetic irony is that only one group today believes the tall tales of Mackey and Pike — not the Grand Lodges , not the Scottish Rite , but the antimasons . Our enemies are so anxious to believe the worst about us ; they rush to embrace hypotheses long since abandoned , if ever widely accepted . Whether they are incompetent as historians or simply facile liars is for other to decide .” Brent Morris , S . ( 1992 ). The letter ‘ G ’, the plumbline . Scottish Rite Research Society , 1 ( 3 ), 2 .
7 fellowship of a Wednesday night at one of the congenial lodges of the District , which included a varied group including businessmen , doctors , lawyers , professors , graduate students , government officials , the retired and those just starting careers , with nary a warlock among them . 29
While fanciful , the outpouring of books and films over the years repeatedly reminds us that some Founding Fathers were Freemasons and that the capital teems with Masonic iconography . So for better or for worse , more than in any other city in the world , Masonry in Washington finds itself like the proverbial moth , close to the flame . In London or Paris to be sure there are great Masonic sights , but those cities have so much that Masonry can only be one of many themes .