Monday, August 27, 2012

Connor: Weekly Blog #1

         The Freemasons is a secret organization that supposedly started in the 1300s around 1390 or so.  The Freemasons had spread into England at about that time and into Scotland in the sixteenth century.  They spread to America in the eighteenth century.  Long before it moved into England it seems to have been in Greece, as the oldest Masonic document mentions Euclid, the father of geometry.  Since the eighteenth century it had spread into many countries.  It was spreading much faster at that time than previously in Europe.
        Some of our founding fathers were Freemasons.  Benjamin Franklin was one of them.  George Washington, the first president, was also a Freemason.  John Hancock was also a Freemason and Just like Franklin and Washington, signed the declaration of independence.  Only 9 of the people who signed the declaration were Freemasons.  Winston Churchill, the British prime minister during WWII, was a Freemason.  Euclid could also have been a member of the Freemasons, as he is mentioned in the earliest known Masonic text.
       There are many conspiracy theories about the Freemasons.  Often made up by those who oppose the organization.  Those who oppose the organization are called Anti-masons or Anti-Masonry.  This is what the groups are called by themselves and by members of the Freemasons.  Some of the people who oppose this range from religious groups to conspiracy theorists.  The religious groups that oppose the Freemasons are some Christians and some Muslims.  They are also opposed by political groups, one being the Anti-Masonry Party.
       The Freemasons started centuries ago in Europe.  When they spread to America they gained several famous members.  Even before that they most likely had Euclid as a member.  9 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were Freemasons.  Over the years there have been many conspiracy theories about the Freemasons.  They are opposed by religious groups, political groups, and conspiracy theorists.

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