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Surprising Reasons Presidents Joined Freemasonry

Some cited God; others spoke of charity, benefit to
mankind

Fourteen presidents have been Freemasons, a society that seeks to strengthen
and improve the community by doing the same for the character of its
membership. Many of these presidents commented positively on their
membership in the group, and some even cited Freemasonry as a foundation to
the way they governed.

While Freemasonry is first and foremost “a system of morality,” it should be
noted that some of these presidents — including George Washington and James
Monroe — were slaveowners, a practice that would seem to contradict the
principles of the organization.

Washington spoke effusively about his respect for the tenets and principles of
Freemasonry, and remained active in the society, even while he was
president. Meanwhile, we know almost nothing about President Monroe’s life as
a Freemason. James K. Polk, James Garfield and Warren G. Harding all publicly
acknowledged their association with Freemasonry and participated in masonic
activities during their tenures as president.
Here are quotes from 10 Freemason presidents known to have spoken of their
association with the society.

“My attachment to the Society of which we are all members will dispose me
always to contribute my best endeavors to promote the honor and propriety of
the Craft.”

President George Washington

The above quote is one of many that Washington made about Freemasonry
during his life. As can be surmised from these remarks, Washington took his
obligations as a Freemason to promote honor and integrity seriously. He made
similar comments in letters to the leaders of lodges of Masons across the
country. More than any leader of his time, Washington was known as a man of
unquestioned moral integrity. Notably, he was the same man in private and
public, and his commitment to being ‘just and upright’ molded him into a world
leader. Washington participated in masonic rituals during his presidency,
including one in which he laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capital, another
indication of his commitment to the society.

“Freemasonry is an institution calculated to benefit mankind.”

President Andrew Jackson

It’s hard to square President Jackson’s remarks that Freemasonry is “calculated
to benefit mankind” with his efforts that engineered the eradication of thousands
of Native Americans by starvation, exposure, and illness. Yet, Jackson was active

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in society, even when he was president — he participated in a masonic ceremony
in Fredericksburg in 1833. Jackson was also the first Past Grand Master of
Freemasons (in Tennessee) to serve as president.

While president, Andrew Jackson stood by as Georgia violated the federal treaty
by seizing nine million acres inside the state that had been guaranteed to the
Cherokee tribe, despite a pair of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that said that the
state had no authority over the tribal lands. President Jackson subsequently
brokered a deal in which the Cherokees agreed that they would vacate their land
in return for territory west of Arkansas. The agreement resulted in the ‘Trail of
Tears,’ the forced relocation of 15,000 Cherokee Indians that claimed the lives of
4,000 of them.
“Devoutly wishing that for centuries to come, your ancient and venerable
[masonic] Lodge may continue to shed forth the light of Masonry…”

President James Buchanan

James Buchanan will be remembered as the president who failed to act to stop
the succession of southern states that led to the Civil War in which 620,000
Americans were killed. While the above quote sheds very little light on President
Buchanan ideas on leadership, his remarks speak of his devout faith
that Freemasonry provides a platform for members to gain wisdom. It should be
mentioned that, during his presidency, Buchanan received threats from people
who thought he had done a poor job in the months leading up to the Civil War. In
this period, several local Masons who were members of a lodge where he was
Past Master (i.e., head of the lodge) took turns standing guard at his home to
protect his person and property, indicating Buchanan’s strong ties to the society.
“We all meet on the level.”

President Andrew Johnson

According to masonic tradition, when dealing with all people, most especially
fellow Masons, you should treat them as equals. President Johnson made this
remark at a masonic ceremony, when someone suggested that a chair be brought
to the reviewing platform for me.

President Johnson refused, saying: “We all meet on the level.”
Yet, in succeeding President Lincoln when he was assassinated, Andrew Johnson
did anything but meet on the level, when it came to implementing the slain
leader’s civil rights vision. Instead of leading the southern states to embrace civil
rights for the emancipated slaves, he delegated that authority to the states
themselves. In most cases, these states used this authority to suppress the civil
rights of African-Americans, and eventually to implement Jim Crow laws.

“After the battle of Opequan, I went … to the field where there were about 5,000
Confederate prisoners under guard … I noticed the doctor shook hands cordially
with a number of Confederate prisoners. He also took from his pockets a roll of
bills and distributed all he had among them. … On the way back to our camp I
asked him, ‘Did you know those men or ever see them before?’ ‘No,’ replied the

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doctor. ‘I never saw them before.’ ‘But how did you know them, and why did you
give them money?,’ I asked. ‘They are Masons, and we Masons have a way of
finding that out.’ ‘But,’ I persisted, ‘you gave them a lot of money, all you had
about you. Do you ever expect to get it back?’ ‘Well,’ said the doctor, ‘if they are
ever able to pay it back they will. But it makes no difference to me; they are
Brother Masons in trouble, and I am only doing my duty.’ I said to myself, ‘if that
is Masonry, I will take some of it myself.”

President William McKinley

Some presidents are known for one policy or issue. Abraham Lincoln is
remembered for preserving the Union, while Herbert Hoover is remembered for
being president during the onset of the Great Depression. President McKinley, on
the other hand, had his hand in many issues, ranging from the Spanish-American
War to the reform of the Civil Service. As governor of Ohio, McKinley spoke out
against lynching, but as president, he did little to support civil rights for Black
people.

One of McKinley’s priorities, however, was ending sectionalism — that is to say,
sections of the nation prioritizing their region over that of the whole of the
United States.
It is evident that young McKinley was impressed with the doctor’s cordiality with
Confederate prisoners, and one could see how the physician’s kindness to these
prisoners may have made an impression on him that he carried all the way to the
White House to battle sectionalism. In a similar vein, it should be noted that
McKinley received his masonic degrees as a union officer in a southern lodge
where many of the Masons were Confederates.
“One of the things that attracted me so greatly in Masonry that I hailed the
chance of becoming a Mason, was that it really did live up to what we as a
government are pledged to — of treating each man on his merits and as a man.”


President Theodore Roosevelt

While President Roosevelt hardly saw all Black Americans as equals, meritocracy
was one of his core beliefs. Roosevelt “admired individual achievement above all
things,” and defended Black Americans who served as public officials, some of
whom he appointed to prominent positions. For example, he nominated Dr.
William Crum, a Black American as customs collector in Charleston — and faced
considerable political opposition because of the color of Crum’s skin — but stood
steadfast behind him.
“Masonry is democratic, in that it insists that we are all equal of opportunity. It is
not democratic in that it insists that we are all equal, whether we have the same
character, the same experience, the same ability, the same spirit of self-sacrifice.”

President William Howard Taft

With the blessings of then-President Theodore Roosevelt — who decided not to
run for a third term — Taft, who was vice-president at the time, captured the

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presidency in 1909. In the above quote, President Taft suggests that he supports
equal opportunity some of the time — and not for everybody. Interestingly
enough, Taft opposed women’s suffrage, noting: “On the whole, it is fair to say
that the immediate enfranchisement of women will increase the proportion of
the hysterical element of the electorate.” In the civil rights arena, Taft seems to
have taken little interest on the issue, aside from meeting with African-American
leader Booker T. Washington, and publicly endorsing his program for advancing
the cause of African-Americans.

“I have come in contact with Brother Masons throughout this country, and I have
seen the splendid work that Masonry is doing for our fellow man. … The more I
come in contact with the work of the Masonic Fraternity the more impressed I
am by the great charitable work and great practical good work in which we are
carrying out, especially in that line which is so close to my heart — the care of
little children.”

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

It would have seemed odd for President Roosevelt to focus on policies promoting
after-school programs for children or prenatal care at a time that 15 million
Americans were unemployed. Roosevelt used the lion’s share of his first term to
address systemic issues the country faced, many of which led to the Great
Depression, which in turn had a devastating effect on children. With
unemployment rates at 25 percent, many families that had been middle-class
during the 1920s slipped into poverty, contributing to rising incidence of hunger
and malnutrition among children.
Children benefitted directly and indirectly from many New Deal programs —
hallmarks of Roosevelt’s administration. The greatest benefit children saw was
the jobs provided by New Deal programs, allowing parents to adequately
support their families. Additionally, millions of malnourished school children
benefited from the Works Progress Administration school lunch program. The
New Deal also changed the public mindset about charity: Previous to the New
Deal, assistance to the needy fell almost exclusively under the scope of charities.
The above quote indicates that that care of children is close to Roosevelt’s heart
— and that he encourages Freemasons to do whatever they can to support the
cause that he would champion as president.
“We represent a fraternity which believes in justice and truth and honorable
action in your community…men who are endeavoring to be better
citizens…[and] to make a great country greater. This is the only institution in the
world where we can meet on the level all sorts of people who want to live
rightly.”

President Harry S. Truman

During President Truman’s famous whistle-stop campaign of 1948, the common
mantra from supporters was “Give ’em hell, Harry!” Reflecting on this later,
Truman remarked: “I never did give anyone hell. I just told the truth, and they
thought it was hell.” Years later, Truman biographer David McCullough wrote:
“Truman held to the old guidelines: work hard, do your best, speak the truth,

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assume no airs, trust in God, have no fears,” which accurately summarizes
Truman’s above quote.
“Masonic principles — internal, not external — and our order’s vision of duty to
country and acceptance of God as a Supreme Being and guiding light have
sustained me during my years of Government service … Masonic precepts can
help America retain our inspiring aspirations while adapting to a new age.”

President Gerald Ford

To read President Ford’s remarks, one would think that his presidency saw the
rise of a new technology — like the Internet, television or radio. While it
didn’t, Ford was faced with a collection of unenviable tasks — the challenge of
mastering inflation, reviving a depressed economy, solving chronic energy
shortages and trying to ensure world peace. And that didn’t even include the
fallout from the Watergate scandal — which he was not part of — but which
meant he inherited distrust in government. Yet, President Ford frequently spoke
of God, not the least of when he pardoned President Nixon. During his address on
pardoning his predecessor, Ford noted that he believed himself to be a servant of
God, which fairly reflects his quote above.
These presidents likely joined the fraternity for different reasons. For almost all
of them, it was probably done — to varying degrees — for either professional or
political benefit.

Notably, President Taft joined Freemasonry shortly after he became president.
Meanwhile, Theodore Roosevelt became a Freemason while serving as vice-
president — several months before the assassination of President McKinley, a
fellow Mason, elevated him to the presidency. Andrew Jackson, other hand,
received his degrees some 30 years before he became president, though the date
of his conferrals is uncertain.





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