In Scotland the early history of the Masons differed in no essential respect from that of other trade crafts. In 1598-99 the statutes and ordinances of the Order to be observed "by all Master Masons as set down by William Shaw, Master of Work to His Majesty, and general warden of the craft" (see Lyon, History of Freemasonry in Scotland), were published. These ordinances, however, are largely concerned with trade relations. The system of degrees was not developed, but a "pass-word" was adopted.

In 1736 a final effort, set on foot fifteen years before by Desaguliers, the organizer of the English Masonic movement, to consolidate the various lodges into a representative body, was successful, and on November 30, 1736, the first general assembly of symbolical Masons was held and a Grand Lodge for Scotland formed. The representative of the family of Saint Clair, which was patron of the Masonic Lodge, was elected first grand master; provincial grand masters were appointed, a general adhesion of Scotch lodges to the new organization was effected, and Saint Andrew's Day was substituted for the day of Saint John the Baptist, the fete day in England. Freemasonry was introduced into Ireland in 1730, when the first lodge was opened at Dublin. 

The English system and ritual were adopted, but, owing to the fact that the religion of the country is so largely Roman Catholic, Masonry has not made a very marked progress. At the close of the nineteenth century its representation consisted of one Grand Lodge and about 350 lodges.

The first Masonic lodge in France, according to Clavel and other well-authenticated authorities, was established at Dunkirk on October 13, 1721, and was styled ' L' Amitie' et Fraternite.' The second was organized by Lord Derwentwater in Paris in 1725. It was at first largely patronized by the nobility, but its purpose does not seem to have been of an elevated character, and this, supplemented by the vigorous opposition of the Catholic Church, tended to invest the institution of Masonry with a very unstable character.

In 1736 a Grand Lodge was formed, and in 1766 a new Grande-Lodge Nationale of France was created (subsequently altered in title to the Grand Orient), and a representative system adopted under which the various lodges were brought into a degree of subordination to the central and authoritative body. Considerable hostility, however, was manifested toward the new organization by the original Grand Lodge, and there was, besides, a conflict between the rituals in use, the Grand Orient following the Scottish rite, while the original Grand Lodge had adopted a wildly superstitious form, fathered by the impostor, Cagliostro. 

The Revolution practically suspended both organizations, which subsequently were revived and in 1799 became united in one national organization. Hardly had this union been effected when another entering wedge was inserted by the introduction of two new systems of ritual, one the Scottish Philosophical Rite, including the luminous ring and the white and black eagle, and the other the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of thirty-three degrees. Finally, in 1804, a union was again effected between the Grand Orient and the Supreme Council, but since that period the cause of Freemasonry in France has not been as progressive as in other European countries. 

At the close of the nineteenth century the number of lodges in existence was only about 350. The Grand Orient has ceased to require belief in a personal God as a test of membership. The introduction of Freemasonry into other European countries, notably Spain, Holland, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Russia, took place between 1725 and 1750, but with varying results. In Russia the Masonic lodges have been surpressed, while in Austria-Hungary they merely preserve an existence, owing to the ban of the Church being placed on them.


The introduction of Masonry into America was under the deputation to Daniel Coxe of New Jersey, from the Grand Lodge of England, dated June 5, 1730, which appointed him provincial grand master for Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, ' for the space of two years.' While Coxe does not seem to have been active in establishing lodges in his territory, reliable evidence that Saint John's Lodge was founded in Philadelphia in the latter part of 1730 or early in 1731 is found in a letter written by Henry Bell, dated November 17, 1754, in which he speaks of a charter being granted by Daniel Coxe to a number of Philadelphians. The existence of the lodge in 1731 is further proved by the account books of Benjamin Franklin, who sold stationery to and did printing for Saint John's Lodge.

The entries bear dates in 1731. Another corroborative proof is found in a ledger of the lodge discovered in 1884, which is called ' Liber B.' Its entries begin with June 24, 1731, and consist of amounts paid into the lodge by members. Franklin was made a Mason in January, 1731. In 1733 the Grand Lodge of England granted a deputation to Major Henry Price of Boston, as ' Provincial Grand Master of Free and Accepted Masons in New England.' On July 30, 1733, a warrant was granted to form Saint John's Lodge in Boston, Mass. From this beginning, Freemasonry spread throughout the colonies. There also existed a large number of military and traveling lodges, usually attached to regiments or battalions of the British Army, and formed under warrants from the Grand Lodges of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

When the War of the Revolution came to a successful close the American lodges so created withdrew their allegiance to the parent lodges in England and Scotland and created Grand Lodges in several of the States, and the Order thus became deeply rooted in American soil, where it has continued to grow without interruption other than what is known as the great anti-Masonic movement, which began in 1826 and continued for about ten years, during which period the membership was reduced to a very small number. ( See ANTI-MASONS; MORGAN, WILLIAM.). The Order is also prospering in British America, while in the republics of South America, where the Catholic religion is in the ascendant, the same influences operate to its hindrance as in the European countries where Church influence is powerful.


A system of what is known as Freemasonry exists among the colored people in America, which, while admitted to be regular, is not recognized by white members of the Order, or their grand and subordinate lodges in this country, although receiving full recognition as to the regularity of their organization from some of the foreign Grand Lodges. The parent lodge was opened in Boston, March 6, 1775, through the exertions of Prince Hall, known in the archives of the Order as the father of Freemasonry among colored men. There were fifteen charter members and the lodge was known as African Lodge. 

It received a warrant from the Grand Lodge of England in 1784 and was organized as African Lodge No. 429 in 1787, with the rank of a Provincial Grand Lodge and Prince Hall as provincial grand master. This lodge became dormant after the death of the charter members, was subsequently revived, but failed to receive recognition from the Grand Lodge of England. The African Grand Lodge of Boston, now known as Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, was organized in 1808, and there are at the present time in the United States twenty-eight colored Grand Lodges, and one in Ontario, Canada.

These are distributed as follows: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia. There also exist among the negroes bodies of the higher degrees of Masonry, viz. Chapters of the Royal Arch, Councils of Royal and Select Masters, Commanderies of Knights Templars, subordinate bodies of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, a Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors-General, and Temples of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.