Description

Here is the controversial John Quincy Adams: Letters on Freemasonry, with an educational foreword by the great Texe Marrs who was, admittedly, an extremely vocal critic of “the Craft.” Here is the classic 1883 book written by Adams, sixth president of the United States. Mr. Adams was a determined opponent of the secret society and fraternity of Freemasonry, the Masonic Lodge. The question of Freemasonry and the controversy over its character has long been debated. But, for Adams—writer, poet, faithful husband, patriot, former ambassador, secretary of state and president—there was no question. The teachings and practices of the lodge, Adams asserted, were “detrimental, noxious, and unfortunate.” Adams was persuaded that the Masonic Lodges were a bane to society, evil, and, in his view, even Luciferian. Many modern members of Freemasonry disagree wholeheartedly, insisting that Freemasons do much great charity work, especially here in the United States. But this book reflects what Adams and many of his contemporaries believed at the time—and many still believe today, i.e., that, behind the scenes, upper-level, high-degree Masons have had much more effect upon politics and history than lower-level initiates are aware of or willing to admit. These are usually lodges for the rich and powerful, not lodges comprised of average middle-class Americans. Adams candidly discusses in this collection of letters: the campaign against William Morgan, who ran afoul of powerful Freemasons when he began to expose their secrets to the public; how Freemasons were influencing elections; the number of Freemasons in high positions in the U.S. government; and much more. In these 31 letters, you’ll see Adams’s correspondence on the topic with men like Edward Ingersoll, William H. Seward, Richard Rush, Gov. Levi Lincoln, Alexander Everett, Benjamin Cowell, James Morehead, Edward Livingston, members of the Anti-Masonic Convention and more. Letters on Freemasonry—softcover, 284 pages, $20.