The History of Freemasons

The History of Masons Masons, who are also known as Freemasons, are men of different races, social classes, faith, backgrounds, and countries who join together to "better the world". The men come from good families, are good characters, and they believe that family comes first. They meet together at marked Lodges all over the world but majority of them are in North America and Europe. Freemasons are believed to be a "secret society", with that said its very dificult to obtain information about what exactly the masons believe, what they do, and more importantly how they have and will impact this counrty or even the world. The time of when Freemasons originated is still under debate. A poem known as the "Regius Manuscript" has been dated to approximately 1390 and is the oldest known Masonic text. The poem talks about the history of the "Craft" of Masonry and suggest that it originated in England. There is evidence that Prince Hall and Albert Pike are the founding fathers of Freemasonry. Some Freemasons believe that their history can be traced back to 967 B.C.E., to the buildings of King Solomons Temple, which is described in the book of Kings. There is evidence that Masonic Lodges existed in Scotland as early as the sixteenth century and there are clear references of existince of lodges in England by the seventeenth century. The first public appearence of what is called the modern Masons in London, where the first Grand Lodge was created in 1717. Some people believe that Masons are descended directly from the Knights Templar. The first Mason Lodge in the United States appeared in Philidelphia in 1730 and the second in Boston in 1733. When Masonry came to America it came in two different forms; the Scottish Rite (following English traditions), and the York Rite (following French traditions). In the 20th century, the Freemasons had a population of 860,000 members. By the 1930s, there were more than two million Masons in the United States, and their numbers