The subject has been discussed numerous times here on ATS. In most of these threads, I found that Masons always stuck to the conclusion that there is
nothing Masonic about the Great Seal of the United States. If you could indulge a Cowan for a little while, I believe I might be able to make an
argument that might throw some doubts on the no-Masonic influence theory.
The article most often cited by the proponents of the No-Masonic theory was written by Masonic Author of
The Complete Idiots Guide to Freemasonry, Dr. S. Brent Morris. The
article was distributed in the
Short Talk Bulletin published by the
Masonic Service Association of the United
States.
Entitled,
The Eye in the Pyramid, the article's main point (his thesis) is:
The Great Seal of the United States is not a Masonic emblem, nor does it contain hidden Masonic symbols.
web.mit.edu...
(emphasis mine)
He then makes the following claims, which I will address one by one.
Claim #1:
Benjamin Franklin was the only Mason on the first design committee, and his suggestions had no Masonic content.
They were four members of the original committee, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams, and artist and consultant Pierre Du
Simitiere.
Benjamin Franklin was a mason, this is uncontested. Although, I'd like to point out that Mr. Morris does not give us a source for his "his
suggestions had no Masonic content." claim. (Hieronimus?)
For a long time,
Thomas Jefferson, was thought to be a mason, however in 1960, Brother William R. Denslow, Masonic scholar and editor of the
Transactions of the Missouri Lodge of Research cast doubt on Jefferson's membership. He concluded that "all claims for his membership [Jefferson]
are based on association or insinuation, with no proof by records."
James W. Beless, 33° article in an article published in the
Scottish Journal
writes:
Jefferson may not have been a card-carrying Mason, but his philosophy and actions certainly paralleled Masonic ideals and practices.
srjarchives.tripod.com...
The article continues and looks at some of Denslow's finding:
Brother Denslow showed that Jefferson was reported by Dr. Joseph Guillotin to have attended meetings of the Lodge of Nine Muses in Paris; that he
had marched in a Masonic procession with Widow’s Son Lodge No. 60 and Charlottesville Lodge No. 90 on October 6, 1817, at the cornerstone laying of
Central College (now the University of Virginia); that the Grand Lodges of South Carolina and Louisiana held funeral orations and processions for him
following his death on July 4, 1826; and that a Blue Lodge at Surry Court House, Virginia, was named Jefferson Lodge No. 65 in 1801.
John Adams, although never a Mason attended Lodge meetings of
The Nine Sisters.
In 1778, the year Voltaire became an honorary member, Benjamin Franklin and John Paul Jones also were accepted. Benjamin Franklin became Master of
the Lodge in 1779, and was re-elected in 1780. When Franklin, after a long and influential stay in Europe, returned to America— to participate in
the writing of the Constitution— his place as American Envoy was taken by Thomas Jefferson, the author of the United States Declaration of
Independence, accompanied by his friend John Adams.
Franklin was a mason and we can also see that
Jefferson and
Adams were sympathetic to the Masonic cause, so it's possible that
all three man thought very highly of Masonry symbolism, being aware of this symbolism its highly likely that they would've used their knowledge in
attempting to design the Great Seal. To claim that they would never consider using Masonic symbols because they weren’t Masons themselves is
ludicrous, or at least misleading.
Claim #2:
None of the final designers of the seal were Masons.
This is irrelevant since the eye in the triangle is clearly seen in the First committee's design in
1776. The design of the eye in the
triangle, obviously, made it onto the final design. Masonic authors often counter that Franklin wasn’t on the final design committee and commit a
great deal of their papers describing the Second and Third committee, despite the All-Seeing Eye in the triangle remaining in the design.
1776
Portrait artist Du Simitiere’s design for Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson suggested shield, Eye of Providence in radiant triangle, and motto, E
Pluribus Unum, all used in final design. Drawn from original in Thomas Jefferson papers.
PDF: The Great Seal of the United States
U.S. Department of State Bureau of Public Affairs
Claim #3:
The interpretation of the eye on the seal is subtly different from the interpretation used by Masons.
How subtle?
Very subtle. He later describes the different nuances...
The eye on the seal represents an active intervention of God in the affairs of men, while the Masonic symbol stands for a passive awareness by
God of the activities of men.
Claim #4:
The eye in the pyramid is not nor has it ever been a Masonic symbol.
The
All-Seeing Eye and the
triangle are both Masonic symbols. They are also used one in the other, as you
can see in
in this illustration
The pyramid itself also has some Masonic symbolism…
The Triangle and Square together form the Pyramid (Figure 3), as seen l in the Entered Apprentice's Apron. In this combination the Pyramid is the
metaphor for units of matter and force, as well as the oneness of man and God. The numbers 3, 5, 7, 9, have their places in the parts and points of
the Square and Triangle when in pyramidal form, and imply Perfection (see Pointed Cubical Stone and Broached Thurnel).
www.phoenixmasonry.org...
Claim #5:
The first "official" use and definition of the all-seeing eye as a Masonic symbol seems to have come in 1797 with The Freemasons Monitor of
Thomas Smith Webb -- 14 years after Congress adopted the design for the seal.
Tracing boards, or floor-cloths are inscribed with Masonic symbols and are used by a Master Mason to instruct a new initiates.
W.Bro. Ray Robinson Mullewa of Australia made the following Tracing Boards available to
freemasons-freemasonry.com.
Two of them struck me as particular:
with the caption:
Ancient Tb, Germany 1770
1770!!!
6 years
before the creation of the seal!
and:
with the caption:
Coll.Biblioteche Nat.Française (Collection of the French National Library)
Remember that Franklin was Grand Master of the Lodge Les Neuf Sœurs from 1779 until 1781, so he was familiar with The French Lodges’ symbolism.
Also notice the number "8" on top of the Eye in the triangle, this indicates that there was a lecture accompanying the symbol. Thus, it was already
an important symbol in French/German Lodges.
I've also notices that Dr. Robert Hieronimus seems to be the major source for Mr. Morris’ article.
Founding Fathers, Secret Societies: is definitely on my
“too buy” list, however I couldn’t help but noticed that one of his other books is
How to Pick Your Personal Lottery Numbers !!
Is this guy legit?
[edit on 15/1/08 by ConspiracyNut23]
