This is the first comprehensive account of freemasonry in the Western world, written by two of the field’s foremost scholars. It embraces every country in the Americas, with a particular focus on the American experience. The authors devote significant attention to the Scottish origins of the lodges and their growth in the American colonies, against a backdrop of European imperialism and the emergence of democratic movements. Later they examine the story of freemasonry in the twentieth century, from its encounter with Nazism to its decline beginning in the 1960s. Future directions for the movement are also discussed. Along the way major figures in the movement are assessed: Benjamin Franklin, Alessandro Cagliostro, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Harry S. Truman, and many others.

Masons and non-masons, college students, and the curious general reader will find Freemasonry and Civil Society a dazzling and accessible account of one of the world’s most enduring fraternal organizations

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“In this lucid and engaging survey, two of the world’s leading experts on the history of freemasonry explain how it shaped modern social and political cultures. The history of freemasonry can be bewildering, but Margaret Jacob and Maru Vázquez provide an authoritative and accessible overview which deftly disentangles the many different threads in the masonic story. This will be the definitive introduction to the history of freemasonry for many years to come.”

—Andrew Prescott, University of Glasgow