XVI.--THE ANTIMASONIC PARTY: A STUDY OF POLITICAL ANTI

MASONRY IN THE UNITED STATES, 1827-1840.

By CHARLES MCCARTHY, Ph. D.,

Sometime Fellow in History in the University of Wisconsin.

[The Justin Winsor prize of the American Historical Association was awarded to the author for this monograph.]

THE ANTIMASONIC PARTY.

By CHARLES MCCARTHY.

PREFACE.

The writer was first attracted to the subject of the Antimasonic party through a study which he made of the Erie Canal in connection with a class conducted by Prof. F. J. Turner, of the University of Wisconsin. Since that time he has carried on the investigation wherever documents on the subject were to be found. These have been of such a miscellaneous character as to require some description.

Material. As the party I am about to consider had no Congressional career, the printed debates, etc., give us no inkling of its principles and progress. The journals of the various State legislatures, too, furnish us with but the slightest information, as the legislative debates are not printed except in the newspapers. Although a few books and pamphlets have been written in which matter relating to the movement can be found, yet they have treated the question almost wholly from the social rather than the political aspect and therefore give the coloring and not the substance. Nevertheless, there are a few sources of this nature which are particularly useful, such as Weed's Autobiography, Seward's Autobiography, and Hammond's Political History of New York.

The newspapers, then, form the main contemporaneous sources of information. But as is true also in our own day this source must be used with the greatest caution. In dealing with such material, the political bias of every newspaper must be thorougly examined. This I have tried to do, and I have also used where possible several newspapers of differ ent political affiliations in order to verify statements.

As newspapers are ephemeral and difficult of access, I have often quoted at considerable length from them. In this way

I have tried to illustrate the movement and show it in its true color. Considering the material, I believe this to be a more

truthful method than generalization because it gives the reader a chance to judge for himself as to the weight of a statement. Wherever possible I have used pamphlet material, almanacs, broadsides, and statements of old men who lived in the times described, in order to verify my coloring and to give the right setting. I have also visited personally nearly all the great centers of Antimasonic enthusiasm in order to examine the present-day feeling, the racial characteristics, and the economic and religious conditions of these sections.

Method. I have tried to examine where possible into the economic, social, religious, and sectional basis of the movement. It is popular in making studies of these conditions to map the whole matter and reduce it to estimates, diagrams, and statistics. While the truth and accuracy of a great deal of this work is unquestioned, it is not entirely satisfactory as such a method does not admit of the elements of custom, prejudice and irrational impulse or enthusiasm. Such a method describes but poorly the excitement, the bitterness, the personal element, and the "hurrah" strength, which all go to make up any political movement. Such a method leads to dogmatic conclusions. It would be easy also to generalize and make my narrative clear cut, but it would not tell the whole truth. Movements like this do not start from one or two causes. The beginnings are often obscure and ill defined. The issues partake of a like nature. In fact, in order truthfully to follow the trend of such a movement we must diligently show the changes in principles from time to time and in different sections, and give a picture of the wavering, halting, confused nature of its growth. I have preferred this method for its truthfulness even at the risk of sometimes "not seeing the forest for the trees."

I have divided my subject into five main parts, as follows: 1. The movement in New York.

2. The movement in Pennsylvania.

3. The movement in all other States briefly considered. 4. The movement in national politics.

5. A short analysis of the fundamentals of the movement. My thanks are due to Prof. J. F. Jameson, of the University of Chicago, and Prof. F. J. Turner and Dr. U. B. Phillips, of the University of Wisconsin, for helpful suggestions.

MADISON, WIS., August, 1902.