The Only Universal Monarchy F Reemasonry, Ritual, and Gender in Revolutionary Rhode Island, 1749-1803
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The Only Universal Monarchy F reemasonry, Ritual, and Gender in Revolutionary Rhode Island, 1749-1803 Samuel Biagetti Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2015 ! ! © 2015 Samuel Biagetti all rights reserved ! ! Abstract The Only Universal Monarchy: F reemasonry, Ritual and Gender in Revolutionary Rhode Island, 1749-1803 Samuel Biagetti Historians, in considering Freemasonry in the eighteenth century, have tended to define it in political terms, as an expression of enlightened sociability and of the secular public sphere that supposedly paved the way for modern democracy. A close examination of the lodges in Newport and Providence, Rhode Island, between 1749 and 1804, disproves these received notions. It finds that, contrary to scholarly perception, Freemasonry was deeply religious and fervently committed to myth and ritual. Freemasonry in this period was not tied to any one social class, but rather the Fraternity attracted a wide array of mobile, deracinated young men, such as mariners, merchants, soldiers, and actors, and while it was religiously heterogeneous, the Fraternity maintained a close relationship with the Anglican Church. The appeal of Masonry to young men in Atlantic port towns was primarily emotional, offering lasting social bonds amidst the constant upheaval of the eighteenth century, as well as a ritually demarcated refuge from the patriarchal responsibilities of the male gender. Masonry celebrated the holiness of kingship in its myths and symbols; far from hotbeds of revolution, the lodges were haunted by the Jacobite movement, which was firmly royalist and traditionalist. Its main political impact in Anglo-America came in the aftermath of independence, when Masonic art and rhetoric helped to carve out a sphere of sacred institutions and loyalties²such as the Constitution, the Navy, the judiciary, and the figure of George Washington²that purportedly stood above partisan politics, and hence could take the place of ! ! the overthrown monarch. Far from proto-GHPRFUDWLF)UHHPDVRQU\DSSHDOHGWRPHQ¶VORQJLQJ for the unity and stability of a restored Biblical kingdom; the lodges operated largely by social deference and suppressed internal politicking. The Masons summed up their mission in their UHSHDWHGWRDVWVLQWKHVWKDWSUD\HG³0D\XQLYHUVDO0DVRQU\EHWKHRQO\XQLYHUVDO PRQDUFK\´ ! ! CONTENTS Acknowledgments Introduction: A “Holy and Spiritual Temple” .....................................................................1 Section I: Cornerstones Chapter 1: Foundations of Freemasonry................................................................26 Chapter 2: The Unfinished Temple—Interpreting Masonic Ritual i. The Nature of Masonic Science..............................................................43 ii. The Esoteric Background of Masonry...................................................54 iii. Masonic Degree Rituals........................................................................61 iv. Other Rituals.........................................................................................82 Section II: The Colonial Babel—The Rise and Fall of Freemasonry in Colonial Rhode Island, 1749-1779 Chapter 3: “Behold a Master Mason Rare”—The Social Makeup of Colonial Rhode Island Masonry, 1749-1765.............................................97 Chapter 4: “Fair for All to Read and See”—Masonry in the Colonial Public Sphere ......................................................................................................159 Chapter 5: The Trials of Early Freemasonry in Jamaica, 1739-1780..................190 Chapter 6: “But Few There Are to Whom They’re Known”—Masonry in the Colonial Enlightenment ...........................................................................216 Chapter 7: The Collapse of Masonry in the Imperial Crisis, 1763-1779.............244 Section III: “Refined By Aethereal Fire”—The Higher Degrees and Revolutionary Masonry, 1776-1782 Chapter 8: The Revolution and the Return of Masonry to Providence, 1776-1779 ................................................................................................279 Chapter 9: The French Alliance and King David’s Lodge, Newport, 1779-1782 ................................................................................................311 Chapter 10: The Higher Degrees and Masonic Royalism ...................................348 Chapter 11: “A Revolution in Fullness of Time”—Masonry and Apocalypse ...381 Section IV: “The Consummation of all Things”—The Freemasons in the Early Republic, 1781-1803 Chapter 12: “The Western Pilgrims”— James Mitchell Varnum and the Peacetime Transition, 1781-1789 ............................................................409 Chapter 13: “The Thirteenth Arch”—The Rhode Island Freemasons and The Constitution, 1785-1790 ...................................................................442 Chapter 14: “The Only Universal Monarchy”—Freemasonry in the Federal Heyday, 1790-1799.....................................................................478 Chapter 15: “Plots and Conspiracies”—The Crisis of the French Revolution ....515 Chapter 16: The Expansion of Masonry, 1796-1802...........................................538 Chapter 17: “A Double Portion of His Spirit”—The Masonic Apotheosis, 1799-1800 ................................................................................................595 Section V: Guarding the Gates—The Limits of Masonic Brotherhood Chapter 18: The Freemasons and the Slave Trade, Slavery, and Racism............611 Chapter 19: Freemasonry, Women, and Gender..................................................651 Conclusions: Masonry at the Opening of the Nineteenth Century i. The Completion of Masons Hall, Newport, 1803.................................697 ii. The Results of Ritual—The Disillusionment of Dr. Case, Providence, 1801-1802 ......................................................................703 iii. The Masonic Masque—Harlequin Free-Mason, Providence, 1803-1804 ......................................................................711 iv. The Destruction of the Philadelphia, Tripoli, 1804............................714 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................718 Appendix: Biographical Glossary....................................................................................736 Acknowledgments It is appropriate that such a long dissertation should include a long list of sincere expressions of thanks. The journey that led to this dissertation would have been impossible without years of help and support from too many people to catalogue, including archivists, libriarians, scholars, friends and family, and Masons themselves. With regard to the research on which this work is built, four people are entitled to particular thanks: Bert Lippencott of the Newport Historical Society; Rick Lynch of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Rhode Island; David /DYHU\RI6DLQW-RKQ¶V/RGJHno. 1, Portsmouth, Rhode Island; and Susan Snell of the Library and Museum of Freemasonry at the United Grand Lodge of England. I am forever grateful for their frankness and their generosity with time and knowledge. Many other archivists and historical professionals have also made this dissertation possible through their patience and diligence, such as Aimee Newell and others at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library; Katherine Chansky and others at the Rhode Island Historical Society; Cynthia Allcorn of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Massachusetts; the archivists of the Jamaica Archives and Records Department; and the librarians of the American Antiquarian Society, among others. Additionally, I am grateful to the other scholars who have shown unwavering support for my project and provided me with invaluable guidance. Foremost among them are Christopher Brown and Evan Haefeli, who have provided me with scholarly perspective while allowing almost free rein to my Masonic obsession. Many other scholars, both at Columbia and elsewhere, have provided important assistance and insight, particularly Pamela Smith, Matthew Jones, Euan Cameron, Elisheva Carlebach, Elaine Crane, Herbert Sloan, and Charly Coleman, as well as Barbara Fields, Jane Kamensky, Steven Bullock, Natasha Lightfoot, Gertrude Yeager, Jonathan Sarna, Yoni Applebaum, Chernoh Sesay, John Brooke, Dale Van Kley, John Millar, """! ! and others. In addition, fellow graduate students have provided invaluable feedback to my ideas and to drafts of this dissertation, and I am especially grateful to Justin Reynolds and Asheesh Siddique for organizing social spaces in which I learned so much from my peers. The research and writing of this dissertation was feasible also because of the constant support DQGSDWLHQFHRIP\FORVHIULHQGVDQGIDPLO\LQWKH³UHDOZRUOG´SDUWLFXODUO\P\PRWKHU and father. Finally, I must acknowledge the patience, generosity, and good will that greeted me from almost every Freemason and every Masonic lodge that I encountered in my research. In addition to Rick Lynch and David Lavery, I am grateful to Bob Sinclair of Washington Lodge in Warren, Rhode ,VODQG/HRQDUG³7RXJK\´6DQIRUGRI6DLQW$OEDQ¶V/RGJHLQ%ULVWRO5KRGH,VODQGand the Brethren of Friendship Lodge in Chepachet, Rhode Island, of Hiram Lodge in Providence, Rhode Island, RI6DLQW-RKQ¶V/RGJHDQG6WRQH7RZHU/RGJHLQ1HZSRUW5KRGH,VODQGDQGRI Friendly Lodge and other lodges in Kingston, Jamaica. Many times, these Masons helped me to find and understand