In the nineteenth century, there was public fear of secret societies such as the Freemasons and Odd Fellows. Public prejudice was fanned by ex-Masons and various religious leaders who preached the "evils" of fraternal organizations with secret oaths and initiations, despite the fact that founding fathers such as George Washington had been Freemasons. An Anti-Masonic party was formed and several Anti-Masons, such as Joseph Ritner, were elected to prominent positions. Ritner, in fact, became the eighth governor of Pennsylvania and did have positive accomplishments, including speaking out against slavery. Eventually the public tired of the tirade against Freemasonry but not before numerous pamphlets such as the ones collected in this volume were published. Note bookplate designed by James Jervis Blomfield (1879-1951), Canadian artist and designer best known for his design of the coat of arms of Vancouver.
