Archive for September, 2009

Yes, George Washington was a Freemason. Yes, we know you are reading Dan Brown’s recently released “The Lost Symbol” and are now planning your trip to Mount Vernon to come look for hidden Masonic symbols. Well, hate to disappoint but you won’t find them here. But here is what we do know about George Washington and freemasonry:

• He joined a Fredericksburg, Va lodge at age 20 and eventually rose to the rank of Master Mason.
• Many of his friends were Masons, most of his Revolutionary War officers, and over a third of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention were Masons. So yes, there were lots of Masonic connections.
• The Bible used at his Inauguration belonged to a New York Masonic lodge.
• Just as Dan Brown writes, the Capitol’s cornerstone was laid by Washington in a Masonic ceremony and he wore a Masonic apron.
• He received a letter from a G.W. Snyder about the Illuminati but Washington’s response was very critical of the group.
• Washington was placed in the family vault upon his death in 1799 with full Masonic honors.

So that is what we DO know… the rest is just conjecture. There are no secret hidden Masonic symbols at Mount Vernon- but feel free to come look for yourself! And click here to learn a little more about Freemasonry as it is described in Brown’s book.

Since we know how crazy things can get in the principal’s office at the beginning of the school year, we have decided to make lives easier! As you all know, your school can get a FREE oil painting of Rembrandt Peale’s “Porthole Portrait of George Washington” to hang in a highly visible place in your school building as well as our Celebration Kit chock full of lesson activities and a flag flown over Mount Vernon. All you had to do was have your principal write us a letter, right? Well now it’s even easier- print out the letter on this webpage, fill out the mailing and contact information, have your principal sign it, and drop it in the mail. Not to sound like an infomercial, but… How easy is that!?!

Esquire magazine has a hilarious new article online by an author who attempts to live his life by the 110 maxims of the “Rules of Civility” that George Washington copied as a young boy. Our personal favorite is, “Kill no Vermin as Fleas, lice ticks &c in the Sight of Others, if you See any filth or thick Spittle put your foot Dexterously upon it if it be upon the Cloths of your Companions, Put it off privately, and if it be upon your own Cloths return Thanks to him who puts it off.” Take a look at the Rules here and leave a comment letting us know which is your favorite. If you want to use the Rules in the classroom, check out our lesson plan “Going By The Rules.”