A very relevant portion of text regarding the evolution of American Freemasonry.
Being a Mason can make you a better man. Take a look through these questions
Read about the beginnings of our lodge.
“To me, Freemasonry is one form of dedication to God and service to humanity.”
“The values and ideas, the profound principals of religion, morality, and honour for which Masonry stands, mean much to me as an American.”
There is, as I see it, nothing like Masonry. It is unique in its fellowship which spreads over much of the earth, in addition to our own country. Moreover, this in-depth fellowship spans the years, even the centuries, running back into antiquity. To me it means a personal relationship with great historical personalities and, taken by and large, also with about the finest body of men whom it is possible to assemble anywhere.
Attending Lodge and participating in Masonic activities gave me confidence. I learned to work with people. I found that everyone, every single brother, had a special talent. All I had to do was bring it out. The Brother, then, saw quickly enough how to put his talent to use.
And his success at Lodge work gave him confidence too! He passed it on to others, and they still to others. It wasn't necessary to repeat a self-help motto like "I believe in me." Just doing the work and seeing the results were enough.
Confidence in self, in the Lodge, in Masonry, in the community and nation - it caught on, and I have seen it spread farther and farther as I continue my Masonic journey in life, meeting ever more Brothers and sharing with them the confidence Freemasonry can give
Ever since I became a Mason, the work has not only charmed me, but also impressed me. I can further add that, as a public speaker, it has also given me enhanced perception of the nobility of words and their inspirational power when used in skillful combination and for the expression of lofty thoughts." Norman Vincent Peale - Minister and Author
“Freemasonry embraces the highest moral laws and will bear the test of any system of ethics or philosophy ever promulgated for the uplift of man." Douglas MacArthur - General of the Army
"The Masonic Fraternity is one of the most helpful mediating and conserving organizations among men, and I have never wavered from that childhood impression, but it has stood steadfastly with me through the busy, vast hurrying years." George W. Truett - Southern Baptist Leader
George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, James Garfield, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Howard Taft, Warren Harding, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford
Benjamin Franklin, Buffalo Bill Cody, Davey Crockett, Kit Carson, Sam Houston, Paul Revere
Roald Amundsen, Richard E. Byrd, Lewis and Clark, Cpt. James Cook, Matthew Henson, Charles Lindbergh, Lord Minto, Governor General of India, Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore, Robert F. Scott, Sir Ernest Shackelton
Pierre Beauregard, Omar Bradley - West Point Lodge No.877, NY, Sir Guy Carleton, Mark Clark, Lord Cornwallis, Jimmy Doolittle, Viscount Jellicoe, Ernest King, Lord Kitchener, Curtis Lemay, George C. Marshall, Douglas MacArthur (Manila Lodge No. 1, Phillipines) , Lord Mountbatten, Audie Murphy, Lord Nelson, John Paul Jones, John Pershing, Field Marshal Suvorov, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, Duke of Wellington
John Jacob Astor, Thomas Bradley, Mayor of Los Angeles, Robert J. Dole, Senator (Kansas) , Medgar W. Evers, Henry Ford, Founder of Ford Motor Company, Barry M. Goldwater, Senator. (Arizona) , Charles Hilton, Founder of Hilton Hotels, Rev. Jesse Jackson, John H. Johnson, Publisher Ebony and Jet Magazines, J.C. Penny, Andre Citroen, Baron Nathan Mayer Rothschild, Joel R. Poinsett, USA Secretary of War, Col. Harlan Sanders, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Morris Sachs, Sachs 5th Ave. , Carl B. Stokes, Mayor of Cleveland, Dave Thomas, Founder of Wendy's Restaurants, Andrew Young: Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, Whitney M. Young.
Booker T. Washington - Grand Master, Massachusetts, PHA
John Brown
Robert Burns, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edward Gibbon, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Alex Haley, Rudyard Kipling, Norman Vincent Peale, Alexander Pope, Robert Service, Sir Walter Scott, Jonathan Swift, Mark Twain, Lew Wallace, Voltaire, Oscar Wilde
Alphonse Mucha, Monument Creators, Alexander Eiffel: Designer of the Eiffel Tower, Christopher Wren, James Smithson: Founder Smithsonian Institute, Sir Joseph Banks, Gutzon Borglum, Mount Rushmore, Frederick Bartholdi: Statue of Liberty
Irving Berlin, Ludwig van Beethoven, George Michael Cohan, Gilbert & Sullivan, W.C. Handy, Franz Haydn, Jerome Kern, Franz Liszt, Wolfgang Mozart, Hans Schuler, Jean Julius Sibelius, John Phillip Sousa , Country Western, Eddy Arnold, Roy Acuff, Rex Allen, Gene Autry, Roy Clark, Jim Davis, Ferlin Husky, Burl Ives, Eddy Peabody,Tex Ritter, Jimmy Rodgers, Roy Rogers, Mel Tillis, Hank Thompson
Louis Armstrong, William "Count" Basie, Eubie Blake, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Al Jolson, Tony Martin, Oscar Peterson, Paul Whiteman
Bud Abbott, Eddie Albertson, Cliff Arquette, Ernest Borgnine, Wallace Beery, Mel Blanc, Eddie Cantor, Charles Correll (Amos), Freeman Gosden (Andy), William DeBeck , Cecil B. DeMille , Glenn Ford, Douglas Fairbanks , Hoot Gibson , Clark Gable ,Harold Gray, Oliver Hardy, Jean Hersholt, Harry Houdini ,Buck Jones, Emmott Kelly , Wayne King , Harold Lloyd, Harpo Marx, Tom Mix, Conrad Nagel , Carroll O'Connor, Tyrone Power, Dick Powell, Richard Pryor, Charles "Chic" Sale, Will Rogers, Red Skelton, Peter Sellers, Frank Skinner, Danny Thomas, Hal Brent Wallis, John Wayne, Billy Wilder, Chill Wills, Jonathan Winters, Ed Wynn, Allan Young, (Mr. Ed), Darry l F. Zanuck, Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.
Arnold "Red" Auerbach, George Brent, Avery Bundage, Ty Cobb , Jack Dempsey, Jake Gaudaur, Tim Horton, Jack Johnston, Willie Mays, Arnold Palmer, Branch Rickey, Sugar Ray Robinson
Sam Houston, Stephen Austin, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, William B. Travis and,it should be added, General Santa Ana.