The Gilded Age of Fraternalism

Brotherhood and Modernism in 1920s America

Authors

  • Miguel Hernandez University of Exeter

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jrff.v5i2.27646

Keywords:

Fraternalism, 1920s America, Freemasonry, Ku Klux Klan, Luncheon Clubs

Abstract

The growth of the American obsession with fraternalism has been the subject of several historical treatises all seeking to understand what drew men and women into the lodge. The 1920s however, are a period that is often overlooked and neglected. Fraternalism continued to be a powerful national influence during this decade, and across the country orders received a surge of new recruits in the years following the First World War. Although their lodges had plenty of applicants, many fraternal leaders were concerned about the state of their institution in this post-war era. This article aims to analyse the evolution in the fraternal market that took place in the 1920s by examining the rapidly modernizing society of the Jazz Age and discussing the changing priorities of America’s men and women.

Author Biography

  • Miguel Hernandez, University of Exeter

    Miguel Hernandez is an Associate Lecturer at the University of Exeter. He would like to thank the Arts and Humanities Research Council of the UK and the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress for providing the funds to complete this research.

References

Publications and Lodges

Chicago Daily Tribune. ‘300,000 Shriners Expected; Gala Week in Capital’. Chicago Daily Tribune, June 3, 1923.

Chicago Daily Tribune. ‘Golden Rule in Fraternalism, Coolidge Says’. Chicago Daily Tribune, August 30, 1924.

The Fellowship Forum. ‘Letter: Warns Masons to Unite Force’. The Fellowship Forum, June 30, 1923.

Grand Lodge of Kentucky. Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky. Louisville, KY: Masonic Home Printing Office, 1922.

Grand Lodge of Illinois. Procedings of the Grand Lodge Independent Order of Odd Fellows of the State of Illinois 1920. Springfield, IL: Grand Lodge of Illinois, 1920.

Grand Lodge of Illinois. Procedings of the Grand Lodge Independent Order of Odd Fellows of the State of Illinois 1922. Springfield, IL: Grand Lodge of Illinois, 1922.

Grand Lodge of New York. Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of New York. New York: Lent & Graff Co. Press, 1922.

Grand Lodge of Oregon. Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Oregon. NP: NP, 1921.

Grand Lodge of Texas. Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Texas. Waco, TX: Gayle Printing Company, 1921.

Los Angeles Times. ‘Harding Lauds Justice, Loyalty of Shriners’. Los Angeles Times, June 6, 1923.

The Washington Post. ‘Throng Cheers Gorgeous Effects and Great Drill Exhibitions of Marchers’. The Washington Post, June 7, 1923.

Primary Sources

Allen, Devere. ‘Substitutes for Brotherhood’. In KKK: The Kreed of Klansmen, ed. E. Haldeman-Julius. Girard, KS: Haldeman-Julius Company, 1924.

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Weber, Max. From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. Trans. H.H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. New York: Oxford University Press, 1946.

Published

2016-07-22

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Hernandez, M. (2016). The Gilded Age of Fraternalism: Brotherhood and Modernism in 1920s America. Journal for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism, 5(2), 200-224. https://doi.org/10.1558/jrff.v5i2.27646