05/15/2026
On this day, May 14th, 1787, delegates from across the young United States began arriving at Independence Hall in Philadelphia to undertake one of the greatest political undertakings in world history the creation of the United States Constitution.
The Constitutional Convention would continue through September 17, 1787, producing the framework of government that still guides our nation today. Presiding over the Convention was Brother George Washington, a Freemason whose honor, discipline, humility, and leadership helped unite a fragile and uncertain republic only a few years removed from the Revolutionary War.
America in 1787 stood at a crossroads. The Revolution had been won, but the nation itself remained unstable. The Articles of Confederation had proven weak, the states often quarreled amongst themselves, and many feared the union could collapse entirely. In that uncertain hour, men gathered in Philadelphia to attempt something few believed possible a government powerful enough to survive, yet restrained enough to preserve liberty.
Among the delegates and founders connected to that historic period were several Freemasons whose names remain forever woven into the history of the United States.
Brother George Washington, Master Mason of
Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 in Virginia, presided over the Convention and later became the first President of the United States.
Brother Benjamin Franklin, Past Grand Master of Pennsylvania and one of the most influential Freemasons in early America, attended the Convention at 81 years old. Though elderly and in poor health, Franklin repeatedly called for compromise and unity among the delegates, recognizing that the survival of the republic depended upon it.
Brother Edmund Randolph of Virginia, who introduced the Virginia Plan that became the foundation for debate during the Convention, is widely believed to have been a Freemason.
Brother Gunning Bedford Jr. of Delaware, another delegate associated with Freemasonry, strongly advocated for the protection of smaller states within the union.
Brother John Blair Jr., later appointed to the United States Supreme Court by George Washington, is also historically connected to the Craft.
Though not delegates to the Convention itself, many other major figures of the American founding era and Revolution were Freemasons as well, including Brothers Paul Revere, John Hancock,Marquis de Lafayette, Nathanael Greene, and John Sullivan.
Freemasonry during the 18th century was more than a fraternity it was a place where men of different classes, religions, and political beliefs met together “upon the level.” Within the lodge room, men were taught morality, self-discipline, equality, religious tolerance, charity, and civic virtue. Those same principles deeply influenced the spirit of the American founding.
While the Constitution was not written as a “Masonic document,” there is no denying the visible presence and influence of Freemasons among the patriots, soldiers, statesmen, and thinkers who helped shape the United States.
The founders understood something vital: liberty could only survive among a moral and virtuous people. Freemasonry reinforced those ideals by teaching men to govern themselves first through reason, integrity, accountability, and truth.
In 1793, Brother George Washington would later lay the cornerstone of the United States Capitol in full Masonic ceremony, symbolizing the connection between the enduring principles of the Craft and the hope of the American experiment.
Today, we remember not only the events that began in Philadelphia in May of 1787, but also the men who dedicated themselves to building something greater than themselves a constitutional republic founded upon liberty, duty, and moral principle.
May we, as Freemasons, continue striving to uphold the timeless tenets of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth, and may we prove ourselves worthy of the legacy left behind by the Brothers and patriots who helped shape this nation.
