The Freemasons

To understand how The Protocols came to be formed we have to understand a little of the background of secret societies and how they influenced the French revolution. Secret societies have been around for a long time, like a really long time. They are mentioned in the stone carvings of the ancient Babylonian Code of Hammurabi which dates back four thousand years ago, and secret sects or cults have been recorded in Ancient Egyptian times. There are a range of reasons as to why secret societies operate: guilds restrict information to protect their profits, intense persecution like the early Christian groups and modern groups often organise as their ideas are revolutionary or

subversive.

The Freemasons

One of the most famous and long-lasting secret societies is the Freemasons. Early Freemasonry was filled with working and middle classes as it had arisen out of craftsmen guilds which provided benefits to members such as wage protection, life insurance, access to skilled artists who provided training as well as an opportunity to socialize.[i] Freemasonry adopted the rites and trappings of ancient religious orders and of chivalric brotherhoods and many lodges were filled with symbols that are allegories to the principles of Freemasonry which are morality, charity and obedience to law.

By the late 1700s Freemasons became increasingly aristocratic with a variety of halls sharing a multitude of beliefs: some progressive who wanted to secularize society while others were monarchist and conservative. We can see this shift in the United States as many of the United States Founding Fathers were of the aristocratic class and Freemasons, it is why we see the profusion of Masonic symbols in American (such as the Eye of Providence or the sextant).

[i] Tom Garlinghouse, & Callum McKelvie. Freemasons: Behind the Veil of Secrecy." (Livescience.com. January 22, 2022.) https://www.livescience.com/freemasons.html.