Symbolism in America: Everything is Not As It Seems

The first two pages of the First Draft of my Expository Essay for my Honors American Literature course. Includes Works Cited.

Teralyn E.

Prof. Arlene Monroe

Honors American Literature 21

09 February 2012

Symbolism in America: Everything Is Not As It Seems

 

America was founded on symbolism; the national tokens and designs, mistakenly attributed to the nation’s Christian heritage, are collectively related to a very esoteric American history. These symbols and tokens date back past the foundation of America, in 1776, far through the expansive history of Europe and Egypt; they were brought into our nation by the forefathers of America.

The Founding Fathers of America are the foundation of our national traditions, and the symbols that we use to represent our nation. The inspiration and sources of their foundation is most commonly assumed to be simply from religious beliefs, generally in the Judeo-Christian alignment, and the want for the freedom to do what they pleased without the grief and tyranny of a king. The vision of the forefathers, though, is most simply found in the American tagline ‘E Pluribus Unum’; the Latin phrase translates to ‘Out of Many, One’ and is most directly correlated to the unification of the thirteen colonies into one nation. Although this correlation is accurate, it is only one layer to the story. The Latin motto also refers to the planned oneness of the world, the forefathers’ true vision of the new nation of America (Hieronimus 170). The Founding Fathers had many external influences in their decisions when founding America, the majority of which tie back to groups of occultists and secret societies.

Rosicrucian and Masonic societies had a great influence on the founding of America, and the national symbols and emblems that it would hold. The most important forefather, George Washington, was a Freemason. According to the George Washington Masonic Memorial, he joined the Masonic Lodge of Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1752, and was buried with Masonic Honors in 1799 (George Washington Masonic Memorial). To this day, there have been a total of fourteen Freemason presidents in the United States of America; these presidents include Andrew Jackson, William Taft, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman (The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania). Rosicrucianism, a predecessor of Freemasonry, was brought from the ‘Old World’ of Europe, primarily through scientist and author, Francis Bacon. In David Ovason’s book ‘Secret Symbols of the Dollar Bill’, he writes “[Samuel] Totten equated the birth of the United States with the beginnings of the New Atlantis” (Ovason p. viii). Francis Bacon, a known Rosicrucian, wrote a Utopian novel entitled ‘The New Atlantis’ which had striking similarities to America’s future. Bacon wrote about a utopian nation, located between Peru and Japan, which was called Bensalem, where laws, such as freedom of religion and monogamy, ruled the land (Bacon, ‘The New Atlantis’). Bensalem is a township in the state of Pennsylvania, which was established in 1692, only sixty-six years after ‘New Atlantis’ was written, and Sir Francis Bacon had passed away (Bensalem Township, ‘History’). Francis Bacon is also reputed to have been a financial investor in the state of Virginia, when America was first beginning. His involvement and influence over the start of the country is the most fathomable reason for the Rosicrucian symbolism present in America’s history. According to the AMROC Rosicrucian Order, in 1694, a group of Rosicrucian leaders crossed the Atlantic in a boat named ‘Sarah Maria’. The Rosicrucians plan was directly taken from Bacon’s writing, ‘The New Atlantis’, and was a quest to plant the roots of Rosicrucian arts and science in American soil. After the establishment of such a colony, leaders such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson became involved with the Rosicrucian society, along with the author ‘The Age of Reason’, Thomas Paine. 

Works Cited

AMORC Rosicrucian Order. "Our Traditional and Chronological History." AMORC Rosicrucian Order. Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis English Grand Lodge for the Americans, 1 Feb. 2001. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. <http://www.rosicrucian.org/about/mastery/mastery08history.html>.

Bacon, Francis. The New Atlantis. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1901. Print.

Bensalem Township. "History." BensalemTownship.org. Bensalem Township, 1 Mar. 2003. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. <http://bensalemtwp.org/abouthistory.html>.

Eye Of The Phoenix : Secrets Of The Dollar Bill. Dir. Christian J. Pinto. By Christian J. Pinto. Prod. Christian J. Pinto. Perf. Ed Decker, Obadiah Harris, and Robert Hieronimus. Antiquities Research Films, 2009. Online Documentary. Google Videos. Web. 28 Jan. 2012. <http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4746728395965847122#>.

The George Washington Masonic National Memorial Assoc., Inc. "George Washington, The Mason." Welcome to the George Washington Masonic Memorial. The George Washington Masonic National Memorial Assoc., Inc., 15 Mar. 2009. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. <http://gwmemorial.org/washingtonTheMason.php>.

The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania. "Masonic Presidents Of The United States." The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania. PA Grand Lodge, 22 Mar. 2006. Web. 19 Feb. 2012. <http://www.pagrandlodge.org/mlam/presidents/index.html>.

Hieronimus, Robert, and Laura Cortner. Founding Fathers, Secret Societies: Freemasons, Illuminati, Rosicrucians, and the Decoding of the Great Seal. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Rochester, VT: Destiny, 2006. Print.

Ovason, David. Secret Symbols of the Dollar Bill: A Closer Look at the Hidden Magic and Meaning of the Money You Use Every Day. Harper Collins, 2004. Print.

Paine, Thomas, and Philip S. Foner. The Age of Reason. 2nd ed. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel, 1974. Print.

Author's Note

Feel free to leave comments, reviews, critiques, etc. I haven't turned this in yet, and it's not revised, so any constructive advice would be appreciated.