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     Hopefully this article will explain some of the symbolism of our
Craft and will show, by using the quotes of some Masonic scholars, that
we are an order that wants to make the entire world a better place to
live. We have no other mission than that which has been clearly
articulated by Masons from time immemorial.

Questions for the Fellowcraft Mason

 1.  What are we trying to emphasize in the Fellowcraft Degree?
 2.  The Fellowcraft Degree symbolizes man in what period of his life?
 3.  Approximately when did we start to become speculative rather than
     operative Masons?
 4.  When and where was the first Grand Lodge formed?
 5.  What does the level symbolize?
 6.  What does the plumb symbolize?
 7.  What are the jewels of the Fellowcraft and what do they symbolize?
 8.  What do corn, wine, and oil represent?
 9.  What are the names of the two pillars at the beginning of the
     flight of winding stairs and what do they represent?
10.  What do the winding stairs as a whole represent?
11.  What do the first three steps represent?
12.  What do the next five steps represent?
13.  What do the final seven steps represent?
14.  Why is there an odd number of steps?
15.  What are we trying to teach on the journey to the Middle Chamber?
16.  What is the Middle Chamber?
17.  Why do we use the letter "G"?
18.  Why is the cable-tow placed on the right side?

What was the first Lodge in America?
     While it is reasonable to assume Masonry was formally established
in America prior to 1730, records are fragmentary at best. In 1776, the
records of the Grand Lodge of England show that it had authorized the
formation of 36 local lodges in America.
     However, the first written records of a Masonic lodge in America
are those of St. John's Lodge in Philadelphia and date back to 1731.
Benjamin Franklin was made a Mason in 1734. It is certainly clear that
Masonry and Masonic lodges were well established prior to that date, but
written evidence is fragmentary.

What was the first truly American Lodge?
     In 1733, a ceremony took place in the Bunch of Grapes Tavern in
Boston. Acting under written authority from the Grand Lodge of England,
the first American Masonic Lodge was founded by Henry Price, who was
described as Provincial Grand Master of New England.

What was the most help in causing the expansion of Masonry in America
during the early years?
     During that early period, other European Masons -- without
dispensation from European Grand Lodges -- met in the Americas, formed
Lodges, and initiated candidates. Military lodges, formed by Masons who
were members of a nation's armed forces, account for important
expansions in the dissemination and growth of the Fraternity.

Who published the first Book of Constitutions in America?
     Ben Franklin was a Master Mason in Philadelphia when he published
the first Masonic publication in the New World, The Book of
Constitutions, in 1734.

Did Masons participate in the Revolutionary War?
     Masons played an important part in the formation of the United
States and especially in the Revolutionary War and the events that led
up to this war. It is commonly believed that the lodge rooms of a Boston
Masonic Lodge served as the dressing room for the so-called Indians who
threw the Boston Tea Party. Paul Revere, who later went on to be Grand
Master of Massachusetts, was thought to be one of those Indians.

What part did Masons play in the formation of the new government?
     Because of incomplete records, authorities differ on such matters
as:
How many Masons signed the Declaration of Independence? The
Constitution? How many Presidents of the United States were Masons? Of
the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, the number eight is
usually accepted as the absolute minimum of Masons who signed the
document. Though some evidence exists to show another 24 were Masons, It
is not regularly accepted that they were Masons. Clearly, 13 of the 39
who signed the Constitution were members of Masonic lodges. Of the
others, absolute proof has not been found.

How much influence did the Masonic fraternity have on the creation of
our system of government?
     In 1717, in England, local Masonic lodges created a system whereby
they sent representatives to a body called the Grand Lodge, which
governed them all. The Grand Lodge then elected its own Grand Master.
The experiment, which began in this country in 1788, is one in which
states send their representatives to a Congress. And if Brother
Alexander Hamilton had prevailed, the Congress would be electing the
President of the United States. Sound familiar?
     A number of authorities report that General George Washington's
staff looked like a Masonic convention. The list of American Masons in
Washington's service included many of his Generals. Other revolutionary
heroes included Patrick Henry, Nathan Hale, and John Paul Jones, just to
name a few. The record shows that by 1800 there were 347 lodges in the
United States.

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