At the turn of the 19th Century, the idea of a General Grand Lodge of the United States was popular among many members of the Grand Lodges. On May 21, 1811, the idea was proffered at a meeting of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia. This was three months after its institution. This idea first arose in 1770 when the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania formally elected George Washington as Grand Master of a General Grand Lodge, and invited the Grand Lodges of Massachusetts and Virginia to join in the movement. The latter two remained silent, so the idea did not materialize. Then on October 8, 1811, the following ad appeared in the newspaper, National Intelligencer:

“Masonic Notice. Those members of Congress who belong to The Masonic Fraternity, and those visitors of the city who are or have been members of any State Grand Lodge, are respectfully invited to attend a meeting to be held in the Senate Chamber, this evening at 7 o’clock, to take into consideration matters of general interest to the Masonic institution.”

A notable assembly of members of Congress and other prominent Masons appeared for the meeting which resulted in a resolution recommending a General Grand Lodge. A committee was appointed to open correspondence with all Grand Lodges and to take steps to carry out the resolution. The need for a General Grand Lodge was to (1) attain an “elevated stand for Masonry in this country” and (2) preserve uniformity of work between the states.

The Grand Lodges of Pennsylvania and Kentucky opposed the idea and others were lukewarm. The Grand Lodge of DC appointed delegates to meet, as requested, and invited others to join them. No meeting was held due to lack of interest, and the matter was dropped for many years.

Then on May 8, 1843, a National Masonic Convention was held in Baltimore, Maryland, where 15 Grand Lodges were represented. There a modified version of a General Grand Lodge was proposed, leaving all Grand Lodges autonomous, and a date was suggested for another meeting to be held in Winchester, Virginia, on May 11, 1846. On that date there was a lack of a quorum, so the meeting adjourned without action.

Next, the Grand Lodge of Maryland called for a convention in Baltimore, in September 1847, where it would submit a constitution for consideration. General agreement was reached and the constitution was approved subject to ratification by at least 16 Grand Lodges. A majority of Grand Lodges approved of the idea of a General Grand Lodge, but the Constitution was not approved due to a need for “modification.”

In 1849, several propositions were introduced in the Grand Lodge of DC looking toward the formation of a General Grand Lodge, and similar movements took place in Maryland and Rhode Island.

In 1853, the Grand Lodge of DC sent delegates to a convention proposed by the Grand Lodge of Maine and held in Lexington, Kentucky, at which time the formation of a General Grand Lodge was considered “inexpedient”, but where it was recommended that there be an establishment of a National Confederation for specific purposes, for instance, the resolution of disputes between Grand Lodges on a two-thirds vote of the Confederation. At a subsequent convention in 1855, Articles of Confederation were drawn up, leaving independence to each Grand Lodge, but failed to receive sufficient affirmative votes.

Finally in 1859, a convention was held in Chicago which explored the feasibility of forming a North American Congress, but it failed for lack of support. This was the last concerted effort to form a General Grand Lodge.

(Source: Charles Iversen, PGM, Article in the 2002 Fall Scottish Rite Bulletin, D.C.)