SOURCE: Cinosam (JUN 2006); and various Internet recordings

Bro. George Washington

Like many Masonic Presidents, George Washington served as Worshipful Master of his Lodge, but is the only one to do so while President of the United States (1789 - 1797). Commanding General during the American Revolution. Raised a Mason 4 AUG 1753, Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4, AF&AM, Fredericksburg, VA.

Bro. James Monroe

5th President (1817 - 1825). Made a Mason 9 NOV 1775 in Williamsburg Lodge No. 6, AF&AM, Williamsburg, VA.

Bro. Andrew Jackson

7th President (1829 - 1837), Harmony Lodge No. 1, Nashville, TN. In 1822 and 1823, he served as the Grand Master of Masons in TN. He was also an Honorary member of Federal Lodge No. 1, F&AM (Washington, DC); and Jackson Lodge No. 1, F&AM (Tallahassee, FL). Jackson was also a Royal Arch Mason.

Bro. James K. Polk

11th President (1845 - 1849) became a Mason 4 SEP 1820 in Columbia Lodge No. 31, F&AM , Columbia, TN. He also served as JD and JW. Polk was a York Rite member (Mark and Royal Arch Mason). He survived gall bladder surgery at age 17 with some brandy as the only sedative. As President, he assisted in laying the Masonic cornerstone of the Smithsonian Institute.

Bro. James Buchanan

15th President (1857 - 1861) was made a Mason 24 JAN 1817 in Lodge No. 43 (no name), F&AM in Lancaster, PA. He served as JW in 1821 & 1822; and subsequently as WM. Although not a Grand Master, as were Truman and Jackson, he did serve as a Deputy Grand Master for three Pennsylvania counties. Buchanan was the only bachelor to be elected president (his fiancee broke off the engagement & then suddenly died).

Bro. Andrew Johnson

17th President (1865 - 1869) succeeded President Lincoln after he was fatally shot. Andrew Johnson, born in Raleigh, NC, grew up in proverty. In his adult life, he championed the common man. In the 1840s and 1850s he advocated a homestead bill to provide a free farm for the poor man. He was made a Mason in MAY 1851, in Greensville Lodge No 3, F&AM, Greensville, TN. In 1864, the Republican Party nominated Johnson for Vice President of the U.S. Johnson never attended school!! His future wife, Eliza McCardle, taught him to write at the age of 17. He was such a good tailor that he only wore suits that he custom-tailored himself. Johnson was a Knights Templar, and was also the first President to take up the degrees of Scottish Rite. He became a 32nd degree Scottish Rite mason in 1867 while President and living in the White House.

Bro. James Garfield

20th President (1881) was made a Mason 22 NOV 1864 IN Columbus Lodge No. 30, F&AM, Columbus, OH. It took 3 years and a day between his EA & FC (a good excuse however, he was serving in the Union Army during the Civil War). He later was a charter member of a D.C. Lodge. Garfield was a member of both the Scottish Rite and York Rite.

Bro. William McKinley

25th President (1897 - 1901) was made a Mason 3 MAY 1865 in Hiram Lodge No. 21, AF&AM, Winchester, VA. He later became a member of Eagle Lodge No. 431 of Canton, Ohio. This Lodge was remaned Wm. McKinley Lodge after his assassination. McKinley was also a member of the York Rite.

Bro. Teddy Roosevelt

26th President (1901 - 1909). At the age of 18, Teddy Roosevelt entered Harvard College for 4 years. He was a passionate hunter of big game. In 1898, he went to Cuba as a Lieutenant Colonel of a regiment of Volunteer Cavalry (consisting of a recruited group of hunters and cowboys of the West). It was in Cuba that he gained the great fame as a leader of the "Rough Riders." In 1900, he was elected as Vice President for less than one year–and assumed the office of President when Preesident William McKinley was assassinated on 14 SEP 1901. [In 1904, he was elected as President for a full term]. He was made a Mason 24 APR 1901 in Matinecock Lodge No. 806, F&AM, Oyster Bay, NY. Roosevelt’s literary output--most, a collection at Harvard Univeresity--included 26 literary books, thousands of magazine articles; and he wrote equally as many letters and speeches. Later, he was elected as Governor of New York. Teddy Roosevelt was a long-time New York State Mason, and took time during his presidency to visit the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania for the sesquicentennial of Bro. Washington’s becoming a Mason. [One of the numerous Brainy Quotes by T. R.: "A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad"]. In It was Bro. Theodore Roosevelt, who by executive order, renamed the ‘Executive Mansion’ as THE WHITE HOUSE.

Bro. William Taft

27th President (1909 - 1913) whose father and two brothers were also Masons, made this statement when he became a Mason: "I am glad to be here, and to be a Mason. It does me good to feel the thrill that comes from recognizing on all hands the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man." Taft was made a "Mason. at Sight" in an Occasional Lodge" called for that purpose on 18 JUN 1909 in the Scottish Rite Cathedral, Cincinnati, OH by Charles S. Hoskinson, GM of Masons in Ohio. He later became a Supreme Court Chief Justice (1921 - 1930). Taft was also affiliated with Kilwinning Lodge No. 356 at Cincinnati, OH; and was Honorary Member of Crescent Lodge No. 25 (Cedar Rapids, Iowa).

Bro. Warren Gamaliel, Harding

29th President (1921 - 1923) was made a Mason 27 AUG 1920 in Marion Lodge No. 70, F&AM, Marion, OH. There was a gap of 19 years between his initiation and raising due to the objection of a Lodge member who later relented after Harding was nominated for the Presidency. Harding took his oath of office as President on 30 APR 1789 using the same Bible that was used by Brother George Washington. President Harding was elected to receive the 33rd Scottish Rite degree, but was unable to be present for the coronation when his wife fell ill. He was also a York Rite member and a Shriner (1st president to ever become a Shriner while he in office as President). After becoming ill with ptomaine food poisoning, Harding had a stoke and died quietly in his sleep while President.

Bro. Franklin Roosevelt

32nd President (1933 - 1945) was made a Mason 28 NOV 1911 in Holland Lodge No. 8, F&AM, New York, NY (same lodge in which George Washington, the Nation’s first President, held an Honorary membership. President FDR was present when each of his three sons became Masons during his Presidency (in 1933 and 1935). FDR was also a Scottish Rite member.

Bro. Harry S. Truman

33rd President (1945 - 1951) was made a Master Mason 18 MAR 1909 in Belton Lodge No. 450, AF&AM, in Belton, MO. Truman’s middle initial "S" was just that–a plain letter "S". It stood for his two grandfathers, both of whom had an "S" in their name. President Truman served as Grand Master of Masons of Missouri in 1940. President Truman was a 33rd degree Scottish Rite Mason as well as being a member of the York Rite. During WWI, he was an Army Captain of an artillery company. Bess Williams and he had one child (Margaret). During his presidency, Truman placed this well-remembered motto on his desk: "The Buck Stops Here." He, too, had no formal education; but was elected Chief Judge in 1926 for Jackson County; Senator of Missouri (1935-1944); and won a clear victory in the General Election as President in 1945. It was Truman who set the diplomatic tone for nearly 50 years following WWII. He proclaimed the TRUMAN DOCTRINE (policy of containment of the Soviet Union); approved the MARSHALL PLAN (economic recovery of Europe); and authorized the BERLIN AIRLIFT (using planes to ship supplies to Berlin after the Soviets closed road routes to Berlin). President Truman was also instrumental in launching the UNITED NATIONS, dealt with the surrender of Nazi Germany; met Stalin and Atlee in Potsdam; authorized the drop of the atomic bomb in Japan (Nagasaki and Hiroshima); and authorized the CIA. The Chicago Sun Times poll ranked President Truman as the 6th best president of the U.S., behind Thomas Jefferson and Woodrow Wilson. {President Truman declined a 2nd term as President. After retiring for nearly 20 years, Truman was offered and declined the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1972–on the grounds he was undeserving}.

Bro. Gerald Ford, Jr.

38th President (1974 - 1977) was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on 18 MAY 1951 in Columbia Lodge No. 3, F&AM in Washington, DC (as a courtesy for Malta Lodge No. 465, F&AM in Grand Rapids, MI. Both Ford and Truman are the only Masonic Presidents to have reached the 50-year milestone (Golden Anniversary) of Freemasonry. Gerald Ford’s three half-brothers and stepfather were masons as well. In his acceptance speech as our 38th President, Gerald R. Ford, Jr., commented: "...I am just a Ford; not a Lincoln." President Gerald Ford was seen as a straight-shooter during his 25-year political career as a member of the U. S. House of Representatives from Michigan (1948-1973).is widely known for having restored public faith in the office of the presidency after he assumed duties as the U.S. President when Nixon resigned on 8 AUG 1974. Ford was born 14 JUL1913--and a 56-year Mason when he died on 26 DEC 2006 at the age of 93.

Lyndon Baines Johnson

36th President (1963 - 1969) was initiated as an Entered Apprentice on 30 OCT 1937 at Johnson City Lodge No. 561, Johnson City, TX. He did not advance further in masonry.

by Sam Tish, I.M.