There's an important point not be be glossed over, which is that not all the Founding Fathers were Freemasons, and there was a quiet struggle over management of the American Revolution and the resulting nation.
This is best displayed in the framing of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Constitution itself was a coup against the more liberal (in the old school sense) Articles of Confederation, and it was dominated by Freemasons (33%!) as we see here: Freemasons & the U.S.Constitution
There was no Bill of Rights included in the original, and this led to a bitter dispute over ratification. They only got it over the top with promises of a forthcoming Bill of Rights, and that was later created by Madison, a protege of Jefferson, neither of whom were Masons.
There is some reinforcement to this idea in that John Quincy Adams created the third political party in the US, the Anti-Masonic Party, which indicates that there was conscious and vital opposition to them in those days.
If the Masons had actually simply been running the show, I suspect they would have put in place a constitutional monarchy (see Alexander Hamilton) and there would have been no Bill of Rights.
I came here to post this same idea and you worded it better than I could have. Also wanted to add: I think they over estimate their contribution to this period of history as a recruitment tool.
There's an important point not be be glossed over, which is that not all the Founding Fathers were Freemasons, and there was a quiet struggle over management of the American Revolution and the resulting nation.
This is best displayed in the framing of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Constitution itself was a coup against the more liberal (in the old school sense) Articles of Confederation, and it was dominated by Freemasons (33%!) as we see here: Freemasons & the U.S.Constitution
There was no Bill of Rights included in the original, and this led to a bitter dispute over ratification. They only got it over the top with promises of a forthcoming Bill of Rights, and that was later created by Madison, a protege of Jefferson, neither of whom were Masons.
There is some reinforcement to this idea in that John Quincy Adams created the third political party in the US, the Anti-Masonic Party, which indicates that there was conscious and vital opposition to them in those days.
If the Masons had actually simply been running the show, I suspect they would have put in place a constitutional monarchy (see Alexander Hamilton) and there would have been no Bill of Rights.
I came here to post this same idea and you worded it better than I could have. Also wanted to add: I think they over estimate their contribution to this period of history as a recruitment tool.