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The Freemasons, one of the most secretive groups in all of human history. And you've probably heard about them, right? You've seen their symbols and like movies, you heard crazy conspiracy theories about them controlling the whole world. But what is the real story? Well, today we are going to uncover the truth about this ancient brotherhood. We're going to talk how they started, the secrets they keep, and all the powerful people who have been members throughout history. We'll also look at some of the dark moments, the murders, political scandals, and even their own persecution during World War II. I mean, this story has everything you got. Mystery, power, corruption, and secrets that have been kept for hundreds of years. So if you're a fan of secret societies and crazy conspiracies in American history, this is the episode for you. So sit back, relax, and welcome to camp. So good, so good, so good. New markdowns are on at your Nordstrom Rack store. Save even more. Up to 70% on dresses, tops, boots and handbags to give and get. Because I always find something amazing.
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What's up, people? And welcome back to camp. My name is Mark Gagnon and thank you for joining me once again in my beautiful tent, where every single week we explore the most interesting, fascinating, controversial stories from around the world. From all time, forever. Yeah. This is my attempt to understand all the stuff that's ever been going on in this crazy place we call Planet Earth. And as always, I can't do it alone. I'm joined by many friends today, of course, I got my friend Jaime sitting behind the mic that he's not talking into. Thank goodness. We got Alan sitting to the side recording on a some type of spy drone. And then of course, Christos Bacadapados, the Greek freak himself that makes everything work. How are you, my friend? I don't like that. Christos, we don't have time because today we're talking about the Freemasons. All right? You heard about the Freemasons before? Can I speak? I'm glad you asked. No, because today, the Freemasons, I'm sure you probably heard of them. You know what I mean? If you've probably seen a Nicholas Cage movie, you've probably seen a crazy YouTube video like I did when you were 14. And it was like, hey, look, it's all over the dollar bill. And you're like, no way. And all of a sudden, you see an owl and you're like, oh, dude, they're controlling everything. Well, today we're going to be diving in to who the Freemasons actually are, where they came from, and what kind of power they actually hold today. Now, in order to understand the Freemasons, you got to go all the way back to 9 11. Not that the. The way before that. 9 11. 9 11, 18, 26. Got this guy named Captain William Morgan. Now, he's living in Batavia, New York, okay? And one day, the police just pull up and they arrest him. The official reason? They say that he didn't pay back a loan. But here's the thing. A lot of people in this town didn't buy that story. They believe that Morgan was arrested for a completely different reason. Now, I'll explain how this makes sense in a second, okay? But Captain William Morgan, he was a war hero. He fought in the War of 1812, which means he was respected in his community. He's educated, he had influence. And he eventually decided to join a group called the Freemasons. But after being a member for a while, something changed. He became unhappy with the organization, and he felt betrayed by them, and he turned against the group. Now, the Freemasons aren't just like a frat. They're not like a regular old club, okay? They are quite literally the biggest secret society in the entire world. And they may be even the oldest one, too. It's kind of hard to really assess, but back in the 1820s, when Morgan was alive. I don't like that. The Freemasons were everywhere in America, and they were a huge part of the general society. And get this, even George Washington, the first president, United States, he was a Freemason. Actually, almost all of America's founding fathers belonged to this secretive group. But we'll get to that in a second. So what happened to Morgan after his arrest? Well, this is where things get weird. Shortly after the police take him away, Captain William Morgan vanished without a trace. That was it. No one ever found his body. I Mean, could you imagine this like, well known, well respected war veteran in your town just disappears and no one knows what happens to him because of a loan. So this disappearance sends shockwaves through the entire country, right, specifically in the small town, but all throughout New York, the east coast and even into the west, people are terrified and, and pretty freaked out by this entire thing. And this sparked basically what historians call the anti Masonic panic. And this eventually takes over American Freemasonry and just kind of shakes this whole society to its core. And the aftermath is pretty remarkable. So after Morgan disappears, thousands and thousands of Freemasons all across America just quit the organization in protest. They didn't want to be associated with a group that might have been involved in making someone disappear, probably get killed or, you know, even worse. So let me give you just an example of how massive this was. In New York State alone, over just seven years, the number of Masonic Lodges drops from 480 down to 82. I mean that's like a massive, a massive reduction in members. So this really raises an important question in evaluating the Freemasonic story in America. How does the secret club that claim to be all about, you know, like, self improvement and, you know, making communities better and stronger end up as these villains in this conspiracy theory? And why do these theories still follow them around today? So to understand the answer we need to go all the way back, all the way back to where the Freemasons actually came from. Okay, so when did the Freemasons actually start? Great question. I'm glad I asked. Honestly, no one really knows for sure. You see, with any of these secret societies actually finding the first time that Freemason was used in literature might not be the first time that it was actually thought of as a society. So there are a ton of different stories and theories about when the organization actually first began. One of the more popular theories is that the Freemasons are an ancient group that goes back thousands of years. And according to this theory, King Solomon of ancient Israel founded the organization back in the 10th century BC. I mean we're talking like 3,000 years ago. And the story is like this Solomon. For all my Jews watching, you know who Solomon is? He's the guy that built the first temple. Now in order to build this temple, he hired a Phoenician architect. Now it is sort of conjectured, not necessarily through biblical accounts, but often through oral tradition, that this architect was this Phoenician guy named Hyram Abiff or Hiram Abif. And basically he was this master designer that actually designed the temple and constructed it. Now, some Freemasons believe that Solomon and Abiff worked together to create this secret brotherhood so that they could pass down the mysteries and the secrets of the temple to. To future generations. Now, there's all sorts of other sort of, like, lore and theories behind this. That Solomon was able to use, like, the secret ring that was given to him by one of the archangels to basically control demons to also help him do this. And that Hyram Abiff was privy to this demonic sort of architecture and construction that they were able to use to, you know, the supernatural force to build the temple, yada, yada, yada. That's a whole different theory. But let me explain more about this guy, Hiram Abiff, because he's, like, really fundamental to Freemasonic beliefs even to this day. Abiff was supposedly this brilliant architect, and his job was to build the temple that would house something known as the Tabernacle, the holy of holies. And here's where the story gets a little dark. According to Freemasonic legend, three apprentices who weren't worthy of knowing these secrets of building an architecture attacked and murdered Abiff. And the story is so important to Freemasons that they actually reenact it during their secret ceremonies. They use it as an allegory, basically, which kind of just connotes, like, a deeper meaning. Now, the Freemasons are all about allegory and stuff, so we can get into some of the rituals a little bit later. Now, some Freemasons have made even crazier claims about their history. They claim that famous historical figures like Julius Caesar, Noah from the Bible, like, literally Noah and his Ark, the mathematician Pythagoras, and even Achilles, the legendary Greek warrior, were all Freemasonic members and leaders. Pretty wild, right? Okay, now here's what basically most modern historians and scholars actually believe. The Freemasons probably started in, like, medieval England, probably not ancient Israel, but maybe they kind of drew on a lot of these sort of, you know, pre. You know, the sort of, like, biblical stories to build their lore. And it's a lot less mysterious than the other stories, and it actually makes, you know, more sense from kind of like a scholarly, historical perspective. So what is the connection to medieval England? Well, there are these things called speculative lodges, which were basically, like these honorary groups. And these speculative lodges were based on real, like, operative lodges, where like, actual guilds of working stonemasons, you know, like, guys that would literally, like, cut stones and build castles and churches and basically all the buildings and infrastructure you see throughout medieval England, they would basically form like these unions or these guilds where they would all meet together, they would share ideas, and they would kind of teach other apprentices to become master stonemasons. And this is where the Freemasonic sort of, you know, society really evolved from these medieval craftsmen who basically built up the entire society. Now, the Freemasons historically were a male only group in England which relied heavily on sort of ancient symbolic rituals and secrets. And as time went on, something interesting started to happen. These rich nobles and other powerful men in these communities wanted to join these stonemason guilds, even though they weren't actual stonemasons. So the guild started letting them in as like honorary members. Because think about it, if you're a stonemason, you're trying to build stuff. If some noble from a nearby town is like, hey, can I join your club? They're going to be like, yeah, this is great. You're going to help us actually further our agenda in building stuff. But it became sort of like a status symbol. And so they started to attract fairly well to do men. So basically, if you had money, a little bit of nobility, you knew the right people, you could become a Freemason even if you never touched a stone in your life. And then effectively these groups became sort of like social clubs or fraternities for the wealthiest, most intellectual, smartest, most well connected men through all of England. And the best evidence we have about the real roots of Freemasonry come from these sort of medieval stonemason guilds in England. According to historians, the first written record of what they call sort of like these old charges, like this sort of initiation of the Freemasonic guilds show up in a town known as Shropshire, England, around 1430, which roughly 600 years ago. Now these old charges, what are those? They're basically a collection of documents that laid out the rules in the history of masonry, like literal masonry. And the oldest ones we know about go back to about like the 14th century, which means, like, you know, they're hundreds of years old. And these documents are super important because they contain one of the most sacred rules of Freemasonry. Now this secret that no masons could share is basically this. No member is ever allowed to reveal any secrets about any other brother if doing so might cost that brother his life or property. Now this rule is about keeping secrets. And, you know, it's absolutely fundamental to what it actually means to be a Freemason. Now the old charge is also spelled out very clearly. Who was allowed to become a Freemason and who Wasn't, first of all, they only recruited men. So automatically women were just excluded from the beginning, from the get go, sorry, ladies, go join like a, like a lacrosse team or something. Now, to be fair to the Freemasons, they did have some progressive ideals for the time. It was a way of not being, you know, like, basically recreating their own religion. They wanted to kind of like further some type of progressive agenda and kind of deviate from the religion of old. So, you know, they had these ideas of equality and tolerance and, you know, that didn't include women, though, or bondsmen or like the children of slaves, basically. You know, you had to be of high society to be able to afford this membership fee. So for hundreds of hundreds of years, the Freemasons and their lodges all across Great Britain would meet in complete secrecy. And they would gather to discuss spiritual questions and moral issues and philosophical ideas about the day. And they kept everything secret from outsiders. Now, this secrecy became really valuable and just completely fundamental to the Freemasonic worldview. And they became so obsessed with keeping their activities hidden that there was, you know, actually good reason for a lot of this obsession. They believed that their lives and even the lives of their families would be at risk if the secret got out. And so because the stakes were so high, these early Masons created these special oaths of secrecy. And these oaths were incredibly serious. They basically said that if any member revealed the Brotherhood secrets, they themselves would be killed. And that was basically the punishment for breaking your oath. It was literally a death sentence. But here's the thing. Even today, it's still hard to figure out what exactly the Freemasons do and what their secrets actually are. Now, I'm sure if you've ever seen one of those, you know, YouTube videos or, you know, even just looked at a dollar bill, you've probably seen some of the Masonic symbols. So let me show you one of the most important ones, the Masonic Circle. Now, at first glance, it might just look like, you know, simple geometric shapes. You got a circle with, you know, a point in the middle and some lines on the sides. But to Freemasons, this symbol is packed with meaning. And just in general, the Freemasonic sort of, you know, like ritualism and sort of like how the society operates is all built on symbolism. So this is how each part of this circle represents something greater. To the Masons, the circle itself represents the universe, literally the entire universe, which has no boundaries or limits. It goes on forever. And the point right in the center is literally you. It represents the individual Mason if you are a member, of course. And the two lines on either side represent the staffs of two important Christian saints, John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. Now, the Masonic circle is one of the like first esoteric symbols that the Masons used. And basically, you know, esoteric, if you don't know, just like mysterious sort of symbolism that only specific people understand. And it's a pretty simple drawing, but with sort of that meaning, it kind of changes the way different people interpret it. Now, from the medieval period all the way to early 1700s, Freemasonry continued to operate completely in the shadows. They were hidden from public view, meeting in secret and keeping everything quiet. And then something major happened in 1717 that changes everything. Freemasonry kind of like steps into the spotlight in London. And here's basically the short version of it. Four separate lodges that had already been around for, you know, decades decide to join forces. And they came together to create what would eventually be called the, the United Grand Lodge of England and Wales. Now this was a huge deal because it made it official on St. John the Baptist Day, and they actually held like a public meeting. They kind of just came out into the open. So why did they decide to reveal themselves after literal centuries of secrecy? No one is exactly sure, but some historians think that the Order was actually dying out, that they were losing members and they needed basically fresh new recruits to keep this brotherhood alive. Remember, the Freemasons truly believe that their teachings are, weren't just good for the members, they thought that they were good for all of society. So once this Grand Lodge opens and goes public, something interesting happens. Slowly but surely, other Masonic lodges across England begin to reveal themselves too. And they ask to join up with this new Grand Lodge. It's as if they were basically coming out of hiding, like one by one. But as you can imagine, not everyone was happy about this. Many lodges in York and other places completely refused to accept this new Grand Lodge as like, their supreme leader. They basically said, we're good, but we're going to do our own thing. And they went their separate ways. However, we don't hear much, you know, about those, like, rebel lodges today because the Grand Lodge became such a dominant force. Now, there's an interesting story that claims many of these lodges actually burned their own historical records and documents during this time. And some historians think that this story might have been made up or exaggerated. Maybe the Masons themselves spread this tale to build even more mystery around the organization. I mean, think about it. The Order is now so public at the time that they needed to create even more intrigue to attract these new members. And what better way to do it than claiming that they destroyed their own ancient secrets? So who can actually become a Freemason? Where? Well, here's where things kind of get interesting. All right? One of the most important things about any secret society is that they're picky about who gets in. It's not like a club where you're going to sign up and join. There's no democracy in these secret societies. You can't just decide to be a member automatically become one. So after the Freemasons go public in 1717, something amazing happens. They're flooded with new members. People from all walks of life want to join, but especially the wealthy and powerful individuals. So the Brotherhood starts spreading like crazy across Europe and eventually makes its way over the Atlantic Ocean and into the American colonies. Now, the first Freemasonic lodge officially in America was established in Philly sometime in, like, the 1730s. Now, this makes sense because Philadelphia, one of the most important cities in any of the colonies at the time. And from there, Freemasonry spread throughout all the 13 colonies. And it was a massive movement that couldn't be stopped in colonial America. Now, here's something that's really important. Many of the men who founded America were Freemasons. We're talking about, you know, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere. I mean, the list goes on and on. And the idea that Freemasonry kind of promoted were things like reason and philosophy and liberty and, you know, fraternity, basically, like, you know, a brotherhood. And it really resonated in this colonial American period. And these same ideas would later inspire the actual American Revolution. So when colonists decided to break away from Britain and create their own country, the Freemasons, and sort of the Freemasonic philosophy actually played somewhat of a role in making that happen. And you can see their influence in the founding documents and even the symbols of the United States. I mean, look at the Great Seal of the United States, which you can see if you have a dollar bill in your pocket. It has several symbols that people associate with Freemasonry. Of course, you have the all seeing eye at the top of the pyramid, and the pyramid itself is unfinished. Now, historians argue about what exactly these symbols mean and exactly how much the Freemasons actually influenced these American symbols. But one thing is certain. Freemasonry is deeply woven into the fabric of early American society. I've even heard certain theories that, you know, the pyramid is sort of the symbol of like, you know, ancient building, ancient wisdom, that the Freemasons claim that they have, you know, possession of. And furthermore, the unfinished nature of it shows that the Freemasons are constantly working. They're constantly building to form a greater society. Now, there's many other theories I'm sure you can find. Now back to Captain William Morgan. Remember this guy at the beginning I talked about that just disappeared? Well, his disappearance in 1826 turned out to be a major turning point for Freemasonry in America. And it would change everything for the organization. Basically, he felt betrayed by this organization for some reason that's not really clear, and decided to do something about it. And allegedly, his plan was to write and publish a book that would expose all of the secrets of the Freemasons. He was going to reveal everything, the rituals, the symbols, the handshakes, all of it. But before Morgan could publish his book, he was arrested and then mysteriously disappeared. Body was never found. And many people believe that the Freemasons had actually murdered Morgan to stop him from revealing their secrets. I mean, can you imagine how shocking this was? Just for an average Mason or even just an average citizen that heard about this group? A war hero who wanted to write a book just vanishes into thin air. Now this case turns into a national news scandal, and it's. I mean, all over the newspapers, secret society, you know, disappears one of their own members. And, you know, people are outraged by this headline. And the scandal is so big that it actually leads to this new political party that's literally known as the Anti Masonic Party. Now, this was kind of like the first third party that got a ton of support in American politics. And their entire purpose was to oppose Freemasonry because they saw it as a corrupting influence on American democracy. They thought that the Freemasons had too much power, and they were basically using it as like a shadow government to control the government. And you can see their position, right? So many sort of like early American framers and some of the most powerful people in American history are part of this group. They're not governed by any type of governing body. They can just operate freely in the shadows. So they felt, well, these people are all getting together. They're making policy. They're pushing forward an agenda with no oversight from the government at all. Now, the Morgan affair absolutely devastated American Freemasonry. Thousands of members are quitting because they don't want to be associated with, you know, what happened with this guy dying. And furthermore, they don't want to risk their own lives. And so as a result, many Lodges were forced to Shut down because they lost so many members. What's up, guys? We're gonna take a break really quick because you need help pitching tents. Yes. And that's what we do over here at camp. Maybe you're, I don't know, in line waiting for a concert somewhere, and you just need something to lean on, May. Who knows? 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It would take several decades, roughly 40 years, for American Freemasonry to recover from this scandal. This organization had to completely rebuild its reputation and slowly attract new members who didn't really remember the Morgan affairs. Now, even though the Freemasons had their share of controversy and scandals, they continued to attract some of the most prominent and famous people throughout history. I mean, I already mentioned a few, right? Like George Washington, but there's even others like James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, fdr, Harry S. Truman, even Gerald Ford. I mean, that's a lot of presidents. And there's even more that are somewhat connected. And it's not just American leaders. I mean, Winston Churchill, who led Britain through World War II, Freemason, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, literally one of the greatest composers who ever lived, Freemason, Mark Twain, Freemason. And get this, even Buzz Aldrin, one of the first men to ever walk on the moon, allegedly a Freemason. I mean, the organization has been home to men from, you know, incredibly diverse backgrounds and professions. They all come from different fields, but they are united by a few things. One, they are generally, especially in this time, really well connected. Most of them were, you know, fairly wealthy, and most of them had some type of interest in secrecy or general philosophy about improving oneself or society in some way. And they were all united by the bonds of brotherhood. So now, American Freemasonry has traditionally been mostly made up of white guys, okay? African Americans weren't completely shut off from the ideals of brotherhood, though. There's actually a parallel story that's really important to understand. So let me tell you about Prince Hall. In 1775, Prince hall was a free black man living in Boston. And this was before the American Revolution. Okay? So remember, slavery is still legal and widespread throughout the Americas. Now, Prince hall, along with 14 other free black men, were initiated into a British military lodge. Now, this is a big deal because they were accepted into Freemasonry at a time and in a country where racism is completely legalized and rampant. So after the Revolutionary War, Prince hall and these other men petitioned to form their own lodge. And basically they asked for permission to start, you know, a Freemasonic lodge specifically for black Americans. And in 1784, the Grand Lodge of England granted them a charter for African Lodge number 459. Now, this became the very first lodge of black Freemasons in America. Now Prince hall became the grand master of what would eventually be known as Prince Hall Freemasonry. Now, this parallel tradition of Freemasonry gave African Americans a space where they could basically practice these Masonic ideals at a time when they faced brutal discrimination and were effectively excluded from white society throughout all of the Americas. Now, Prince Hall Freemasonry grew and flourished throughout the years, and it became a really important institution for, you know, the black American community. Many prominent black leaders were Prince Hall Freemasons, including, you know, civil rights activists, educators and politicians. And, I mean, the organization provided a network of support and became a platform for like, really, like developing, like, leadership skills and giving access to, you know, a prominent society of other, well, to do black Americans that were generally just cut off from broader society. However, the relationship between Prince Hall Freemasonry and sort of, you know, mainstream American Freemasons has a really sort of strange and complicated history because racism. So for most of its history, mainstream American Freemasonry refused to recognize Prince Hall Lodges as legitimate. They basically said, yeah, they're not real Freemasons. And this recognition wouldn't come in many places until like the 20th and even the 21st century we're talking about all the way up until the 2000s. So to show you just how bad the, you know, the status for a lot of these black Freemasons in America was, let me share a quote from Albert pike, who was a very prominent Freemason. In 1875, Albert pike wrote about Prince Hall Freemasonry. He said, I took my obligations from white men, not from black men. When I have to accept black men as brothers or leave Freemasonry, I shall leave it. Now, it's pretty shocking to read. Keep in mind also Albert pike, you know, despite being sort of the guy that rewrote Scottish rite, Freemasonry in America, was also a Confederate War general. So you can imagine this guy was not very accommodating to the black struggle in America. But this was a real reality of racism that existed within Freemasonry up until pretty recently. So from the Reconstruction period after the Civil War, all the way up until the 20th century, Prince Hall Freemasonry kept on growing despite the horrific racism that black Americans faced every day. The KKK rose again in the 20th century, but this time something different happened. American Freemasonry publicly and sort of loudly spoke out against the Klan. They even made a rule barring any Freemason from joining the hate group. Now, while it's true that most Freemasons throughout history have been white, there's also a long history of Freemasons being, you know, a multi ethnic organization, obviously, Prince Hall. But you know, the group has had members of almost every race and almost any faith you can think of. And because of this pluralistic ideology, meaning that, you know, they accept from a bunch of different backgrounds, the secret order would eventually come into direct conflict with the rise of the German National Socialist parties and Italian fascism in Europe during the 1920s and 30s. So by 1933, the Nazi party under Adolf Hitler came into power in Germany. Now, if you studied World War II or seen any of our videos on World War II, you know that the Nazis preached a pretty hateful ideology. I think that goes without saying. They targeted all kinds of groups both inside of Germany and other countries. And one of those groups was actually Freemasons. And you can think about it from, you know, any dictator's perspective. Why would a dictator like Adolf Hitler feel threatened by the Freemasons? Right? Well, Hitler wanted total control over everything and everyone. And the idea of some type of secret organization that met in private and had its own rituals and beliefs and weren't beholden to the dictator and promoted ideals about, you know, improvement or helping the community, even if that's not what they were doing, if that's just what he heard, all of that is a direct threat to his rule and his regime. Now, he couldn't allow an organization that, you know, existed in the shadows because he couldn't control it. So other Nazi leaders felt the same way that Hitler did about the Masons. Hermann Goring was one of the highest ranking Nazis in the entire party. And in 1933, he made an official statement. He said, in National Socialist Germany, there's no place for Freemasonry. And that statement was basically a warning, right? The Nazis were making it very clear that the Freemasons were not welcome in their new Germany. And they didn't stop with words. On January 8, 1934, the German Ministry of Interior issued an official order. They commanded that all Freemasons and all Freemasonic organizations were to be disbanded. They also ordered that all property belonging to Masonic lodges be confiscated. That means that the government basically seized everything that the Freemasons owned, not just their money or their documents. But literally, their buildings, anything connected to the Freemasons were now the property of the Nazi regime. Then, on August 8, 1935, Adolf Hitler himself made an announcement. He declared the final dissolution of all Masonic lodges in Germany. And that was it. It Freemasonry was officially banned throughout the entire country. But here's the question. What happened to the Freemasons who refused to renounce their order? What happened to those that wouldn't give up their membership? Because the Freemasons were deemed a threat to Hitler and to the Nazi regime, many of them were actually just sent to concentration camps if they were caught. I mean, think about that. Freemasons were rounded up and sent to these concentration camps. I mean, the same places where millions of Jews, the Roma, homosexuals and others were imprisoned and tortured and murdered during the Holocaust. Being a Freemason could literally cost you your life in Nazi Germany. And then finally, on May 8, 1945, the Nazis surrendered to the Allied Forces. And in September of that same year, Imperial Japan conceded defeat. The Second World War was officially over after six years of this conflict. But even though the war had ended, the world wasn't just going to all of a sudden, be peaceful. Instead, a new kind of war begins. The democratic west, which was led by the United States and the communist block of Eastern Europe, which was led by the Soviet Union, were now in a Cold war. Now, as you probably know, this was the Cold War because they never directly fought each other, but they were obviously enemies. And as a result, both sides were using secret operations and intelligence and otherwise clandestine means to basically achieve their goals. And so in Italy, a Masonic lodge would become a part of this war. Italy was one of the countries that many people in the west feared would turn to Communism. Obviously, you know, their fascist sentiments throughout, you know, World War II would lead one to believe that Communist parties were gaining strength all over Europe. And there's a real worry that, you know, this would fall under Soviet influence. And so it was in a shadowy Masonic lodge where anti communist forces were secretly meeting and planning. And that lodge was called propaganda do, or P2 for short. So who ran this lodge? The guy who eventually became the head of P2 was, get this, just a guy who made mattresses. Yes, he was a mattress manufacturer. He was known as the Mattress King of Tuscany. The man's name was Lisio Geli, and he was the head of this lodge. And he actually had a few pets in the lodge, a literal King Cobra. I mean, that there should tell you everything about his personality. The guy was eccentric and crazy and Though his connections to fascists and Freemasons, Gelli was able to make incredibly powerful friends. And one of those friends was an Italian nobleman named Prince Junio Valero Borghesi. Now this guy was a hardline fascist, I mean, for years. And people called him literally the Black Prince. He served as a navy commander in Mussolini's Italy during World War II. And they literally tried to overthrow the Italian government. A coup is, you know, when you try to take the government by force. And members of this P2, this sort of propaganda do sort of party, this Masonic lodge, including Geli himself, were a part of an attempted coup in the 70s. But that wasn't all that they were doing. A large part of these anti communist operations involved a series of false flags. Now false flags, if you don't know, basically means attacks that are carried out by your own group in order to make it look like it was done by an opposing force. Now these terrorist attacks were part of a strategy called the strategy of tensions. So many of these groups were just political organizations, but others were straight up like, basically like, you know, quasi terrorist groups that are carrying out bombings and attacks. And the P2 in Italy was connected to all of it. Now, terrorism wasn't the only crime that P2 was involved with. The group was also involved in a bunch of really shady financial deals through a bank called Banco Ambrosiano. And this was a major financial institution in Italy. It wasn't just like a small time little thing. This was a massive banking force. So by the late 70s, Banco Ambrosiano was the heart of a massive scandal. The bank was suspected of laundering money for the Mafia, committing financial fraud that potentially even involved the Vatican and funding far right extremist groups around the world. I mean, it was massive. And the head of Banquio Ambrosano was a guy named Roberto Calvi. Now people basically just nicknamed him God's Banker because he did a ton of the financial work for the Vatican. Now guess what, Calvi, the guy in charge of this bank, was also a member of P2, this sort of Masonic association in Italy. Now because of this Banco Ambrosiano scandal, anti corruption police started to Investigate members of P2, including the leaders Lisio Geli. Now this investigation ultimately led to a raid on geli's villa in 1981. Now during that raid, the police found documents that proved that P2 was involved in criminal activity. But the most shocking was they found a list of members of P2. And when the police actually looked at it, they couldn't believe what they were looking at. I mean, this included senior officers in the Italian military, high ranking members of the police, members of parliament, the heads of major corporations. I mean, basically, like, you know, I don't want to oversell it, but some of the most powerful people in all of Italy at the time. Now, among the names on that list was Silvio Berlusconi. Now, you might remember that name because he later would go on to be the Prime Minister of Italy multiple times. And finding out that he was a member of P2 was shocking. So even after Geli's arrest, the possible crimes of P2 didn't stop. When Banco Ambrosiano fell in 1982, the Vatican bank lost $250 million. That's a quarter of a billion. And someone had to pay for that loss. And then something happened that sent shockwaves throughout the entire Freemasonic world. Remember that guy, God's banker, Roberto Calvi? He was found hung under Blackfriars Bridge in London in 1982. Now, you see, that location isn't random. Blackfriars was an order that existed at the same time as the Knights of Templar. Now, many people believe that the Knights of Templar are connected to the origins of Free Masonry. So hanging someone on a bridge named Blackfriars was sending a message to anyone that understood Masonic symbolism. In 1982, the Grand Orient of Italy, which is the main Masonic organization in the country, abolished P2 for good. They just kicked him out. Now, P2 is a really interesting example of how a secret society can be used by extremist political movements for evil purposes. But here's the thing. For most Freemasons around the world, the chaos and the crime of P2 in Italy was shocking. They saw it as a terrible stain on the Brotherhood, something that went against everything that Freemasonry was supposed to stand for. So where does that leave us today? Right? There are millions of Freemasons living all over the world, and you can find them just about, you know, on every continent from the United States, Japan, Europe, South America. And here is the important thing to understand. A lot of these Freemasons are just genuinely dedicated to, you know, bettering themselves, bettering their community. It's, you know, it's like a. A social group for old guys to go hang out in. I mean, that's my opinion, right? I generally don't think that all of them are a part of some evil conspiracy. Freemasonry has survived because it's been able to adapt and change with the times. At certain points in American history, They're concentrated with some of the most powerful brokers in American history, and they're all meeting together to further an agenda. At other times, like today, in my opinion, they're kind of just a bunch of old dudes that hang out and, you know, play ritual games with each other. You know, they've adjusted how they recruit and how the organization works to basically adapt to the modern world. I mean, one of the most well known, higher orders of Freemasonry are known as the Shriners. Now, you've probably seen them at, you know, parades wearing their red fez hats or driving around in, like, tiny cars. And so the Shriners started out as a group of people that were basically focused on having fun and doing community events. And today, the Shriners are, are still doing the same thing. They're basically helping their communities through networks of Shriner hospitals for children. And these hospitals literally provide specialized care for kids. And they often treat patients regardless of their ability to pay. And it's a pretty noble mission. So what exactly is Freemasonry? The truth is that Freemasonry means different things to different people. And there's no single simple answer, right? You have these mysterious roots that probably date back to medieval Europe or, or even farther back to, you know, ancient Israel, and they lead all the way up to today, right? And it seems like the core of the organization has stayed somewhat similar. It's a fellowship of men who want to improve themselves, make the community stronger, and probably, if nothing else, just make some good connections with people in their local communities. So throughout their long journey, throughout history, the Freemasons have been a ton of different things. They've been, you know, groups performing strange, unusual rituals in medieval Europe. And they've been been a proto, like, civil rights organization of Prince Hall Freemasonry fighting for dignity and equality that black Americans had basically no access to in America. They've been a symbol of hope for those Masons who were basically, you know, trapped in Nazi Germany to, you know, being some of the framers that built America and American ideals, to being straight up terrorist groups in Italy. Right. I mean, all across the board, this sort of group. And the secrecy has been used and utilized by a ton of different agendas. And Freemasons were right there at the forefront of, you know, the American Revolution, South American revolutions for independence, the French Revolution, and in a lot of ways, they helped bring unification to Italy when it was divided into so many different states. And obviously, you can't ignore the dark side, right? There's always been a dark side. To the institution. And just like there's with any organization that is that large and that complicated and really that secret. I mean, from the disappearance of William Morgan to the crimes of the P2 in Italy, Freemasonry has had its shares of scandals and corruptions. And I think it's probably helpful and when looking at this organization to understand both the good sides and the bad sides. And you know, honestly, I think it's important for understanding humanity as a whole. Right? People, as well as institutions made by people are complicated and they can do good things and they can do bad things. They can inspire and they can corrupt. And I think Freemason is sort of an example of this duality or this complexity. So there you have it. That is the full story, as best as I can do in an hour on who the Freemasons are, their mysterious origins to their role in today's world. And whether you see them as like a force for good or, you know, evil, or some type of secretive group that controls everything. I think one thing is for certain that the Freemasons have left an undeniable mark on history, not only in America, but around the world and continue to fascinate people to this day. So there you have it. That is the brief history of Freemasons around the world. I mean, that's kind of always been like, my take is, I'm like, I've met Masons. I've met like, you know, Black Prince Hall Masons in Florida. I've met like the white guys that, you know, are 80,000 years old that, you know, sit in Masonic lodges in Boston. And generally, at least today, you know, the present, and pass. I don't think that they have the power that they held in colonial America. I. My assumption is that in colonial America you had basically a bunch of guys that were trying to form a coup against, you know, the British government, the Crown. And so they're all getting together and they're like, okay, there's this organization where guys talk about philosophy and they talk about, you know, like, insider trading stuff and they talk about businesses they're starting. And it's just like a really, like high class fraternity that you pay dues to get into. And they all get in and they're all sharing ideas and then they're able to go to different countries and kind of joined a little social club over there. There. Think about like any social club that exists, you know, in New York, you have Soho House and you have, you know, zero Bond. You got these places that people go where they pay money to Go fraternize with other people of similar status and wealth. And I think that's how it was in colonial America. They got together, they formed these ideas. They were like, hey, we should rebel. We should start this revolution. We're getting taxed improperly. I don't. We can be our own country. We can all get rich. We don't have to be beholden to the crown anymore. I mean, George Washington, you got a bunch of land, you could become crazy rich. So they all get together and they're like, hey, let's just, you know, form this little. This little coalition within the secret society. Basically overthrow the British. And a lot of the ideals that are founding Freemasonry in terms of, like, you know, equality and fraternity, all this stuff that then gets imbued into, you know, Declaration of Independence, the Constitution. And then slowly they're like, all right, we're founding our own country. Let's just use our own symbols that we've been using for, you know, four or 500 years. And so now we have it on the money. And people look at it and they're like, oh, these people control everything. In my opinion, if you know about them, they probably don't have as much control as they used to. You know, there's probably secret societies that exist today that are controlling stuff. If I had to put my money on it, I don't think it's the Freemasons. Like, I think it's probably some other group that you don't know about that you'll probably hear about in like a hundred years. And you're like, oh, these people were actually doing everything. It's maybe Bohemian Grove, who knows, right? My point is that I think the Freemasons historically held a ton of power. And today I don't really see it. But who knows? I mean, are you a Freemason? Do you know people that are Masons? I would love to know what you think. Is there anything that I missed in this? Is there anything that I glossed over? I would love to know what your thoughts are. Please drop a comment. If there's anything I got wrong, I read all of them. YouTube, Spotify, let me know. I mean, what do you think, Christos? Do you think the Freemasons are controlling all the strings? You think that's the reason you lost your hair? Possibly. But it's just crazy that they're the worst kept, secret, secret society and still nobody knows. That's what I'm saying, right? Like, Manly P. Hall puts out a whole book in like the 19, you know, early 1900s, just showing all the stuff that they do. I just, I think it moves and changes and becomes a different thing. Got an episode on him, but we have an episode of Manly P. Hall. We also got a bunch of episodes on secret societies. If you want to check those out, they'll be in the description. You can click on those. Also. Top comment on this video is going to be getting some free merch. So we will find you in some way. We'll use our secret society connections to hunt you down and send you something. And you can't say no, you're getting a hoodie. All right, if you're already are the top comment, of course, as always, you can check out our other channels. We got religion camp. We got history camp. If you are fans of those things, we dive into all that stuff. Also, you can see me on the road. Mark Yagnon live. Get your tickets. I'm doing arguably one hour of stand up comedy. Arguably. Sometimes it's 58 minutes, sometimes it's an hour too. Okay. But it's roughly in that range. So I'd love to see you guys at the show. I take photos with everyone afterwards, shake my hand and if you're a freemason, give me the secret handshake. Take if you want to. Anyway, this has been 10 talks, ladies and gentlemen. This has been another episode of camp. I appreciate you guys joining me every single week. Please subscribe. Please drop a comment. Please. Like all that stuff, it helps us float through the algorithm. And I will see you guys next time. Peace.