Prince Hall Masonry 243Methodist congregations as well as other benevolent aid
societies to further social causes on behalf of both free and
enslaved blacks. To a great extent, the causes refl ected those
that their founder, Prince Hall, had begun to fi ght upon
establishing his personal freedom prior to the American
Revolution.
Upon becoming free, Prince Hall had become an activ-
ist almost immediately as he, along with others, petitioned
the Massachusetts Colonial Legislature, urging them to
end slavery in the state. His philosophy borrowed from
the same rhetoric used by the founding fathers who were
pushing for independence from the Crown—natural rights.
In his determination to eff ect change, Hall established two
modes of attack. Th e fi rst mode involved direct activism,
such as petitioning the legislature—he challenged the ex-
isting order and protested for specifi c change. Hall’s other
method employed to create change was to work through
institutional development—using organizations such as the
Masons, churches, and other voluntary associations.
Prince Hall used his Masonic organization to pro-
mote community-building activities. Besides speaking out
against slavery and violence to blacks and promoting rights
for free Africans, Hall used his position (fi rst as “worshipful
master” and later as “grand master”) as a platform to fi ght
for education for black children, citing that free people of
color were taxed as were white citizens, thereby qualifying
black children for public education. He eventually estab-
lished a school in his own home.
By 1786, Prince Hall and his Masonic Orders began
to demonstrate their support of the fl edgling United States
and to establish the place of free Africans within the new
system. Hall went as far as off ering assistance to the gov-
ernment in putting down Shays Rebellion. Th e government
rejected their off er. Th e government also rejected Hall’s pe-
tition for funding the “repatriation” of African Americans
to Africa, utilizing their own government and structure
once settled—one of the earliest expressions of colonization
to come from a major African American leader.
By Hall’s death in 1807, black Masonic orders were
spread throughout cities in the Northeast and the Midwest,
and many stable orders existed in the Upper South. Many
African lodges were casually referred to as “Prince Hall” or-
ders during Hall’s lifetime; many groups offi cially changed
their name in his honor aft er his passing. Some orders
have merged into the white American Masonic structure,
some still hold British charters, and many are independentRucker, Walter. Th e River Flows On: Black Resistance, Culture, and
Identity Formation in Early America. Baton Rouge: Louisiana
State University Press, 2007.
Savage, John. “Black Magic and White Terror: Slave Poisoning and
Colonial Society in Early 19th Century Martinique.” Journal
of Social History 40, no. 4 (2007):635–62.
Prince Hall Masonry
Th e African American Masonic order known as Prince Hall
Masonry was established in the United States in 1787 under
a British Masonic charter and takes its name from Prince
Hall, a former Boston slave who obtained his freedom
around 1770. An ardent patriot, a veteran of the American
Revolution, and an active abolitionist, Hall found it neces-
sary to take an unusual route to establish this brotherhood
organization for African Americans.
Hall established the fi rst brotherhood organization
for African Americans in Boston in the 1770s, under the
name of the African Grand Lodge of North America. Lo-
cally, it was called the Prince Hall Masons. In 1775, he had
applied to the Boston Masonic Lodge for membership and
was rejected on the basis of his African ancestry. As a re-
sult, Hall petitioned a British lodge associated with British
army troops then occupying Boston for membership. Hall
and several other free men of color in Boston were then
initiated into the Irish Army Lodge #441. Even aft er the
American Revolution, Hall was unable to gain a full char-
ter for the African Lodge through Masonic orders in the
United States. In 1784, Hall obtained a limited license by
a British order to establish African Lodge #1, with Hall as
its fi rst grand master. Hall turned to the same British order
for help once again in 1787 when the British granted a full
charter for the African Lodge #459, and in 1791, Hall be-
came the provincial grand master of North America. With
his new authority, Hall began to authorize black lodges in
other American cities, including New York, Philadelphia,
and Providence. Th e Prince Hall Masonic orders worked to
improve personal, interpersonal, and community relation-
ships skills—as well as to promote tolerance, charity, and
improve the welfare of all.
In Boston, the African Meeting House, the African
Society, and the African Lodge worked closely on social is-
sues to better the lives of African Americans. As Prince Hall
Masonry began to expand, the groups worked alongside