Free and open to the public but registration is required.
Email apetty@wisc.edu for a Zoom Link.
Links will be emailed a day before the event
During the nineteenth century, German-speaking immigrants to the United States joined and formed Masonic lodges, just as they founded religious congregations, shooting clubs, and singing societies. This presentation will outline the transnational contexts of Freemasonry as a means of understanding the complex processes of Americanization. Beginning in the 1840s, American Freemasonry spread rapidly, and immigrants to the United States established lodges that operated in their own languages. An investigation into the activities of German-speaking lodges in America and their individual members provides insight into the shaping of American society.
Jesse David Chariton is a PhD student in the history department at Iowa State University. His research focuses on German and Irish immigration through the lens of religion and voluntary associations.