The Secret Founding of America: The Real Story of Freemasons, Puritans, and the Battle for The New World

by Nicholas Hagger

Ask most Americans where the country’s origins lie and they’ll point to the Mayflower and its settlers?whom we often think of as the earliest arrivals to our shores. But something existed even before Jamestown. Its founders had thoroughly different values than the Puritans, and their Masonic beliefs indelibly shaped America’s future. This authoritative, accessible, and absorbing history takes a fresh look at the past to reveal the truth about why the United States is now run by Freemasons who are Christians, too. Drawing on original findings, and exhibiting a rich, in-depth understanding of the political and philosophical realities of the time, acclaimed author Nicholas Hagger argues that the new nation, conceived in liberty, was the Freemasons’ first step towards a new world order. He charts the connections between secret societies and libertarian ideals, explains how the influence of German Illuminati worked on the framers of the new republic, and shows the hand of Freemasonry at work at every turning point in America’s history?from the Civil War to the Cold War to today’s global struggles for democracy. It’s a fascinating subject, and one that will also be at the center of Dan Brown’s next book?so interest is sure to be high and the tie-in potential immense.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, American, Conspiracy Theories

244 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

writer, poet, man of letters, philosopher, historian

Reviews

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not going to even try and demolish this books wild take on history - if you imagine that 'The Illuminati' was, or is, a powerful group of individuals who have been plotting behind the scenes to set up a world government for over two hundred years then you are an idiot who knows no history and almost certainly has never seen the inside of an archive or read in any other language then English. People who read this trash don't want the truth, they want a conspiracy, but not the real conspiracies that are destroying our governments and world but fantasy ones.

I, nor anyone can disprove this sort of twaddle, because for its believers truth is what cannot be disproved. That truth is found through disproving what was wrong is something they will never understand.

[Yuri Zbitnoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s important to study history, but it’s perhaps even more important to know through which lens history is being viewed. Facts matter, but historical accounts are always filtered through a set of ideological biases. No account of history is going to be completely neutral. Establishment historians will generally emphasize the significance of events as they relate to their political beliefs. Libertarians and other historical revisionists are also analyzing history through the lens of fidelity to or deviance from their own ideological orthodoxies. What most conventional readings of American history overlook is the role of secret societies, specifically Freemasonry, in the formation of the American republic. This perspective alone makes Nicholas Hagger’s Secret Founding of America an especially fascinating and essential read.

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[Lindsay Hicks · Rating 1 out of 5]

I struggled with this book as it was mostly suppositions. "Couldn't it be possible that ?" with minimal evidence. And I have to say I'm a big fan of a good conspiracy theory. But this book never really GAVE me anything. I can ask myself the questions.

[Richard Shepard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a real eye opener, not the kind of history taught in most schools, public or private. America is not a Christian nation, as is popularly believed, to rather an amalgam of both religious and non-religious influences.

Engaging and nicely paced, the book covers in significant detail the settlement and founding of the country called America from the Spanish in St. Augustine to Jamestown and Plymouth and into the time of the American Revolution. The author also touches on the influence of free-masonry during the Civil War and into the early 20th century, largely in summary format.

In short, Hagger shows that there were several competing ideals that went into the founding and growth of America, and that a deist/freemasonry (i.e., non-Christian) faction had a much greater influence than is generally believed from the popular history books.

Any serious student of American History should read this book, if he/she is not already aware of its contents.

[Timothy L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book in that it totally offsets the view in the book, The Light and the Glory. This volume shows that Freemasonry and other secret groups went back much further than the mid-1700s and that America was not as "christian" as the Light and the Glory crowd want everyone to think. Do I trust this book empathically? No. Do I think the author reached a little bit? Yes. However, Hagger is not a hack and he provides a lot of information. I enjoyed the book as "light reading."

[Tim Cavey]

(p.21) "This meant that the Connecticut Puritans had established their Congregational churches as the official religion of Connecticut, which from 1639 became a Christian state supported by taxes and defended by the law: blasphemy was punished with execution, and citizenship depended on religious faith. Religious freedom meant freedom from error, Church and State working together to protect true faith."

[Chris Baumgartner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Facinating, but ridiculously hard to follow. The ultimate conspiracy theory, Freemasons control everything! We've heard all this before but, this is over the top. I would not recommend this book to anyone I know....

[Peter Spung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hagger lays out the Freemason's (and other groups') influence on the US founding, origin story, and leadership from the 15th century through to today. Heavily researched and footnooted with an extensive bibliography and index, this book is filled with human interest stories and narratives that kept me interested and informed. The Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620 and their rural ethic from Elizabethan England actually had a very narrow influence on the US. The author shows persuasive evidence that the rationalist, Deist ideals of Freemasonary and its secret society off-shoots (eg the Council on Foreign Relations) were an opposing worldview ascribed to and pledged by most founders, presidents, congressmen, governors, jurists and military leaders. I hope you enjoy the revelations in this book as much as I did.

[Dwight Koslowski · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could rate this book lower, I would. Every single person and event during the Revolutionary era was supposedly linked to either the Freemasons or the Illuminati. Every symbol, every piece of literature was somehow linked to these "organizations". This book would appeal only to the hardcore conspiracy theorist.

[Nicholas Maulucci · Rating 3 out of 5]

At least a 3, probably a 3 1/2. Good information. Stuff not talked about in public schools or in Christian schools. Recommended for people who want to know real history without simply wanting to be accepted as "history buffs" with the common and accepted narrative.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a little bit difficult to read bc the print was so small but that could be due to the edition of the book I had.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted this book to be readable because the subject seemed so interesting. Unfortunately, it read more like a list of things that happened with little context or analysis of why those things were significant. Maybe someone who has a stronger background in this subject will appreciate it, but it just made me angry.

[Jeff Bloomquist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Long long read but interesting at the end. Easier to just read Dan Brown.

[Qusay Fayoumi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about how Freemasons and the Illuminate founded and shaped the US and the rest of the world.

[Peacetoyou38 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took awhile to get into the groove of his writing style, but then I was hooked.
The information changes your perspective on literally everything!

[Felicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good informative book. It's not a fast or easy read unless you love history. But it is full of great information about how America was founded and the part that the freemasons played.