In the early 19th century, the secret society of the Masons became more and more popular. The movers and shakers of small communities would bond over elaborate initiation rituals and spend time together socializing and sometimes publicly flaunting their wealth as they did good works. But in the 1820s, a member of the Batavia, New York, Masonic Lodge 433 named William Morgan became fed up with the insular political power wielded by the Masons. He threatened to publish an expose in the newspaper.
Listen beautiful relax classics on our Youtube channel.
The Masons began to harass Morgan incessantly, having him arrested, searching his home, and even setting his business on fire. They also harassed publisher David Miller who was working with Morgan on the expose. In 1826, Morgan was again arrested, but bailed out by a stranger who was part of a gang who shoved Morgan into a carriage upon leaving jail. Morgan was never seen again.
The disappearance/murder investigation went nowhere, since everyone involved was a Mason. Miller then went ahead and published Morgan’s expose, which led to more scrutiny and a backlash against the Masons from the public. Read how this led to the formation of the Anti-Masonic Party and even a presidential candidate in 1832, and dealt a blow to the secrecy of the Masons, at Smithsonian.
Source: neatorama