Editing Anti-Masonic Party (section)

== History ==
=== Background ===
{{conservatism US|parties}}
[[File:William Morgan (anti-Mason).jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[William Morgan (anti-Mason)|William Morgan]], whose disappearance and probable murder led to creation of the Anti-Masonic Party]]

The opponents of Freemasonry formed a political movement after the [[William Morgan (anti-Mason)#Disappearance|Morgan affair]] convinced them the Masons were murdering men who spoke out against them.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ulm |first=Aaron Hardy |date=February 14, 1920 |title=Third Parties We Have Known |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YmgwAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA72 |journal=Collier's |location=San Francisco, CA |publisher=P. F. Collier & Son Company |page=18 |ref={{sfnRef|"Third Parties We Have Known"}}}}</ref> This key episode was the mysterious 1826 disappearance of William Morgan, a Freemason in upstate New York who had turned against the Masons.{{sfn|"Third Parties We Have Known"|page=18}}

Morgan claimed to have been made a member of the Masons while living in Canada<ref>{{cite book |last= Ellis |first=Edward Sylvester |date=1920 |title=Low Twelve: "By Their Deeds Ye Shall Know Them" |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S5wOAAAAYAAJ&q=%22william+morgan%22+%22lodge%22+%22york%22+%22brewer%22&pg=PA234 |location=New York |publisher=Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Co. |page=234}}</ref> and he appears to have briefly attended a lodge in Rochester.<ref name="Bentley 1874">{{cite book |last= Bentley  |first= A. P.|date=1874 |title=History of the Abduction of William Morgan |url=https://archive.org/details/historyabductio00bentgoog |location=Mt. Pleasant, IA |publisher=Van Cise & Throop}}</ref>{{rp|9}}  In 1825, Morgan received the [[Royal Arch Masonry|Royal Arch]] degree at [[Le Roy (village), New York|Le Roy]]'s Western Star Chapter #33, having declared under oath that he had previously received the six degrees which preceded it.<ref name="Tillotson 1920 79">{{cite book |last=Tillotson |first=Lee S. |date=1920 |title=Ancient Craft Masonry in Vermont |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientcraftmas00tillgoog |quote=rochester. |location=Montpelier, VT |publisher=Capital City Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientcraftmas00tillgoog/page/n85 79]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Morris |first=Robert |date=1884 |title=William Morgan, Or, Political Anti-Masonry: Its Rise, Growth and Decadence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fZNAAQAAMAAJ&q=york&pg=PA132 |location=New York |publisher=Robert Macoy, Masonic Publisher |page=61 |ref={{sfnRef|Morris (1884)}}}}</ref> Whether he actually received these degrees and if so from where has not been determined for certain.<ref name="Bentley 1874"/>{{rp|9}}<ref name="Tillotson 1920 79"/>

Morgan then attempted unsuccessfully to help establish or visit lodges and chapters in [[Batavia, New York|Batavia]], but was denied participation in Batavia's Masonic activities by members who were uncertain about Morgan's character and claims to Masonic membership.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ross |first=Peter |date=1899 |title=A Standard History of Freemasonry in the State of New York, Volume 1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-GciAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA310 |location=New York |publisher=Lewis Publishing Company |page=310}}</ref> Angered by the rejection, Morgan announced that he was going to publish an exposé titled ''Illustrations of Masonry'',<ref name="illustrations">{{Citation | last=Morgan | first=William | title=Illustrations of Masonry by One of the Fraternity Who has Devoted Thirty Years to the Subject: "God said, Let There be Light, and There was light" | publisher=David C. Miller | place=Batavia, NY| year=1827 | url=http://utlm.org/onlinebooks/captmorgansfreemasonrycontents.htm}}</ref> critical of the Freemasons and describing their secret degree ceremonies in detail.<ref>{{cite book |last= Stokes |first=Jerry |date=2007 |title=Changing World Religions, Cults & Occult |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DTPJpanTizwC&pg=PA285 |location=Menlo Park, CA |publisher=(self-published) |page=285}}</ref>

When his intentions became known to the Batavia lodge, an attempt was made to burn down the business of the printer who planned to publish Morgan's book.<ref>Jasper Ridley, [https://books.google.com/books?id=5VItAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT208 ''The Freemasons: A History of the World's Most Powerful Secret Society''], 2013, unknown page number</ref> In September 1826, Morgan was arrested on flimsy allegations of failing to repay a loan and theft of a shirt and tie in an effort to prevent publication of his book by keeping him in jail.{{sfn|Morris (1884)|page=106}} The individual who intended to publish Morgan's book paid his bail and he was released from custody.{{sfn|Morris (1884)|page=106}} Shortly afterwards, Morgan disappeared.<ref>{{cite book |title=History of Rochester and Monroe county, New York |last=Peck |first=William F. |year=1908 |publisher=The Pioneer publishing company |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_IvssAAAAYAAJ |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_IvssAAAAYAAJ/page/n63 63] |access-date=2009-05-02}}</ref>

Some skeptics argued that Morgan had left the Batavia area on his own, either because he had been paid not to publish his book, or to escape Masonic retaliation for attempting to publish the book, or to generate publicity that would boost the book's sales.<ref>[http://www.skepdic.com/freemasons.html The Skeptic's Dictionary: Freemasons], retrieved September 9, 2014</ref> The generally believed version of events was that Masons killed Morgan by drowning him in the [[Niagara River]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Pool |first= William |date= 1897 |title= Landmarks of Niagara County, New York |url= https://archive.org/details/landmarksofniaga00pool |publisher= D. Mason & Company |page= [https://archive.org/details/landmarksofniaga00pool/page/69 69]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Cornog |first= Evan |date= 1998 |title= The Birth of Empire : DeWitt Clinton and the American Experience, 1769–1828 |url= https://archive.org/details/birthofempiredew00corn |url-access= registration |publisher= Oxford University Press |page= [https://archive.org/details/birthofempiredew00corn/page/167 167]|isbn= 978-0195353204 }}</ref>  Whether he fled or was murdered, Morgan's disappearance led many to believe that Freemasonry was in conflict with good citizenship.<ref>Josephus Nelson Larned, [https://books.google.com/books?id=fTcFAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA374 ''The New Larned History for Ready Reference, Reading and Research''], Volume 1, 1922, p. 374</ref>

Because judges, businessmen, bankers and politicians were often Masons, ordinary citizens began to think of it as an elitist group.<ref name="books.google.com">Chip Berlet, Matthew Nemiroff Lyons, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Md1aRhWNk1QC&pg=PA38 ''Right-wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort''], 2000, p. 38</ref> Moreover, many claimed that the lodges' secret oaths bound Masons to favor each other against outsiders in the courts and elsewhere.<ref name="Sydney Nathans 1973, page 88">Sydney Nathans, [https://books.google.com/books?id=iPg6AAAAIAAJ&q=outsiders ''Daniel Webster and Jacksonian Democracy''], 1973, p. 88</ref>

Because some trials of alleged Morgan conspirators were mishandled and the Masons resisted further inquiries, many New Yorkers concluded that Masons controlled key offices and used their official authority to promote the goals of the fraternity by ensuring that Morgan's supposed killers escaped punishment.<ref>Henry Dana Ward, [https://books.google.com/books?id=oARAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA290 ''The Anti-Masonic Review''], Volume 1, 1828, p. 290</ref> When a member sought to reveal its secrets, so ran the conclusion, the Freemasons had done away with him. Because they controlled the courts and other offices, they were considered capable of obstructing the investigation. True Americans, they said, had to organize and defeat this conspiracy. If good government was to be restored "all Masons must be purged from public office".<ref>Rayback 1959, pp. 18–19</ref>

=== Party foundation ===
[[File:Thurlow Weed - Brady-Handy.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Thurlow Weed]], newspaper editor who helped form the Anti-Masonic Party]]

The Anti-Masonic Party was formed in [[Upstate New York]] in February 1828.<ref>William Preston Vaughn, ''The Antimasonic Party in the United States, 1826–1843'' (1983) pp. 21–34.</ref> Anti-Masons were opponents of Freemasonry, believing that it was a corrupt and elitist [[secret society]] which was ruling much of the country in defiance of [[Republicanism in the United States|republican principles]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Massachusetts Antimasonic Republican Convention |date=1834 |title=Antimasonic Republican Convention, for Massachusetts, Held at Boston, Sept. 10 and 11, 1834 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UJnOAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA35 |location=Boston |publisher=Leonard W. Kimball |pages=34–35 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>  Many people regarded the Masonic organization and its adherents involved in government as corrupt.<ref name="Formisano 2008 126"/><ref name="Ronald P. Formisano 1827">Ronald P. Formisano, and Kathleen Smith Kutolowski, "Antimasonry and Masonry: The Genesis of Protest, 1826–1827." ''American Quarterly'' 29#2 (1977): 139–165</ref>

Opposition to Masonry was taken up by some evangelical Protestant churches as a religious cause, particularly in the [[Burned-over district]] of upstate New York.<ref>David G. Hackett, [https://books.google.com/books?id=1-CHAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA118 ''That Religion in Which All Men Agree: Freemasonry in American Culture''], 2014, p. 118</ref> Many churches passed resolutions condemning ministers and lay leaders who were Masons and several denominations condemned Freemasonry, including the [[Presbyterian Church in the United States of America|Presbyterian]], [[Congregational church|Congregational]], [[United Methodist Church|Methodist]] and [[Baptists in the United States|Baptist]] churches.<ref>{{cite journal |last=McKinley |first=Erik |date=March 1, 1921 |title=The Anti-Masonic Party |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dHA4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA72 |journal=The Builder: A Journal for the Masonic Student |volume=7 |location=Anamosa Iowa |publisher=National Masonic Research Society |page=72}}</ref>

[[File:Solomon Southwick.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Solomon Southwick]], newspaper publisher and 1828 Anti-Masonic candidate for Governor of New York]]

Anti-Masonry became a political issue in [[Western New York]], where early in 1827 many mass meetings resolved not to support Masons for public office.<ref>Michael Kazin, Rebecca Edwards, Adam Rothman, editors, [https://books.google.com/books?id=4hqpJEJp7cUC&pg=PA39 ''The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History''], Volume 1, 2010, p. 39</ref> In New York, the supporters of President [[John Quincy Adams]], called "Adams men", or Anti-Jacksonians, or [[National Republican Party|National Republicans]], were a feeble organization. Adams supporters used the strong anti-Masonic feeling to create a new party in opposition to the rising [[Jacksonian Democracy]] nationally and the [[Albany Regency]] political organization of [[Martin Van Buren]] in New York.<ref name="Anne-Marie Taylor 2001, page 40">Anne-Marie Taylor, [https://books.google.com/books?id=an2KtqVlwlsC&pg=PA40 ''Young Charles Sumner and the Legacy of the American Enlightenment, 1811–1851''], 2001, p. 40</ref> In this effort, they were aided by the fact that [[Andrew Jackson]] was a high-ranking Mason and frequently spoke in praise of the organization.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Neeley |first=Philip P. |date=1846 |title=Masonic Tribute to the Late General Andrew Jackson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cPwqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA83 |journal=The Freemason's Monthly Magazine |volume=5 |location=Boston, MA |publisher=Tuttle & Dennett |page=83}}</ref> The alleged remark of Anti-Masonic organizer [[Thurlow Weed]] (which Weed denied), that an unidentified corpse found in the Niagara River was "a good enough Morgan" until after the 1828 elections, summarized the value of the Morgan disappearance for the opponents of Jackson.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Weed |first=Thurlow |date=1877 |title=A Good Enough Morgan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JZE7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA51 |journal=Selections from the Newspaper Articles of Thurlow Weed |location=Albany, NY |publisher=Weed, Parsons and Company |pages=51–61}}</ref>

=== Political rise ===
In the [[United States House of Representatives elections, 1828|elections of 1828]], the new party proved unexpectedly strong.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Anti-Masonic Party|volume=2|page=127}}</ref> Though its [[New York gubernatorial election, 1828|candidate]] for [[governor of New York]], [[Solomon Southwick]], was defeated, the Anti-Masonic Party became the main opposition party to the Jacksonian Democrats in New York.<ref>Mark Stein, [https://books.google.com/books?id=4dJXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA45 ''American Panic: A History of Who Scares Us and Why''], 2014, p. 45</ref> In 1829, it broadened its issues base when it became a champion of [[internal improvements]] and the protective [[tariff]].<ref>Edward S. Mihalkanin, editor, [https://books.google.com/books?id=c_ORomNygLcC&pg=PA451 ''American Statesmen: Secretaries of State from John Jay to Colin Powell''], 2004, p. 451</ref>

Anti-Masonic Party members expanded the use of party-affiliated newspapers for political organizing by publishing over 100, including Southwick's ''National Observer'' and Weed's ''Anti-Masonic Enquirer''.<ref name="Bentley 1874"/>{{rp|34–35}} By 1829, Weed's ''Albany Journal'' had become the preeminent Anti-Masonic paper and it later became the leading [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] newspaper.<ref>Jeffrey D. Schultz, John G. West, Iain S. MacLean, editors, [https://books.google.com/books?id=dy1MNv8ou-0C&pg=PA18 ''Encyclopedia of Religion in American Politics''], 1999, p. 18</ref><ref>Charles Elliott Fitch [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediabio00fitcgoog/page/n564 <!-- pg=318 --> Encyclopedia of Biography of New York], Volume 1, 1916, p. 318</ref><ref>Benson John Lossing, [https://archive.org/details/empirestateacom01lossgoog/page/n471 <!-- pg=447 --> The Empire State: A Compendious History of the Commonwealth of New York], 1888, p. 447</ref> The newspapers of the time reveled in partisanship and one brief paragraph in an ''Albany Journal'' article opposing [[Martin Van Buren]] included the words "dangerous", "demagogue", "corrupt", "degrade", "pervert", "prostitute", "debauch" and "cursed".<ref>John G. Gasaway, [https://books.google.com/books?id=AjByAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Albany+Evening+Journal%22+%22martin+Van+Buren%22+corrupt ''Tippecanoe and the Party Press Too: Mass Communication, Politics, Culture, and the Fabled Presidential Election of 1840''], 1999, p. 228</ref>

=== Conventions and elections ===
A national Anti-Masonic organization was planned as early as 1827, when the New York leaders attempted unsuccessfully to persuade [[Henry Clay]] to renounce his Masonic membership and head the movement.<ref name="EB1911"/>

By 1830, the Anti-Masonic movement's effort to broaden its appeal enabled it to spread to neighboring states, becoming especially strong in [[Pennsylvania]] and [[Vermont]].<ref name="EB1911"/>  In 1831, [[William A. Palmer]] was elected [[governor of Vermont]] on an Anti-Masonic ticket, an office he held until 1835.<ref name="Wells 1902 340">{{cite book |last= Wells |first= Frederic Palmer |date= 1902 |title=History of Newbury, Vermont |url= https://archive.org/details/historynewburyv00wellgoog |quote= william a palmer governor vermont anti-masonic. |publisher= The Caledonian Company |page= [https://archive.org/details/historynewburyv00wellgoog/page/n439 340] |access-date= September 19, 2014}}</ref> Palmer's brother-in-law [[Augustine Clarke]] was an Anti-Masonic presidential elector in 1832, served as [[Vermont State Treasurer|Vermont state treasurer]] from 1833 to 1837 and was appointed to the Anti-Masonic National Committee in 1837.<ref>{{cite book |last= Bouton |first= Nathaniel |author-link=Nathaniel Bouton |date= 1856 |title= The History of Concord, Vermont |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=23owAQAAMAAJ&q=%22augustine+clark%22+%22william+a+palmer%22&pg=PA697 |publisher= McFarland & Jenks |page= 697 |isbn= 978-0608438405 |access-date= September 19, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= William Ogden |last= Niles |title= National Antimasonic Convention |work= Niles' National Register |volume=53 |page= 68 |date= September 30, 1837 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=6PAaAAAAYAAJ&q=%22augustine+clark%22+anti-masonic+committee&pg=PA68}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Hemenway|first= Abby Maria |date= 1882 |title= The History of the Town of Montpelier, Including that of the Town of East Montpelier |url= https://archive.org/details/historytownmont00waltgoog |quote= augustine clark treasurer.|publisher= A. M. Hemenway |page= [https://archive.org/details/historytownmont00waltgoog/page/n41 273] |access-date= September 19, 2014}}</ref> Other Vermont Anti-Masonic electors in 1832 included former governor [[Ezra Butler]] and former [[United States Representative|United States representative]] [[William Strong (Vermont politician)|William Strong]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Vermont Secretary of State|date= 1902 |title= Vermont Legislative Directory |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wCY0AQAAMAAJ&q=vermont+electors+1832+clarke+butler+strong&pg=PA199 |publisher= Vermont Watchman Co. |page= 199 |access-date= September 19, 2014}}</ref>

The highest elected office held by a member of the Anti-Masonic Party was governor. Besides Palmer in Vermont, [[Joseph Ritner]] was the [[governor of Pennsylvania]] from 1835 to 1839.<ref>{{cite book |last= Pennsylvania Bureau of Statistics |date= 1875 |title= Annual Report of the Bureau of Statistics of Pennsylvania, Volume 2|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CnYpAAAAYAAJ&q=%22joseph+ritner%22+governor+anti-mason+1835+1839&pg=PA17 |publisher= B. F. Meyers, State Printer |page= 17 |access-date= September 19, 2014}}</ref>

In addition to Palmer and Ritner, [[Silas H. Jennison]], an Anti-Mason, was elected [[Lieutenant Governor of Vermont]] with [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] support in 1835. No candidate, including Palmer, received a majority of votes for governor as required by the Vermont Constitution. The contest then moved to the [[Vermont General Assembly]], which could not choose a winner. The General Assembly then opted to allow Jennison to act as governor until the next election. He won election as governor in his own right as a Whig in 1836 and served from 1836 to 1841.<ref name="Wells 1902 340"/><ref>{{cite book |last= Duffy |first= John J. |date= 2003 |title= The Vermont Encyclopedia |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=uTBCXqOou0YC&q=%22silas+h.+jennison%22&pg=PA171 |publisher= University of Vermont Press |page= 171 |access-date= September 19, 2014|display-authors=etal|isbn= 978-1584650867 }}</ref>
[[File:William Wirt by Henry Inman (frameless).jpg|left|thumb|221x221px|Former [[Freemasonry|Mason]] [[William Wirt (Attorney General)|William Wirt]] won [[Vermont]]'s [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] votes in the [[1832 United States presidential election|1832 presidential election]] for the Anti-Masonic Party]]
Though the Anti-Masonic Party elected no [[United States Senate|senators]] and controlled no houses of a state legislature, Anti-Masons in state legislatures sometimes formed coalitions to elect senators and organize their chambers. Examples include: [[William Wilkins (U.S. politician)|William Wilkins]], elected to the Senate in 1830 by a coalition of Democrats and Anti-Masons in the [[Pennsylvania General Assembly]];<ref>{{cite book |author= Polk, James K. |editor= Cutler, Wayne |date= 1996 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wxmLh0gDfSoC&q=%22william+wilkins%22+%22anti-mason%22+senator+1830&pg=PA39 |title= Correspondence of James K. Polk: Volume IX, January–June 1845 |publisher= University of Tennessee Press |page= 39 |access-date= September 21, 2014|isbn= 978-0870499470 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |date= 1956 |title= A History of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7Jq11dtTA2oC&q=%22william+wilkins%22+%22anti-mason%22+senator&pg=PA508 |publisher= U.S. Government Printing Office |page= 508 |access-date= September 21, 2014|isbn= 978-0160845789 }}</ref> and [[William Sprague III|William Sprague]], elected speaker of the [[Rhode Island House of Representatives]] in 1831 by a coalition of Democrats and Anti-Masons.<ref>{{cite book |last= American Historical Association |date= 1903 |title= Annual Report, Volume I |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=C_hGAQAAIAAJ&q=%22william+sprague%22+%22rhode+island%22+speaker+%22anti-masonic%22&pg=PA551 |publisher= U.S. Government Printing Office |page= 551 |access-date= September 21, 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Amos Ellmaker.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Amos Ellmaker]], 1832 Anti-Masonic candidate for [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]]]
The Anti-Masonic Party conducted the first [[United States presidential nominating convention|presidential nominating convention]] in the United States history for the [[1832 United States presidential election|1832 elections]], nominating [[William Wirt (Attorney General)|William Wirt]] (a former Mason) for [[President of the United States|president]] and [[Amos Ellmaker]] for [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]] in Baltimore. Wirt won 7.8 percent of the popular vote and the seven electoral votes of Vermont.<ref>{{cite book |last= Haynes |first= Stan M. |date= 2012 |title= The First American Political Conventions: Transforming Presidential Nominations, 1832–1872 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mSud-fdhUnkC&q=wirt+ellmaker+anti-masonic+1832+vermont&pg=PA27 |publisher= McFarland & Company, Inc. |page= 27 |access-date= September 19, 2014|isbn= 978-0786490301 }}</ref> Soon the Democrats and Whigs recognized the convention's value in managing parties and campaigns and began to hold their own.<ref name="Goldwag 2012 172">{{cite book |last= Goldwag |first= Arthur |date= 2012 |title= The New Hate: A History of Fear and Loathing on the Populist Right |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VlMuXEWD8hoC&q=%22Anti-Masonic%22+innovations+conventions+newspapers&pg=PA172 |page= 172 |publisher= Knopf Doubleday Publishing |access-date= September 19, 2014|isbn= 978-0307742513 }}</ref>

Following Ritner's election in 1835, a state convention was held in Harrisburg on December 14–17, 1835 to choose [[Electoral College (United States)|presidential electors]] for the [[1836 United States presidential election|1836 election]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=432554 |title=PA US President – AM Convention Race – Dec 14, 1835 |publisher=Our Campaigns |date=2008-03-27 |access-date=2014-02-21}}</ref> The convention nominated [[William Henry Harrison]] for president and [[Francis Granger]] for vice president.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 22, 1835 |title=Harrisburg Conventions |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98863712/harrisburg-comventions/ |work=[[Richmond Enquirer]] |location=Richmond, VA |page=2 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> The Vermont state Anti-Masonic convention followed suit on February 24, 1836.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=432869 |title=VT US President – AM Convention Race – Feb 24, 1836 |publisher=Our Campaigns |date=2008-03-27 |access-date=2014-02-21}}</ref> Anti-Masonic leaders were unable to obtain assurance from Harrison that he was not a Mason, so they called a national convention. The second national Anti-Masonic nominating convention was held in Philadelphia on May 4, 1836.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=157642 |title=US President – AM Convention Race – May 04, 1836 |publisher=Our Campaigns |date=2008-03-27 |access-date=2014-02-21}}</ref> The meeting was divisive, but a majority of the delegates officially stated that the party was not sponsoring a national ticket for the presidential election of 1836 and proposed a meeting in 1837 to discuss the future of the party.<ref>{{cite book |last= Trefousse |first= Hans Louis |date= 1997 |title= Thaddeus Stevens: Nineteenth-century Egalitarian |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=OKq8EaomNzkC&q=%22anti-masonic%22+philadelphia+1836+convention&pg=PA45 |publisher= University of North Carolina Press |page= 45 |access-date= September 19, 2014|isbn= 978-0807823354 }}</ref>

Although Harrison lost the election to Democratic candidate [[Martin Van Buren]] in 1836, his strength throughout the North was hailed by Anti-Masonic leaders because the Anti-Masonic Party was the first to officially place his name in contention.<ref>{{cite book |last= Mueller |first= Richard Mueller |date= 1922 |title= The Whig Party in Pennsylvania |url= https://archive.org/details/whigpartyinpenn00muelgoog |quote= anti-masonic harrison 1836. |publisher= Columbia University |page= [https://archive.org/details/whigpartyinpenn00muelgoog/page/n288 276] |access-date= September 19, 2014}}</ref> By the mid-1830s, other Anti-Jacksonians had coalesced into the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]], which had a broader issue base than the Anti-Masons. By the late 1830s, many of the Anti-Masonic movement's members were moving to the Whigs, regarding that party as a better alternative to the Jacksonians, by then called Democrats.<ref>{{cite book |last= Adams |first= Sean Patrick |date= 2013 |title= A Companion to the Era of Andrew Jackson |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dPYFIb5hOHsC&q=%22anti-masons%22+join+whig+party&pg=PA343 |publisher= Blackwell Publishing |page= 343 |isbn= 978-1118290828 |access-date= September 19, 2014}}</ref> The Anti-Masonic Party held a conference in September 1837 to discuss its situation—one delegate was former president John Quincy Adams.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last= Haywood |editor-first= H. L. |date= 1921 |title= The Builder: A Journal for the Masonic Student |volume=7 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dHA4AQAAMAAJ&q=%22anti-masonic+party%22+philadelphia+september+1837&pg=PA77 |publisher= National Masonic Research Society |page= 77 |access-date= September 19, 2014}}</ref>

The Anti-Masonic Party held a third national nominating convention at [[Temperance halls|Temperance Hall]] in [[Philadelphia]] on November 13–14, 1838.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=432897 |title=US President – AM Convention Race – Nov 13, 1838 |publisher=Our Campaigns |date=2009-05-23 |access-date=2014-02-21}}</ref> By this time, the party had been almost entirely supplanted by the Whigs. The Anti-Masons unanimously endorsed William Henry Harrison for president and [[Daniel Webster]] for vice president in the [[1840 United States presidential election|1840 election]]. When the Whig National Convention nominated Harrison with [[John Tyler]] as his running mate, the Anti-Masonic Party did not make an alternate nomination and ceased to function, with most adherents being fully absorbed into the Whigs by 1840.<ref>{{cite book |last= Remini |first= Robert Vincent |date= 1991 |title= Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=f9Hb6i90_mAC&q=%22anti-masonic+party%22+1839+webster&pg=PA528 |publisher= W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. |page= 528 |isbn= 978-0393310887 |access-date= September 19, 2014}}</ref><ref name="McLaughlin 1914 49">{{cite book |last= McLaughlin |first= Andrew Cunningham |date= 1914 |title= Cyclopedia of American Government, Volume 1 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vvYUAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Anti-Masonic%22+%22william+wirt%22+speech+defending+freemasons&pg=PA49 |publisher= D. Appleton and Company |page= 49 |access-date= September 19, 2014}}</ref>