Esotericon 2020

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Robert H. Johnson

It’s been almost a week since Esotericon 2020 “signed off”, and many of us are still digesting the information gleaned in the presentations. What is Esotericon? I’m glad you asked. Esotericon is an annual conference, not unlike other Masonic conventions, e.g. MasonicCon in Attleboro or Texas Masonic Con. It has one glaring differentiator—all presentations are Esoteric. 

If you want to know more about the premise and its first year, I can’t explain it better than Kevin Homan did last year when he produced this LINKED ARTICLE. You could imagine that this was a niche crowd with only a few attendees. You’d be wrong. How about 300 attendees? How about $3,500 donated to the Rainbow Girls charity fund for Give Kids the World Village. 

Speakers at this year’s event included; Chuck Dunning, Angel Millar, Josef Wäges, and some return appearances by Dave Bacon, Don McAndrews, and myself. A special presentation on the Esoteric Symbology of the Rainbow was also given, and if I’m honest—was the show-stealer. There were two wonderful special guest appearances by MW PGM Akram Elias who talked about the Masonic Legacy Society. And MW Sean Bradshaw had some opening remarks. Having the conference opened by two MW Brothers felt wonderful—a validation for me at least, that labors in this area mean something. 

Did I have a favorite part of the conference? I did. I mentioned above the special presentation on Rainbow, which I thought was fantastic, and I also really enjoyed Bro. Chuck Dunning’s presentation, "You are the Mysteries". 

Up to this point, you’re wondering how they accomplished a conference in this global pandemic, and the answer is that they did it via Zoom webinar. It was the best Zoom meeting I’d ever been on. There were no instances of, “You’re muted!” Or other typical online meeting pitfalls. All the good and none of the bad. 

Of course, the big surprise is that Esotericon has already picked a date for next year. 

If you want to learn more, here is the latest episode of The Masonic Roundtable in which we spoke to the Brothers who planned Esotericon. I hope you enjoy it and I hope to see you next year at the conference!

~RHJ

RWB Johnson is the Managing Editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is a Freemason out of the 2nd N.E. District of Illinois. He currently serves as the Secretary of Spes Novum Lodge No. 1183. He is a Past Master of Waukegan Lodge 78 and a Past District Deputy Grand Master for the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts weekly Podcasts (internet radio programs) Whence Came You? & Masonic Radio Theatre which focuses on topics relating to Freemasonry. He is also a co-host of The Masonic Roundtable, a Masonic talk show. He is a husband and father of four, works full time in the executive medical industry. He is the co-author of "It's Business Time - Adapting a Corporate Path for Freemasonry" and is currently working on a book of Masonic essays and one on Occult Anatomy to be released soon.

Was a Freemason President Involved in Lincoln's Assassination?

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Robert H. Johnson

Wild question right? Well, perhaps not too wild for some. There is a conspiracy theory which holds that Andrew Johnson, Vice President to Abraham Lincoln, was the culprit who arranged the Presidential Assassination. This conspiracy was so entertained in the day, that a special Congressional Assassination Committee was formed just to investigate Johnson! 

Here are some facts to consider;

• Andrew Johnson was made a Master Mason in 1843 in Greeneville Lodge No. 119, now No. 3 at Greeneville, Tenn.
• Andrew was actually Lincoln's third choice behind Hannibal Hamlin and General Benjamin Butler. 
• Lincoln had little to do with his Vice President after the inauguration due to Johnson's public drunkenness during his speech to Congress. Reports of his slurred speech and inappropriate  commentary travelled far and wide. 
• Mary Todd Lincoln and several members of congress were convinced that Johnson knew of the conspiracy and did nothing to prevent it. 
• Several hours before Lincoln was shot, John Wilkes Booth stopped by the Kirkwood house to meet with Johnson, but he was not home. Wilkes left a note for Johnson. 
• It is reported that while Johnson was the military governor of Tennessee, He and Booth kept two sisters as their mistresses, whom they shared and were frequently seen together! (Civil War Echoes 1907 by Hamilton Howard)
• While Johnson refused to join the confederacy and did join the Union, he did not believe in the abolition of slavery. When Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation, it's widely believed that Johnson managed to secure a promise from Lincoln that while the proclamation would apply to all the slaves held by those states in rebellion, Tennessee would be exempt. 

The preceding are the bullet points of the conspiracy. There is truth and anecdote alike, but it's all in the history books. The motive? The Presidency, a broken promise about the abolition of slaves in Tennessee and the public shaming for his drunkenness. Johnson was cleared of any involvement by that special committee, but it didn't stop the rest of the United States from viewing him suspiciously for many years. Johnson of course went on to become the 17th President of the United States. While he has the respect of Americans for being a leader of its people, to say he didn't tarnish the name of Freemasons worldwide with his drunken antics is probably understated. As for the involvement in the assassination of Lincoln, well, only God knows. 


Sources:

1. Millard, Joseph "America's Greatest Unsolved Murder" True, February 1953
2. "An Overview of John Wilkes Boothe's Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln."http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/lincoln75.html
3. Rhodehamel, John, and Louise Taper, EDS. Right or Wrong, God Judge Me: The Writings of John Wilkes Boothe. Pbk. ED. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2001
4. Hamilton Howard, Civil War Echoes (1907)
5. Conspiracies & Secret Societies, Brad Steiger, Sherry Steiger

~RHJ

Bro. Robert Johnson, PM is the Managing Editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is a Freemason out of the First North-East District of Illinois. He is the Secretary of Waukegan Lodge No. 78 and Education officer for the 1st N.E. District of Illinois as well as a former member on the Grand Lodge Education Committee. He is also a member of the York Rite bodies, AMD, The Illinois Lodge of Research and a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Chicago as well as a charter member of the Society of King Solomon, a charity organization run by the Grand Lodge of Illinois. Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts weekly Podcasts (internet radio programs) Whence Came You? & Masonic Radio Theatrewhich focus on topics relating to Freemasonry. In addition, he produces video shorts focusing on driving interest in the Fraternity and writes original Masonic papers from time to time. He is also a co-host of The Masonic Roundtable, a Masonic talk show. He is a husband and father of four. He works full time in the executive medical industry and is also a photographer on the side as well as an avid home brewer. He is currently working on a book of Masonic essays.

The Conversation

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

By Steven L. Harrison, 33°,  FMLR

In 1994, over 30 years after Lyndon Johnson assumed the Presidency and over 20 years after his death, the United States government began releasing tapes of his Presidential phone conversations.  Among the first tapes released were those conversations he had just after the death of President John Kennedy.  

On April 15 of that year, Ted Koppel featured the tapes on his Nightline program.  On it, he conducted a roundtable discussion with Johnson biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin and other Presidential historians and journalists.   

One of the most interesting tapes they listened to was a 20-minute conversation Johnson had with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover on November 29, 1963, one week after Johnson became President.

On the recording, Johnson and Hoover discuss their thoughts on the formation of a group to investigate the assassination — a committee that almost certainly became the Warren Commission.  Then they turn their attention to the facts of the assassination itself, with Hoover updating Johnson with the latest information known by the FBI.  

Those facts, after only one week of investigation are very close to those we know about today, conspiracy theorists notwithstanding.  They discuss Lee Harvey Oswald's activities the day of the assassination, including his capture in the theater.  "There is no question Oswald is the man," says Hoover, "given the evidence we have."  Johnson asks about any relationship between Oswald and Jack Ruby (Rubinstein).  Hoover says they have discovered none.  He explains Ruby was a "police character" who was well known by the authorities and speculates that is how he got into the prisoner transfer area.  Hoover confides, "Dallas police didn't operate with the highest degree of efficiency."

At the end of the conversation, Hoover recommends Johnson consider a bullet-proof car.   Johnson replies, "I want to take every precaution I can... you're more than the head of the Federal Bureau as far as I'm concerned.  You're my Brother and personal friend and you have been for 25 to 30 years."

Upon hearing that last sentence, Koppel asked the panel, "What did President Johnson  mean when he told Hoover, 'You're my Brother?'"  Not a single panelist had any idea what Johnson was talking about.

But we know, don't we?

Lyndon B. Johnson is rarely included in lists of US Presidents who were Freemasons; however, he was, in fact, initiated an Entered Apprentice on October 30, 1937, in Johnson City Lodge #561, at Johnson City, Texas.  He never went beyond the First Degree.  

J. Edgar Hoover, on the other hand, was a 33° Scottish Rite Mason, a York Rite Mason, a member of  Federal Lodge  #1, Washington, DC and a charter member of  Justice Lodge #46 in Maryland.

Lyndon B. Johnson and J. Edgar Hoover were Masonic Brothers; and President Johnson acknowledged it in that historic conversation.

~SLH

Bro. Steve Harrison, 33°, is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is the editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine, author of the book Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, a Fellow of the Missouri Lodge of Research and also its Worshipful Master. He is a dual member of Kearney Lodge #311, St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite, Moila Shrine and a member and Past Dean of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Brother Harrison is a regular contributor to the Midnight Freemasons blog as well as several other Masonic publications. His latest book, Freemasons: Tales From the Craft, will be released later this year.