United States Anti-Masonic Party

The Anti-Masonic Party (also Antimasonic) was a 19th century minor political party in the United States. As its name suggests, it strongly opposed Freemasonry, but in fact was not a single-issue party, aspiring to become a major party.

It was formed in New York City in 1828 and was the first third party in American national politics. It conducted the first Presidential nominating convention[?] in the US, in 1832, nominating William Wirt[?] for President and Amos Ellmaker[?] for Vice President.

A reason why the party disappeared was that Andrew Jackson was a Freemason and his pride in the institution combined with his popularity and the prevalence of Freemasons amongst the Founding Fathers led to a distinct lack of support for the Anti-Masons. Following the 1836 elections, the Anti-Masonic party declined rapidly in popularity. Along with the National Republican Party[?], it was absorbed into the nascent Whig Party.