Freemasonry and Civil Society Europe and the Americas (North and South)

"Eminent scholar Dr. Margaret Jacob has been joined by Dr. María Vázquez Semadeni in writing a significant addition to our understanding of the role that Freemasonry played in the creation of civil society in the 18th century. In today's world, with democracy under attack from so many quarters, and with the growing threat of authoritarianism, this book will help us understand how and why democracy grew out of autocracy in the 18th century. The authors explain how Freemasonry ignited a movement which liberated both men and women to experience for the first time a freedom which reached deep into society. The work is both an accurate history of Freemasonry and its role in the creation of civil society, and a reminder that hard-won liberties can easily be overthrown by those who do not understand the value of a free society and a government that allows that society to flourish." -John L. Cooper III, Ph.D, Past Grand Master, Masonic Grand Lodge of California