Prince Hall Origin
by: Joshua Feliciano

The history of Prince Hall Freemasonry in America is marked by its attempts at legitimacy, internal divisions, and competing notions of Masonic authority. One of the most significant—and contentious—moments in that history is the story of the National Grand Lodge.

In 1847, the First Independent African Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania was thrown into crisis after two of its lodges were instigated to form another Grand Lodge. Both events mirrored the earlier historical divide between the Ancients and Moderns within Anglo-American Freemasonry. The desire to limit irregularity and create stronger authority led to a proposal for an organization that would bring the lodges under one, centralized body under the name National Grand Lodge. The National Grand Lodge claimed to protect the Craft against clandestine bodies, but it created a fundamental contradiction because it explicitly challenged the Masonic tenet that all Grand Lodges are sovereign bodies.

Hierarchical Tensions and Departures
From its inception, the National Grand Lodge pursued a rigid hierarchical model, centralizing authority under a single National Grand Master. This approach quickly revealed inherent flaws, as state Grand Lodges resisted subordination and asserted their right to autonomous governance. Pennsylvania was the first to withdraw in 1849, setting a precedent soon followed by Ohio in1869, the District of Columbia in 1871, and the Union Grand Lodge of New York in 1877.

The Collapse of Centralized Control
Throughout the 1870s, the centralized authority of the National Grand Lodge weakened significantly. The tensions reached a critical point in 1877 with George Levere's appointment as National Grand Master, whose leadership exacerbated existing disputes. The resultant crisis prompted Compact Grand Lodges to convene a convention in Delaware in 1878, passing resolutions to dissolve the National Grand Lodge and restore sovereignty to the state jurisdictions by merging the two Grand Lodges of each state.

Brother S.V.B. Carty recorded this in a letter found in the 1888 proceedings of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas, stating:

"As soon as two-thirds of the Grand Lodges here represented ratified the doings of this convention, the National Grand Lodge should wind up her affairs and be declared no more."
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"In less than one year, four-fifths of the Grand Lodges had ratified the doings of the convention and claimed to have sovereign power in their respective jurisdictions."

The Levere problem
In 1882, Tennessee’s Compact Grand Lodge merged with its independent counterpart, further confirming the disbandment and highlighting ongoing irregularities as George Levere remains listed as the National Grand Master during this time. This creates a violation in their constitution as it states that only members of the National Grand Lodge can be officers in the National Grand Lodge. He is expelled in 1883 from his newly merged Grand Lodge and to further complicate this as the National Grand Lodge has no record of what lodge he was a member of under the National Grand Lodge because the compact didn't have a Tennessee Grand Lodge under it. George Levere died in 1886.

Matthews’ Revival and Irregularities
Despite this definitive dissolution, William D. Matthews, then serving as National Grand Senior Warden and Grand Master of King Solomon Grand Lodge of Kansas, attempted to revive the National Grand Lodge after Levere’s death. Ignoring the resolutions and constitutional mandates established in 1878, Matthews declared himself National Grand Master and called for the return of former Compact Grand Lodges through an 1888 manifesto. His directive went unheeded, prompting Matthews to establish competing Grand Lodges composed largely of expelled or suspended Masons. Notably, this included partnerships with suspended and expelled Prince Hall Masons to form the Smooth Ashlar Grand Lodge of Georgia and the Eureka Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia.

These actions represented significant breaches of Masonic jurisprudence.

First, Matthews’ efforts directly contradicted the 1874 constitution of the National Grand Lodge, which clearly defined state Grand Lodges as holding the highest authority.

ARTICLE I:
‍"This body shall be known as the M.•. W.•. N.•. G.•. Lodge of F.•. and A.•. Y.•. M.•. of North America, and it is hereby declared that the respective State Grand Lodges represented in this Grand Lodge, to be the highest...Masonic authority over the three symbolic degrees of Freemasons (colored) in the United States of North America."

Second, Matthews' unilateral decisions violated the binding resolutions ratified by a clear majority at the Delaware Convention. Under masonic law it is illegal for an individual to go against a vote as it's a masonic crime called "insubordination".

Furthermore, Matthews went against masonic law again by recruiting suspended and expelled masons as according to universally recognized Masonic law, expelled members relinquish all rights and privileges within Freemasonry, rendering Matthews’ new lodges fundamentally irregular and illegitimate.

Continued Irregularities and Legal Defeat
Though persistently disputed, a remnant of the National Grand Lodge continued in diminished form, often struggling to justify its legitimacy. In 2020, it initiated a trademark infringement lawsuit against the bogus United Grand Lodge of Georgia and a former member over the usage of specific Masonic terminology. The lawsuit ended disastrously for the National Grand Lodge, with courts dismissing its claims as baseless and describing its arguments as notably weak.

Contemporary Schisms
Recent internal disputes have further destabilized the National Grand Lodge. In September 2020, National Grand Master Lee Singleton suspended Cedric Lewis. Singleton’s term subsequently expired without an election due to the COVID-19 pandemic delays. Amid this vacuum, the Board of Directors recognized Cedric Lewis as the new National Grand Master, subsequently suspending Singleton in early 2021 for nonpayment of dues. These events triggered another significant fracture within the organization creating two National Grand Lodges.

Legacy and Lessons
Today, the National Grand Lodge endures as a contested body, persistently shadowed by a legacy of constitutional disregard, leadership controversies, and lack of consistent legitimacy. Its history serves as a stark reminder within Prince Hall Freemasonry that genuine authority arises not through coercion or unilateral claims, but through adherence to Masonic law, mutual respect among jurisdictions, and unwavering commitment to regularity and sovereignty. Till this day neither of the National Grand Lodges has been able to produce any minutes or proceedings from 1880 - 1889 to claim that they are the same National Grand Lodge that was formed in 1847.