party nearly always controlled the State legisla- ture. On the other hand, the history of the Pennsylvania Federalists was one of continued failure. However, several Pennsylvania counties resisted this trend—Adams, Lancaster and Delaware—and resolutely held aloft the torch of Federalism against the

. Fishel, Jr., "Repercussions of Reconstruction: The Northern Negro, 1870-1883", Civil War History, XIV (Dec., 1968), 334-335. 2I have used a number of terms to identify the geographical subdivisions of Lancaster County in the 1850's that a reader might find confusing. Under the Pennsylvania Constitution

The Antimasonic Party in Lancaster County, Pa. :1828-1843 John Edward McNeal PREFACE Political Antimasonry in the United States is a subject which, for the most part, has been neglected by historians. The best single work on the subject is Charles McCarthy's "The Antimasonic Party: A Study of Po

homestead in the township of Conestoga, Lancaster County, on the 8th day of June 1775. This was imme- diately after the battle of Lexington, and one year before the Declara- tion of Independence. Thus I saw the birth of our nation, and have lived under the first President, and sixteen of his successors. I