Secret America: The Hidden Symbols, Codes and Mysteries of the United States

290 Pages·2010·130.79 MB·English

by  Karg

S Secret
Stars, stripes, and
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secrets!
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AmericA
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The Washington Monument
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The pyramid on the $1 bill
The Skull and Bones society at Yale University T

Common American icons—or secret symbols? From our founding fathers to
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our most prestigious institutions, this is a nation built on secret symbols, rites,
and rituals. So forget the textbook version of history and embark on a fascinating
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and fantastic journey of America’s hidden past.
This tell-all handbook is your personal guide to the secret-laden people, places,
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and things of our great nation, including:
• Sign-filled national treasures in museums from coast to coast R T h e h i d d e n S y m b o l S , C o d e S , a n d
• Ancient mysteries of our most familiar cities, landmarks, and parks
• Hotbeds of current Masonic, Kabbalistic, and Rosicrucian activity I
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• Freemason-planned architecture of Boston, New York, Philadelphia,
and Washington, D.C.
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• Covert clubs, societies, and associations of the ultra-rich and powerful
From the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. to the Institute of Noetic Sciences
in Petaluma, California, Secret America is all you need to discover the true
nature of the oldest republic on Earth—past, present, and future!
Barb Karg is a veteran journalist, graphic designer, author, and screenwriter. She’s the author
m y S T e r i e S o f T h e U n i T e d S T a T e S
of The Everything® Freemasons Book, 101 Secrets of the Freemasons, and 101 Things You
Didn’t Know about the Freemasons. She lives in the Pacific Northwest.
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Rick Sutherland is the coauthor of The Everything® Vampire Book. An editor, writer, r
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and researcher, he has worked on dozens of books including architectural, interior a
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design, landscape design, and engineering books. He lives in the Pacific Northwest. d
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Cover images: istockphoto/© quisp65, Jitalia17, luna47, TriggerPhoto, e
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joecicak, nicoolay, ThePalmer, Rouzes / clipart.com / public domain l
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$15.95 (CAN $18.99) History/Reference d
ISBN-13: 978-1-4405-0553-9
ISBN-10: 1-4405-0553-5
www.adamsmedia.com
barb Karg and riCK SUTherland
Secret
AmericA

Secret
AmericA
the hidden syMbols, codes, And
Mysteries of the united stAtes
bArb KArg And ricK sutherlAnd
Avon, MAssAchusetts
Copyright © 2010 by F+W Media, Inc.
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any
form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are
made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
Published by
Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com
Contains material adapted and abridged from The Everything® Freemasons
Book, by John K. Young and Barb Karg, copyright © 2006 by F+W Media, Inc.,
ISBN 10: 1-59869-059-0, ISBN 13: 978-1-59869-059-0; The Everything® Kab-
balah Book, by Mark Elber, copyright © 2006 by F+W Media, Inc., ISBN 10:
1-59337-546-8, ISBN 13: 978-1-59337-546-1; The Everything® Philosophy Book,
by James Mannion, copyright © 2002 by F+W Media, Inc., ISBN 10: 1-58062-
644-0, ISBN 13: 978-1-58062-644-6; and The Skeptic’s Guide to Conspiracies, by
Monte Cook, copyright © 2009 by F+W Media, Inc., ISBN 10: 1-60550-113-1,
ISBN 13: 978-1-60550-113-0.
ISBN 10: 1-4405-0553-5
ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-0553-9
eISBN 10: 1-4405-0723-6
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-0723-6
Printed in the United States of America.
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contentS
Part One: america’s Secret Heritage . . . 1
chapter 1: Yes, Virginia, there Is a Secret america. . . . 3
chapter 2: the Secret religions of america. . . . . . . . . 7
chapter 3: the Secret History of america .........27
Part twO: Freemasonry: the Great repository of
american Secrets . . . 57
chapter 4: Freemasons: the Light Bearers of the
ancient Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
chapter 5: the Secret revolution of america ...... 85
chapter 6: the Secret Lives of american
Freemasons ......................................... 109
chapter 7: the Secret american Handshake:
Freemasons Demystified. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
chapter 8: the Secret Symbols of america ....... 147
Part tHree: america the Mysterious . . . 165
chapter 9: the Secret art and architecture
of america. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
chapter 10: Our Secret Capital: washington, D.C. .. 183
chapter 11: the Secret Places of america . . . . . . . . . 219
chapter 12 : Secret Societies in america today. . . . 245
chapter 13: Back to the Future: the noetics
Institute. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Appendix A: recommended reading ........... 267
Appendix B: Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
index ...........................................277

Part One
AmericA’s secret HeritAge
“American Democracy is part
of a Universal Plan.”
—Manly P. Hall
Sure, we all know that America is the world’s greatest republic,
heralded as the land of the free and the home of the brave. But
America is—and has been for thousands of years—considered
by the ancient philosophers, our founding fathers, and modern
pundits alike to be much, much more. Known by many arcane
names—the New Atlantis, Utopia, even the Holy Grail—our
nation is built on the ideas and ideologies of an amazing variety
of religions, mystical traditions, and philosophies.
From Pythagoras to the pyramids, astrology to the Illuminati,
every aspect of our democracy bears evidence of these hidden
influences. Let’s take a closer look at our esoteric heritage and
the ancient and obscure institutions that inform it. As we’ll see,
every influence, both ancient and modern, usually relates to
Freemasonry, sooner or later, one way or another.
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chApter
YeS, VirginiA, there iS
A Secret AmericA
If there is one facet of the human experience that’s attained the
status of a very guilty American pleasure, it’s our complete and
unabashed passion for discovering the answers to secrets of any
and every variety. While we all have our own fiercely protected
personal secrets, there’s nothing that piques our inherently
curious national psyche quite so instantly as seeing or hearing
these words: covert, confidential, classified, or secret.
Culturally Intrigued
In American culture, we’re virtually consumed by a fervent
need to know the truth; just exactly what is going on out
there? American author Dan Brown’s phenomenally bestsell-
ing works The Da Vinci Code and most recently The Lost
Symbol exemplify by their very success our zeal for unravel-
ing the riddles of American history and the effects they have
on us today. Among our most widely read publications, mag-
azines such as People and Us delve into the lives and habits
of the famous “beautiful people,” the formerly famous but
fallen from grace, and the far more infamous doings of ne’er-
do-wells and outright criminals for the singular purpose of
exposing their secrets. On the Internet, the wildly popular
tell-all anonymous website, www.postsecret.com, ranks at
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