Search

A letter from General Dwight D. Eisenhower to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson. Dated March 12, 1946. In this letter, Eisenhower responds to Johnson’s request that the War Department award President Truman a Distinguished Service Medal.

A letter from President Harry S. Truman to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson. Dated January 3, 1950. In this letter, Truman thanks Johnson for awarding King Gustav V of Sweden the Gourgas Medal. The Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, awards the Gourgas Medal to Freemasons in recognition of distinguished service to Freemasonry, the country, or humanity.

A letter from President Harry S. Truman to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson. Dated August 16 1947. In this letter, Truman acknowledges the condolences sent to him by “a Deputy for one of the Mexican states who represents the Supreme Council of Mexico,” most likely sent because of the recent death of Truman’s mother. Truman also writes that he agrees with Johnson’s refusal to aid Boston city Mayor James Curley, who had been charged with committing mail fraud. Curley was sentenced to Federal prison, and eventually, his sentence commuted by Truman.

A letter from President Harry S. Truman to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson. Dated May 16, 1952. In the letter, Truman conveys his gratitude to the Supreme Council of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction for sending the President a birthday card commemorating his “sixty-eighth milestone.”

A letter from President Harry S. Truman to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson. Dated October 18, 1951. In the letter, Truman answers Johnson’s request for a commemorative stamp to honor Hungarian statesman and freedom fighter Louis (Lajos) Kossuth. In a previous letter, Johnson had written Truman, "I am making this suggestion merely as one method of the silent preaching of freedom in countries where we would like to reach common people and that a commemorative stamp would do."

A letter from President Harry S. Truman to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson. Dated January 10, 1946. In this letter, Truman thanks Johnson for sending him an article regarding Truman’s Gourgas Medal ceremony. The Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, awards the Gourgas Medal to Freemasons in recognition of distinguished service to Freemasonry, the country, or humanity.

A letter from President Harry S. Truman to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson. Dated July 10, 1948. In this letter, Truman responds to Johnson’s request to aid Italian Freemasons whose Masonic property had been confiscated after Benito Mussolini banned the Fraternity in 1925.

A letter from President Harry S. Truman to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson. Dated July 29, 1948. In this letter, Truman thanks Johnson for sending a copy of the memorandum to the Active Members of the Supreme Council regarding Truman’s Civil Rights committee. The President’s committee and its report (To Secure These Rights: The Report of the President’s Committee on Civil Rights) prompted Truman to sign Executive Orders 9980 and 9981, desegregating the federal workforce and the armed services.

A letter from President Harry S. Truman to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson. Dated January 24, 1950. In this letter, Truman references the “Italian situation” or the state of Freemasonry in Italy after World War II. The war had destroyed the official records of many Masonic bodies and made it difficult for the Northern and Southern Masonic Jurisdictions to ascertain which Masonic bodies were legitimate in the years after the war.

A letter from President Harry S. Truman to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson. Dated September 25, 1945. In this letter, Truman gives Johnson permission to schedule Truman’s Gourgas Medal presentation at the White House. The Supreme Council awards the Gourgas Medal to Freemasons in recognition of distinguished service to Freemasonry, the country, or humanity. President Truman was the first recipient of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction’s most distinguished honor. Truman also comments upon the character of his recent Supreme Court nominee, Harold Hitz Burton, a Freemason and former Senate colleague of Truman.

A letter from President Harry S. Truman to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson. Dated August 3, 1948. In this letter, Truman responds to Johnson’s request to aid Italian Freemasons whose Masonic property had been confiscated after Benito Mussolini banned the Fraternity in 1925.

A letter from President Harry S. Truman to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson. Dated May 28, 1948. In this letter, Truman responds to Johnson’s request to aid Italian Freemasons whose Masonic property had been confiscated after Benito Mussolini banned the Fraternity in 1925.

A letter from President Harry S. Truman to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson. Dated May 2, 1945. In this letter, written less than a month after becoming President, Truman accedes to Johnson’s request to become the first recipient of the Gourgas Medal, the most distinguished honor conferred by the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. The Supreme Council awards the Gourgas Medal to Freemasons in recognition of distinguished service to Freemasonry, the country, or humanity.

A letter from President Harry S. Truman to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson. Dated November 1, 1945. In this letter, Truman acknowledges the receipt of Johnson’s remarks for the upcoming Gourgas Medal ceremony at the White House on November 21. The Supreme Council awards the Gourgas Medal to Freemasons in recognition of distinguished service to Freemasonry, the country, or humanity. President Truman was the first recipient of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction’s highest award.