The Great Seal of the United States is on the back of the dollar bill. Benjamin Franklin introduced the image of the eye and pyramid to Congress. On July 4, 1776 the seal became the government stamp for the United States. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, as well as other members of Congress, were Masons. The seal became the government stamp for official business until 1935. During the Great Depression, at the behest of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Henry A. Wallace, both Masons, the Great Seal appeared on the back of the dollar bill.
Manifestation of Ideals
The Latin sentence surrounding the unfinished pyramid states, Annuit Coeptis (Providence Has Favored Our Undertakings) and Novus Ordo Seclorium, (A New Order of the Ages). That symbolism correlated with Masonry ideals; the pyramid is a worldly achievement that’s incomplete without the blessing of Providence. During the Renaissance, occultists viewed ancient Egypt as the source of primal, ageless wisdom transcending nations and dogma. The eye and the pyramid sought to achieve that ideal.
Masons & Statehood for New Mexico
In 1909, Harper Cunningham, a former private in the Union army and attorney general of Oklahoma arrived in Santa Fe. A member of the Freemason organization, he began work on establishing a chapter for the Masons. In Santa Fe they have supported the work of hospitals and clinics and work with children with dyslexia. Harper Cunningham died in 1911, so didn’t live see his dream realized. The Scottish Rite Masonic Temple opened in 1912 with Cunningham and his wife buried beneath the stairs of the temple entrance.